I copy here a noticeable update that was posted by Owen Pallett on Facebook:
“
On my instrument, I have tried three different Thomastik G-strings. (Thomastik were kind enough to provide me with an extra one when I suspected the first one to be false.) All three G-strings have sounded dull and unresponsive in comparison to the C- and D- strings from the same set.
The Larsen fractional 1/8th G-string, on the other hand, is lovely within the Thomastik set, on my instrument, at least. It is thinner in gauge than the Thomastik G-.
I tried out the other Larsen fractional 1/8th strings on my instrument, swapping them out with the Thomastiks, and consistently found myself preferring the sound of the Thomastiks. The Larsens are very responsive, but less "meaty" than the sound of the Thomastiks.
At present I am using Thomastik custom spalla C-, D- and A- strings, a Larsen fractional 1/8th G-, and trying several different options for the E-string.
This week I've been using a raw gut Aquila as my E-string. It is so much more difficult to play-- for me!-- than the synthetic options, but the sound of it is divine. I love playing with a raw gut A-string on my viola (and the rest synthetic), so having a raw gut spalla E- is a nice feeling for me.
I've recently contacted Aquila about some of their other E- options and I will try them out as well. For now, though, the lower four cello strings are sounding and playing exactly as I'd hope they would.
Apr 18, 2022·edited Jun 20, 2023Liked by Daniela Gaidano & A. Visintini
As it turns out the music for Violoncello da Spalla tuned a 4th Above would be Violin Music played 8vb. Stradivarius made a 6 String Spalla tuned CGDAEB
Aug 31, 2021Liked by Daniela Gaidano & A. Visintini
Thanks for writing such an amazing and helpful article! I have an update just in case it can help anyone else too. Thomastik has lifted the minimum order requirement on their Spalla strings and the price has come down (a little) to 430€ for a full set. That export email is definitely the way to go, but I still had trouble getting through sometimes when hitting 'reply' on the email thread.
Feb 25, 2021Liked by Daniela Gaidano & A. Visintini
Thanks for this interesting article, Daniela! In a recent performance I used the following string set up:
I - Pirastro Evah Pirrazi (green) viola A
II - EP viola D
III - EP viola G
IV - Spirocore viola C
V - Sensicore viola F (this is a synthetic core string)
So all the strings are viola strings tuned a perfect 4th lower than the pitch on the string package. I use Wittner geared pegs, so regular length viola strings can be mounted and tuned easily. Players using standard pegs may have difficulty keeping the strings mounted while tuning, particularly whichever string is attached to the peg closest to the scroll (typically the D or III string).
My thoughts on Thomastik synthetic strings for VDS — I have not tried these strings; however the price seems way out of line to me. Many custom string makers offer high quality VDS sets for around $200 for a single order. I don’t understand how one of the worlds largest string manufacturers charges 2x/3x as much for synthetics, especially with a minimum order. In my opinion, retailers purchasing multiple sets should be able to make a profit and still sell single sets for no more than $300. Thomastik’s VDS strings might be amazing but at the price they are charging I am not even curious about trying them. The prospect of spending $500-1000 or even more on strings every year is not acceptable to me when normal viola strings work quite well.
I hear you about Thomastick. I can also understand why they did so: when you are making strings with an automatic machine, like they do, you easily make 2/3000 strings per day out of every machine. So, when you need to stop one machine and set it to make a custom set, you are loosing all that production. That’s why they charge so much. And why they settled on a minimum order of (previously 12 sets). Because for one day of work, settling the machine for five different strings (actually they need two different machines for that set, one for steel cor and one for synthetic), they wanted 6000€. That’s it. Then, thanks to Dima and Malov, we obtained that they could have a stock and low every the minimum order. But for sure they thought: why lowering the price of a product that sells anyway?
I have seen from your video that some of the strings (the G I think and one other) has the silk winding going over the upper nut. Is this not disturbing you at all? Didn’t you try to cut it out?
You mention many custom string makers, could you post them here? It would be so useful!
