Posted by fiddlepogo on Monday, October 24, 2011
Well, the mystery European strings didn't work long term for Stinky ( the darker and older of my two Knilling 4KF Bucharests.) As they went dead, they got edgy, and Stinky has a tendency towards edginess anyway, so it wasn't working. Then I got the idea- I hadn't tried synthetics on Stinky yet since I first got it and took of the dead Dominants that had been on it.
But the Eastman came with D'Addario Pro Arte's and I hadn't worn them out before I switched them to steel strings.
I'd been thinking of trying a set of Corelli Crystals or D'Addario Zyex since I hear good things about them, but then I thought that I out to try the Pro Artes, since they really weren't bad at all on the Eastman.
So I put the two lowest on the night before last, tried them in the morning, liked the direction it seemed to be going, and switched the A string too. And those synthetics are STILL stretching!!!
In between tuning, Stinky seems a bit softer and a bit fuller- Irish tunes continue to be good on her- I think this is going to continue to be the fiddle of choice for reading Irish tunes- my louder fiddle makes mistakes louder too, and mistakes are abundant when I read a tune from sheet music... no sense broadcasting them!!!
The challenge is that it requires staying and playing closer to the bridge... but it's doable, maybe I can get used to it.
The fiddle is soft enough that I could ALMOST play without earplugs at all.
The fly in the ointment is the E string is now too loud and harsh... I may need to go to a Lenzner Goldbrokat E, which I have lying around here somewhere.
3 comments on “String Ex-perry-ment on the Cheap- Stinky gets Synthetics...”
Swing Says:
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 @3:14:09 AM
Pogo, you know there is a fiddle tune called 'Stinky Blues'
Play Happy
fiddlepogo Says:
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 @8:12:59 PM
Hey, Swing, I guess I'd better learn it and play it on Stinky!!!
Diane G Says:
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 @10:07:07 PM
Hey...go for the Lenzner Goldbrokat....put on the thicker one if you have it...0.27 gauge this will be a bit louder but mellow. The 0.26gauge will be softer/more quiet...maybe that's what Stinky needs...LOL....:>)
I use the Goldbrokat on all 4 of the violins/fiddles that I currently play on. Diane
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