New Eurosonic Orchestra Strings!

[Calvin Marks]

Ken, are these the Eurosonics (aka Prestos), you speak of?

http://www.presto-strings.com/nw.html

http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product...S_STRINGS.html

I notice they come in ultra light, light and medium but on the PRESTO sight they mention that you should use SANDPAPER on the strings where you bow...

[Drake Chan]

Originally Posted by Calvin Marks

Ken, are these the Eurosonics (aka Prestos), you speak of?

http://www.presto-strings.com/nw.html

http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product...S_STRINGS.html

I notice they come in ultra light, light and medium but on the PRESTO sight they mention that you should use SANDPAPER on the strings where you bow...

Nope. Those are the regular nylon-wound Eurosonics. They're meant to be used by bluegrass and rockabilly players who slap, as they are a low-tension "gut substitute" string.

The Eurosonic Orchestrals are a steel-wound strings for orchestral playing (duh). Quinn carries them (the second row).

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

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Calvin Marks

Ken, are these the Eurosonics (aka Prestos), you speak of?

http://www.presto-strings.com/nw.html

http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product...S_STRINGS.html

I notice they come in ultra light, light and medium but on the PRESTO sight they mention that you should use SANDPAPER on the strings where you bow...

The ones we have which Presto I believe makes to a design I developed for JR Music is a steel string like a Flexocor. I only have the light gauge but we did develop a medium gauge. I re-termed them as Regular and 'Firm' I believe as the Lights feel normal and just about the same gauge thickness. The Mediums are just stiffer. I have the proto-type medium set on a bass at home. I only carry the ones they call light.

Unfortunately, JR Music is using the exact same name to sell both styles of strings hence the confusion. Contact them for more information if you need.

[Martin Sheridan]

Ken,
I got around to trying these strings recently and I think they're fantastic.
Rich sent me a set called "light" but they are really a medium gage to me and he commented that they were going to change the designation to that. Anyway, they pizz and bow very well and are therefore a great string for me to use to show my basses. I'm planning on getting two more sets asap.
Thank you for telling us about these strings.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Martin Sheridan

Ken,
I got around to trying these strings recently and I think they're fantastic.
Rich sent me a set called "light" but they are really a medium gauge to me and he commented that they were going to change the designation to that. Anyway, they pizz and bow very well and are therefore a great string for me to use to show my basses. I'm planning on getting two more sets asap.
Thank you for telling us about these strings.

Yes martin, I agree on that Gauge naming thing. Measuring these and the set they marked Medium while testing the samples I found them to be almost the same exact diameter for each string.

I call this Light labeled set 'Regular' gauge and the one they call medium, 'high tension'. I happen to have that 'medium'/high tension set right here at home on my '97 Shen/Gemunder 1000 model.

I agree that they bow well and Pizz well. They are not the best Bowing or the best Pizz/Jazz string one can buy but they do deserve a spot in line with them. My problem with these strings is not the strings themselves but the fact they don't make a c-extension model. I was told that their machine cannot make them any longer than they are now. Also, when trying these on bigger basses like my 4/4 Gamba or 7/8 Mougenot, they barely reached the most upper Tuning gear. The Mougenot is closer to a 4/4 in its string length need as the neck is quite long and the peg box is as well.

They are what they are to me. A good string that works well for the bow and fingers combined. The price is slightly cheaper than the Pirastro or Thomastik line of strings. Still, I use the more expensive ones because of the C-extension issue. I am not one to mix brands or styles within a set. I like the tone and tension even across the bass.

I am glad to hear you like them. I got just about 'zero' credit for helping with their design. My fingers remember them well from changing and testing strings but unless I tell someone, they will never know I was even involved in their development. I worked only with/thru Rich at JR and in turn, JR worked with Presto. Presto probably doesn't know I was involved unless someone tells them. No problemo, I just wanted the string in the end and got it..