A set of Damien Dlugolecki strings can be had for about $300, Gamut strings (Dan Larsen) under $400. Aquila Corde for just over $200. I assume these makers make more strings for “regular” instruments as well and are subject to similar machine setting changes so I still don’t understand the vast difference in cost from that side of things. On the other hand, if I were selling strings for over $500 per set with a minimum order and people were buying them, I wouldn’t lower the price either! I appreciate the efforts of Dmitry and Sergey in convincing them to lower the minimum order.
As for the silk reaching over the fingerboard, I don’t notice it while I’m playing. When I first started stringing like this I thought it would be an issue or that the silk would unwind. This turns out not to be the case.
Thanks for your answer, I didn’t know that Dlugolecki and Gamut were offering regular spalla set. Worth a try for sure!
Actually both of them are not using automatic machines, their machines are just turning the core, but the winding is done by hand, I mean the wire is kept by hand, tensed, kept at the right angle so that the spires wind correctly, etc... it takes a skill to do a good string! At Thomastick they have automatic machines, they have like two “levels”, so the worker only has to put the core on one, the machine does the winding while the worker cuts the made string on the other level and puts another core, then turns to the first level, cuts and put the core, etc...
However the sad thing is that none of these big brands, Thomastick, Pirastro, D’Addario, are giving enough trust to da Spalla to make a set regularly available. I guess not even 200 sets per year could be enough to make it worth for them... uhm... I’d like to know how many Helicore 1/8 cello set they sell per year... couldn’t we really match that number?
Feb 19, 2021Liked by Daniela Gaidano & A. Visintini
The cartoons are wonderful, the information is fabulous, and the whole Newsletter is a generous contribution to the revival of this beautiful instrument! Thank you!
Thank you Stephen! I hope I will get soon more fluent at it because it is now taking me a good part of the week to publish this, but I really wish it will be a consistent publication in the years to come!
I copy here a noticeable update that was posted by Owen Pallett on Facebook:
“
On my instrument, I have tried three different Thomastik G-strings. (Thomastik were kind enough to provide me with an extra one when I suspected the first one to be false.) All three G-strings have sounded dull and unresponsive in comparison to the C- and D- strings from the same set.
The Larsen fractional 1/8th G-string, on the other hand, is lovely within the Thomastik set, on my instrument, at least. It is thinner in gauge than the Thomastik G-.
I tried out the other Larsen fractional 1/8th strings on my instrument, swapping them out with the Thomastiks, and consistently found myself preferring the sound of the Thomastiks. The Larsens are very responsive, but less "meaty" than the sound of the Thomastiks.
At present I am using Thomastik custom spalla C-, D- and A- strings, a Larsen fractional 1/8th G-, and trying several different options for the E-string.
This week I've been using a raw gut Aquila as my E-string. It is so much more difficult to play-- for me!-- than the synthetic options, but the sound of it is divine. I love playing with a raw gut A-string on my viola (and the rest synthetic), so having a raw gut spalla E- is a nice feeling for me.
I've recently contacted Aquila about some of their other E- options and I will try them out as well. For now, though, the lower four cello strings are sounding and playing exactly as I'd hope they would.
I use the Thomastik String sets & they sound amazing due to their improvements.
I agree!
I wrote an update to this article here:
https://violoncellodaspalla.substack.com/p/strings-for-violoncello-da-spalla?s=w
As it turns out the music for Violoncello da Spalla tuned a 4th Above would be Violin Music played 8vb. Stradivarius made a 6 String Spalla tuned CGDAEB
Yes, you can play violin music with it, same open strings! Which Strad’s are you referring to?
It was a very rare one.
Thanks for writing such an amazing and helpful article! I have an update just in case it can help anyone else too. Thomastik has lifted the minimum order requirement on their Spalla strings and the price has come down (a little) to 430€ for a full set. That export email is definitely the way to go, but I still had trouble getting through sometimes when hitting 'reply' on the email thread.
Wow, this is a great news, thanks for writing here!
