bj - Posted - 08/03/2008:  11:25:13

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Funny how Serendipity works. At the party Suze and I played at yesterday I met a woman who works for the John Pearse String Company. She offered to get me a set of fiddle strings or two to try out, and of course I said YES! Especially the way I seem to blow through strings.

I had never heard of this company and they're LOCAL. I mean really local. They're less than 10 miles from me as the crow flies and apparently much of the manufacturing is done locally as well, which is a very attractive thing to me, since I have certain green sensibilities and if they're comparable, I'd prefer to buy locally.

But I've never heard of these strings. And I have to wonder why.

The Quinn site says this about the Pearse Fiddle Strings, "The Fiddle strings have a solid steel core, similar to Prim. They are ideal for folk music style playing. " And that's it. One other site mentions that they're aluminum wound steel core, and I've had issues with another type of aluminum wound E string. A few of you have said that chrome or steel wrap is more durable, so maybe . . .

I'm just wondering WHY I've never heard of these strings. Have any of you had any experiences with these, good or bad?

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M-D - Posted - 08/03/2008:  11:52:30

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I've never heard of them having fiddle strings neither, yet the music store does carry the Pearse line. Hmm, have to check into that. Hope they're better strings than the Red Labels and Old Fiddler lines. Of course, that's but a subjective musing.

_________________________________________________________________

M-D

Old-Time, All the Time

Music is found in the space between the notes -- in the silence between the chords. Get your spaces right, and you''ve got it. ~ Albert Greenfield

DougD - Posted - 08/03/2008:  12:10:35

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John Pearse guitar strings have been around for a long time. Some folks swear by 'em, but I've always thought they're a little pricey compared to other brands, but maybe not much. I think the violin strings are fairly new, but I think I just ran into somebody who was using them.
I also wonder if they really "manufacture" their own strings. Many companies are just "packagers," but I guess you're in a position to find out. If they were guitar strings, I'd say there's a fair chance that even if they don't make them, they're still made not too far from you. But I don't know about fiddle strings.
But if they're free how can you lose?

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Edited by - DougD on 08/03/2008 17:28:00

M-D - Posted - 08/03/2008:  13:12:21

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Used to be that there were only two or three string manufacturers in the whole of the US. I dont know whether that's still true, or not, but Doug's correct about the most of the available brands being but the packaging.

Even if you dont like them, you can give them away to someone who might.

_________________________________________________________________

M-D

Old-Time, All the Time

Music is found in the space between the notes -- in the silence between the chords. Get your spaces right, and you''ve got it. ~ Albert Greenfield

amwildman - Posted - 08/03/2008:  13:25:28

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There are two lines of perlon strings from John Pearse, and at least one steel core string. I've been wanting to try the Artiste set.

http://www.quinnviolins.com/qv_pearseviolin.shtml

M-D - Posted - 08/03/2008:  14:34:42

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I went to the Pearse web site, www.jpstrings.com , but there wasn't any extra information available for the fiddle string, though there is lauditory comment on their Artiste set.

They do have some interesting accessories, however, some of which I'd never seen before.

_________________________________________________________________

M-D

Old-Time, All the Time

Music is found in the space between the notes -- in the silence between the chords. Get your spaces right, and you''ve got it. ~ Albert Greenfield

bj - Posted - 08/03/2008:  14:37:09

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LOL! I get the hint, guys! If she comes up with a case of 'em, you're the first in line after me!

Well, it'll be interesting to ask Gloria some more questions, and the way I blow through E and A strings, beggars can't be choosers. Meanwhile, one thing that argues for them being made in the US is the price. Musician's Friend has them for $13.99 a set.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...AID=26016467

The Artiste line seem to run around 26 Bucks. Pretty reasonable for Perlons.

