My quest to find the perfect 'A' string for my particular cello - English, 1862 - has taken a turn for the better, I think.
A few months ago I had coffee with a new friend who just happens to be a professional cellist, and she gently suggested my bridge was too low. At the time I had just put on a set of Pirastro Aricore. To me they sounded lovely, except for the 'A', which was extraordinary, all grating, 'wowing' and WRONG! My supplier obligingly sent me a replacement which was equally bad, so I came to the conclusion that the A was definitely not for my particular instrument, although my teacher loves all four of her Aricores. (She has an English cello as well, circa 1820s.) Even when my luthier made a higher bridge for the Perlon core Aricores, the A was unplayable.
In the course of an internet search for another string I filled in the 'assessment form' Pirastro has on their site, and amazingly, they sent 2 'A's for me to try - free of charge!! One was Obligato and the other, Synoxa. I tried them both and sent Pirastro my comments. Neither were right, both having either a very bad wolf or the same problem the Aricore had, or were far too shrill on my instrument.
Imagine my amazement when I got yet another string, this time one that (I think) is not yet on the market! It sounds amazing on my instrument. Those higher notes that I steel myself to play, are rich and resonant . I have had the string now for 3 weeks and it is stable in every way, in my humble opinion. I can't thank Pirastro enough. They have saved me a lot of money in trial and error. I only hope it comes onto the market before I need a replacement. It blends quite nicely with my Aricore 'D', but when it is available, I shall buy the A and D - if not the whole set!
It says 'Ring Gelb' on the packet, by the way.
Now I have to ask my luthier about bridge height again as this is not Perlon core. And what happens if I have a 1 or 2 Perlon and 1 or 2 "steel/chrome steel" mix? Maybe it is something I should ask Pirastro! I have never noticed advice on bridge height when looking at string info.
A few months ago I had coffee with a new friend who just happens to be a professional cellist, and she gently suggested my bridge was too low. At the time I had just put on a set of Pirastro Aricore. To me they sounded lovely, except for the 'A', which was extraordinary, all grating, 'wowing' and WRONG! My supplier obligingly sent me a replacement which was equally bad, so I came to the conclusion that the A was definitely not for my particular instrument, although my teacher loves all four of her Aricores. (She has an English cello as well, circa 1820s.) Even when my luthier made a higher bridge for the Perlon core Aricores, the A was unplayable.
In the course of an internet search for another string I filled in the 'assessment form' Pirastro has on their site, and amazingly, they sent 2 'A's for me to try - free of charge!! One was Obligato and the other, Synoxa. I tried them both and sent Pirastro my comments. Neither were right, both having either a very bad wolf or the same problem the Aricore had, or were far too shrill on my instrument.
Imagine my amazement when I got yet another string, this time one that (I think) is not yet on the market! It sounds amazing on my instrument. Those higher notes that I steel myself to play, are rich and resonant . I have had the string now for 3 weeks and it is stable in every way, in my humble opinion. I can't thank Pirastro enough. They have saved me a lot of money in trial and error. I only hope it comes onto the market before I need a replacement. It blends quite nicely with my Aricore 'D', but when it is available, I shall buy the A and D - if not the whole set!
It says 'Ring Gelb' on the packet, by the way.
Now I have to ask my luthier about bridge height again as this is not Perlon core. And what happens if I have a 1 or 2 Perlon and 1 or 2 "steel/chrome steel" mix? Maybe it is something I should ask Pirastro! I have never noticed advice on bridge height when looking at string info.
