Hi, I live in Florida, spoted this forum and have recently taken up the Cello again after 45 years away from it. I was wondering what brand of strings are the better brands. I bought a new Cello and the strings are a cheap brand.

I don`t play the cello, but have a friend who does. Start with Thomastik Dominants. They have become the industry standard for a `good` string. They play well on most instruments.

Once you`ve tried them, you might want to mix and match a little with other strings to get the best sound from your cello...or you might just like the way it sounds with the Dominants only.

Dominants are great for a beginner (or re-beginner) player, and a beginner instrument. If you want something with a little more "umph" to them, then I suggest a Spirocore Tungsten wound G and C. A and D can be just about anything, personally, right now I have Spirocore Steel wound on the top two strings. It really depends on your instrument, but overall the more people I talk to tell me that they like the Spirocore Tungsten on the bottom, and that includes many professionals I`ve talked to from the Philharmonic Orchestra here in my town. My teacher prefers Larssen A and D strings. Keep in mind that the strings that I have suggested could be up to twice as much per string and the Dominants so price comes into play as well. For instance, the last time that I ordered a C string, it came out to be $70.00 for just that one string, and with all of the strings I spent around $160.00. Try different strings, and see what works best for you and your instrument.



Titus

Thanks for your response. Yes, I am beginning again but I am surprised at how well I am picking it back up. So, since I am just starting over, I didn`t get an expensive Cello. I got a mail order one not the cheapest but still under $2000. The "A" string has a bright sound almost too bright and has a tendency to twang when the open string is played. The "D" string is a lot duller sounding especially in 4th position. The "G" and "C" also have a dark sound. I would like somewhere in between the sound I amd getting from the "A" and "D" strings. More mellow than the "A" and much brighter than the "D". I would compare the 4th position on the "D" string to singing and holding your nose at the same time.LOL

My suggestion for your string would be as follows;
A Larssen (spelled with one S, but the forum doesn`t like it because it contains the word ar$e, sorry!)
D go with a spirocore steel
G and C go with the spirocore Tungsten.

I believe that this set will run you around $160.00, depending on where you order from. I use Robertson and Sons Violin in Ablequerque, NM, and they`ve always been good to me. Those are my suggestions. Have fun starting again, should be a lot of fun for you.




Titus

Thanks, I appreciate that.
Bob

Jargar are by far the most popular over here and they work well on Chinese interuments which i suspect your is.

Liz

No, it is a Josef Lazar made in Romania.

I notice the strings come in three types, soft, medium and strong. Any thoughts on these?

Usually I use medium, but again, it`s all about personal opinion. I`d say get a set you`re comfortable with as far as price, and start experimenting from there. The Larssen strings come like they`ve been played on for a while, meaning that their break-in period is much quicker than for instance the Spirocore, and therefore dampening your A string sound. You may also try some soft strings as well, I`ve never used them, but that may calm it down a little too. I`ve used the Jargaur strings, but have no real opinion on them one way or the other. I know that many people like them (like Liz said) and I used them on my old cello, but at the time strings were the last thing on my mind, so..... I`d say just experiment and find something that you like.



Titus

Thanks, you have been very helpful.
Bob

I used to play a John Jusek which was loaned to me by the school system but I have no idea what kind they were. Since it was in the fifties, they probably were not synthetic material. I know the "A" was steel but the others may have been gut. The tone of that instrument was nice.
Bob