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Me on the Web --
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My inspiration:
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captainhook - Posted - 08/03/2008:  16:39:59

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I have a set of the Artiste strings that I bought probably ten years ago from First Quality in Louisville (mostly banjo stuff). They were claimed to be a "new composite" core, rather than perlon. I don't know for sure, but they have been used quite a bit on a few different fiddles and I have yet to break one. Can't say that for Dominants, Evahs, Sensicores, Octavas or Pro-Artes. Admittedly, they are kind of dead sounding now. Haven't tried the steel core or the other synthetic, which I understood ARE perlon. I don't think any of their e strings are wound so you won't have to worry about that.

captainhook
Transylvania County, USA

bj - Posted - 08/03/2008:  17:32:55

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quote:

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I have a set of the Artiste strings that I bought probably ten years ago from First Quality in Louisville (mostly banjo stuff). They were claimed to be a "new composite" core, rather than perlon. I don't know for sure, but they have been used quite a bit on a few different fiddles and I have yet to break one. Can't say that for Dominants, Evahs, Sensicores, Octavas or Pro-Artes.

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Oh, that's good to hear. Maybe the Artistes will work okay on that harsh lacquer sprayed Romanian campfire fiddle of mine.

I hope the steel ones are as durable as you've found the Artistes to be. Prims have gone up in price since shipping has gotten so expensive. Just since I've been playing they've gone up over 8 bucks a set. So it would be nice to have a suitable American made alternative.

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Me on the Web --
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My inspiration:
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RobBob - Posted - 08/04/2008:  13:31:03

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It is my suspicion that the John Pearse solid steel strings are the same as D'Addario Prelude or Fiddle strings. This same string was sold as the Martin Bluegrass Fiddle string for a while. I checked them out at Fiddler's Grove this year. The wraps at both ends match and the G and D are nickel wound, the A is Aluminum wound and E is plain steel. Coincidence?

RobBob
Music; the best way to count time.
www.blueridgerounders.com

bj - Posted - 08/04/2008:  14:41:00

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quote:

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It is my suspicion that the John Pearse solid steel strings are the same as D'Addario Prelude or Fiddle strings. This same string was sold as the Martin Bluegrass Fiddle string for a while. I checked them out at Fiddler's Grove this year. The wraps at both ends match and the G and D are nickel wound, the A is Aluminum wound and E is plain steel. Coincidence?

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Well, considering that Center Valley (where Pearse is located) and Nazareth (where Martin is located) are around ten miles apart as the crow flies, I doubt it. I've gotta wonder if Pearse is manufacturing for D'Addario or the other way around though.

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DougD - Posted - 08/04/2008:  15:49:34

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bj - "I've gotta wonder if Pearse is manufacturing for D'Addario or the other way around though." Well, personally I wouldn't.
I don't want to get into this too much, because I don't really know that much about it, and what I do know is probably out of date, but I will say that Martin has had a friendly relationship with D'Addario (who actually make strings) over the years, as have many other companies. And of course Martin has had, and I'm sure still maintains, friendly relations with other suppliers and sellers (like Ditson in the old days, for example).

If you're really curious, bj, you're certainly in a good position to snoop it out. And how many sets do you think they'll give you?

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Edited by - DougD on 08/04/2008 15:55:44

fiddlepogo - Posted - 08/04/2008:  18:23:25

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bj,

FWIW,

when I was ordering my Thomastik Precision Lights from quinnviolins.com,
I noticed that they mentioned that John Pearse and LaBella fiddle strings, the steel ones anyway,
were underrated and good strings for a good price.
I would get at least one set of steel strings to try.
#1, they usually last way longer than anything else
#2, they may be good for cross tuning, since you have several fiddles,
you might as well experiment with that.
#3, they are less prone to squawking from excess pressure,
and have a slightly bigger sweet spot, making them more beginner friendly than synthetics.

All that's well and good, but it's only useful if you actually like the sound of them
on a particular fiddle. That's really requirement #1.

Michael

"It''s hard to take yourself seriously when you''re singing about chickens!"

http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1088
for mp3s, blog, and "Michael''s Old Time Fiddle & Banjo Hour" (hifi & lofi audio streams)

bj - Posted - 08/04/2008:  19:20:25

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Well, let's see if she comes across with the strings first . . .