Thanks for this interesting article, Daniela! In a recent performance I used the following string set up:
I - Pirastro Evah Pirrazi (green) viola A
II - EP viola D
III - EP viola G
IV - Spirocore viola C
V - Sensicore viola F (this is a synthetic core string)
So all the strings are viola strings tuned a perfect 4th lower than the pitch on the string package. I use Wittner geared pegs, so regular length viola strings can be mounted and tuned easily. Players using standard pegs may have difficulty keeping the strings mounted while tuning, particularly whichever string is attached to the peg closest to the scroll (typically the D or III string).
My thoughts on Thomastik synthetic strings for VDS — I have not tried these strings; however the price seems way out of line to me. Many custom string makers offer high quality VDS sets for around $200 for a single order. I don’t understand how one of the worlds largest string manufacturers charges 2x/3x as much for synthetics, especially with a minimum order. In my opinion, retailers purchasing multiple sets should be able to make a profit and still sell single sets for no more than $300. Thomastik’s VDS strings might be amazing but at the price they are charging I am not even curious about trying them. The prospect of spending $500-1000 or even more on strings every year is not acceptable to me when normal viola strings work quite well.
Thanks for this comment William, thanks for sharing what you used on that concert. Your performance, by the way, is still available at this link
https://www.levinemusic.org/performance/levine-presents/go-spalla/
I hear you about Thomastick. I can also understand why they did so: when you are making strings with an automatic machine, like they do, you easily make 2/3000 strings per day out of every machine. So, when you need to stop one machine and set it to make a custom set, you are loosing all that production. That’s why they charge so much. And why they settled on a minimum order of (previously 12 sets). Because for one day of work, settling the machine for five different strings (actually they need two different machines for that set, one for steel cor and one for synthetic), they wanted 6000€. That’s it. Then, thanks to Dima and Malov, we obtained that they could have a stock and low every the minimum order. But for sure they thought: why lowering the price of a product that sells anyway?
I have seen from your video that some of the strings (the G I think and one other) has the silk winding going over the upper nut. Is this not disturbing you at all? Didn’t you try to cut it out?
You mention many custom string makers, could you post them here? It would be so useful!
Thanks again for your time and intervening here!
A set of Damien Dlugolecki strings can be had for about $300, Gamut strings (Dan Larsen) under $400. Aquila Corde for just over $200. I assume these makers make more strings for “regular” instruments as well and are subject to similar machine setting changes so I still don’t understand the vast difference in cost from that side of things. On the other hand, if I were selling strings for over $500 per set with a minimum order and people were buying them, I wouldn’t lower the price either! I appreciate the efforts of Dmitry and Sergey in convincing them to lower the minimum order.
As for the silk reaching over the fingerboard, I don’t notice it while I’m playing. When I first started stringing like this I thought it would be an issue or that the silk would unwind. This turns out not to be the case.
Thanks for your answer, I didn’t know that Dlugolecki and Gamut were offering regular spalla set. Worth a try for sure!
Actually both of them are not using automatic machines, their machines are just turning the core, but the winding is done by hand, I mean the wire is kept by hand, tensed, kept at the right angle so that the spires wind correctly, etc... it takes a skill to do a good string! At Thomastick they have automatic machines, they have like two “levels”, so the worker only has to put the core on one, the machine does the winding while the worker cuts the made string on the other level and puts another core, then turns to the first level, cuts and put the core, etc...
However the sad thing is that none of these big brands, Thomastick, Pirastro, D’Addario, are giving enough trust to da Spalla to make a set regularly available. I guess not even 200 sets per year could be enough to make it worth for them... uhm... I’d like to know how many Helicore 1/8 cello set they sell per year... couldn’t we really match that number?
Hard to tell...
The cartoons are wonderful, the information is fabulous, and the whole Newsletter is a generous contribution to the revival of this beautiful instrument! Thank you!
Thank you Stephen! I hope I will get soon more fluent at it because it is now taking me a good part of the week to publish this, but I really wish it will be a consistent publication in the years to come!