[Martin Sheridan]

I'd like to see them add that little fuzzy nubbins at the tailpiece end of the string that most string makers use. I do like that the tailpiece end has a holding piece that will fit through the hole of the tailpiece. (There must be names for these two things?)
I'd had Helicore's on my Carcassi model and first replaced the D and G with the Eurosonics. My first impression was that I didn't like them. I put the bass in the corner, came back a couple of days later and couldn't believe the volume difference between the two brands. So I changed out the E and A too.
When you are in the position of showing basses it's really a relief to have a string that will demonstrate both pizz and arco and not have to change the strings out. Until now I've used Helicor Orchestra strings because I think they're a better hybrid than the hybrid.
I'm still a big fan of the original Flexocor for arco and Spirocore Weichs for pizz. I tried a set of Bel Cantos recently and was really disappointed after hearing so much praise for them. Maybe it was the bass? The Bel Cantos came out just as I was moving to Mexico and I didn't get to try them out until late spring. Everyone has been raving about those strings, but at least on this bass the Eurosonics performed better especially on pizz, and they're about half the price.
best,

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Martin Sheridan

I'd like to see them add that little fuzzy nubbins at the tailpiece end of the string that most string makers use. I do like that the tailpiece end has a holding piece that will fit through the hole of the tailpiece. (There must be names for these two things?)
I'd had Helicore's on my Carcassi model and first replaced the D and G with the Eurosonics. My first impression was that I didn't like them. I put the bass in the corner, came back a couple of days later and couldn't believe the volume difference between the two brands. So I changed out the E and A too.
When you are in the position of showing basses it's really a relief to have a string that will demonstrate both pizz and arco and not have to change the strings out. Until now I've used Helicor Orchestra strings because I think they're a better hybrid than the hybrid.
I'm still a big fan of the original Flexocor for arco and Spirocore Weichs for pizz. I tried a set of Bel Cantos recently and was really disappointed after hearing so much praise for them. Maybe it was the bass? The Bel Cantos came out just as I was moving to Mexico and I didn't get to try them out until late spring. Everyone has been raving about those strings, but at least on this bass the Eurosonics performed better especially on pizz, and they're about half the price.
best,

On the delay response with the Eurosonics I can only attribute that to the lessened tension on the Top. It took time for the Bass to respond to them. On the Basses I have here (the good ones..lol) I see immediate response in most cases when trying strings. On the Bel's, some basses they do wonders for and some not. Also, it depends on what you want to hear. On the same exact bass, one customer likes Orig Flex and I hated them but I loved the Stark 92s instead. Different ears and hands as well.

I think that for selling low to mid-priced basses, the Eurosonice are good strings to put on the bass to cover the bases. The Orch. Helicores to me are Hybrid strings as well but they are not very consistant from set to set in the gauges or the quality. I can't handle that so I avoid those strings for the most part.

Flexocor 92s is a favorite of mine as are the Evah's in both Orch and Weich gauges. I also like the Belcantos but this is the C-extension set. The regular E is different. The C-extension string feels great on one of my basses and a bit too stiff/heavy on another. On the bass that it feels heavy, the bass is even and works with the regular 92 E. The one where it feels ok is a bass that needs a Stark E 92. I mentioned to the Dist. that Tomastik needs to make this E/C a bit smaller in tension/diameter and call the current one Stark as it feels it and make a regular tension one for the basses that don't need the extra umph from a string. Too many people switch Es because of this. The E is the hardest string to get moving. Remember, many of these oldies we play never had the E/4th string in mind when they were made. Some do fine and some need a bit less tension. My Hart bass is fine with a balanced set while some others I have need help down below. Finding what works is always a hunt for me. The Eurosonice are a nice string to start with I think. They are right down the middle, as planned!

[John Cubbage]

Thank you for having this thread on double bass strings.

Recently I saw a video of a bass player who had strings on his bass that had green silk end wrapping with a purple thread spiraling over the green. Can you tell me what brand / model of string this was?

Thanks.

- Dr. C.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by John Cubbage

Thank you for having this thread on double bass strings.

Recently I saw a video of a bass player who had strings on his bass that had green silk end wrapping with a purple thread spiraling over the green. Can you tell me what brand / model of string this was?

Thanks.

- Dr. C.

Not sure. A pic might help.

[John Cubbage]

Originally Posted by John Cubbage

Thank you for having this thread on double bass strings.

Recently I saw a video of a bass player who had strings on his bass that had green silk end wrapping with a purple thread spiraling over the green. Can you tell me what brand / model of string this was?

Thanks.

- Dr. C.

Please use the address below and watch the video segment. The player shows a close-up of the strings, green silk wrapped with purple spiral, on the video.

https://youtu.be/MX4-oSVv31M?t=206

Thank you for your input.

- Dr. C.