Who knows? Maybe I can make the suggestion that if they need fiddle string testers, I have a group ready and waiting . . . LOL!

BTW, I had already ordered a set of Prim mediums for the Salzard. Wow. What a difference!

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Me on the Web --
http://doneinstyle.com

My inspiration:
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fiddlepogo - Posted - 08/05/2008:  00:45:43

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quote:

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Originally posted by bj

Well, let's see if she comes across with the strings first . . .

Who knows? Maybe I can make the suggestion that if they need fiddle string testers, I have a group ready and waiting . . . LOL!

BTW, I had already ordered a set of Prim mediums for the Salzard. Wow. What a difference!

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A good one, I hope!
The scuttlebutt on Prims is that they take about a week to mellow out-
at first they are supposed to be very biting in the treble range.
However, you may have a mellow enough fiddle in the Salzard to
handle that.

One of the reasons you never heard of John Pearse strings is that
Prims have achieved some kind of traditional status among the contest fiddle crowd, and I suspect among Old Time fiddlers that use steel strings.
There is a world class luthier in a town a couple of hours from here.
He HATES Prims (the fiddle of his I tried had some kind of synthetics, I think) but he stocks them for the local fiddlers anyway, since that's what they buy.

I'm a fan (as you've probably noticed) of Thomastik Precision Lights.
Precisions used to be the default steel string choice in many violin
shops, but for some reason they faded among fiddlers
(I'm not totally sure why)
and Prims caught on.

Michael

"It''s hard to take yourself seriously when you''re singing about chickens!"

http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1088
for mp3s, blog, and "Michael''s Old Time Fiddle & Banjo Hour" (hifi & lofi audio streams)

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Edited by - fiddlepogo on 08/05/2008 00:56:43

M-D - Posted - 08/05/2008:  01:58:37

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quote:

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Originally posted by bj
Prims have gone up in price since shipping has gotten so expensive. Just since I've been playing they've gone up over 8 bucks a set.

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Shipping is one thing, but the devaluation of the FRN denominated in US Dollars relative to other fiat currencies is another. The former factor is heavily influenced by the latter, also.

_________________________________________________________________

M-D

Old-Time, All the Time

Music is found in the space between the notes -- in the silence between the chords. Get your spaces right, and you''ve got it. ~ Albert Greenfield

janepaints - Posted - 08/31/2008:  20:53:46

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This topic led me to mentally 'bookmark' JP Fiddle Strings as something to check out, due to:

--folks here citing JP Fiddle Strings , perhaps, being repackaged Preludes.
--the description (at Quinn or at the JP site?) that they sound kinda like Prims. I like the way Prims sound but they're pricey and not stocked by any local stores.

Synchronicity always: Saturday afternoon, busking, I realized my strings probably needed replacing. They were sounding blurry, not playing true. Super Sensitives (with a wound E string) had been on the fiddle since early spring and I've been busking 4-to-7 days a week since early April, besides the usual fiddling at home.

So I went to the local guitar shop, which stocks Preludes & Super Sensitives. Lo and behold: the shop had added John Pearse Fiddle strings, same price as Preludes. Sunday afternoon, I bought a set and put 'em on the fiddle, but with a Meisel wound E replacing the JP unwound E. Went back out Sunday night and busked for a few more hours.

So far so good. They feel and sound different than Preludes: stronger, more growl. Especially noticeable on the G & D strings. More oomph on the low end. Feels like a bit more string tension too, they felt good on slowed-down tunes, using lotsa drones and doublestops, greater resistance against the bow good for the 'slowed-n-mournful' approach on Goin' Across The Sea', 'Sweet Sunny South', 'Red Rose Waltz.'

So far, yay! I like these John Pearse Fiddle strings.

But it could be the 'Placebo Effect.' Maybe they ARE repackaged Preludes and I'm just experiencing Fresh Strings.