Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Ka-Bang, Thus Ends My Chamber Music Session

First day back in town. Took the cello for its first night out at chamber music class. Teacher gave me a nice easy piece to sight read. Played about eight measures and Ka-Bang... the D string broke.
Aargh! Hope this isn't an omen!

Any recommendations on what type of strings I should buy?
Is it necessary to buy two sets?

3 comments:

Guanaco said...

I suggest calling Ellen at Cellos2Go. You can find her number on her website www.cellos2go.com.

She'll ask a lot of questions about your cello, how it sounds, what you like and don't like about the sound, what level of player you are etc. Then, she'll offer several suggestions.

I really like working with her.

Maricello said...

Hi Marisa, you will also find some information on string choice at
Johnson String--String Info

If it helps, I use Thomastic-Spirocore Tungston strings for G and C. On my old cello, I started with Jargar A and D strings, then switched to Pirastro Evah Pirazzi, which I loved, but they don't seem to sound good as long as the Jargars.

My new cello came with Larsen A and D and they seem to be wonderful too. (Can't tell if it is the new cello or the new strings, but the new cello sounds much better than the old one).

If I were you I would buy a new set, plus an extra D, so you will have a spare of each string. Once you put the new ones on, keep the old strings as a spare and replace them as needed when they break. Replace all once a year or so, or as needed, for sound quality reasons.

I once knew a cellist who hadn't bought new strings in 30 years! He played well, but the sound was rough. :-)

cellodonna said...

I like having a spare set of strings. Right now I have an extra set of old, plus a spare set of new strings.

I've been using Larsen A and D and Helicore G and C on my Scott Cao STC800.