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The ever reccuring string material advice question
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 2:03 am
by Sabsi
So I always told myself when I sold a car, I would buy strings.
Well, I did it, I was ready to contact Optima, get me some of those delicious Bergfee strings, and, uhh, almost all my strings are steel. Is this normal? (Are the bergfee red line strings steel?) I admittedly only NEED two strings, but my red (the physically red marker strings, not the line of them) strings are very much NOT red anymore, and I feel like that might help while learning.
I don't want to buy the entire set of strings right now, but I obviously don't want half steel half nylon. I do not have a thread of performance ambition in my being, but I also want to match.
Reading around, nylon seems to be the preferred choice, but if you've by chance run into steel that you did like, I'd be thrilled to know.
Re: The ever reccuring string material advice question
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 11:08 pm
by Andy
Hallo Sabsi,
Bergfee reds are steel, greens are nylon and blues are nylon with a steel core. It’s not unusual for a zither to have steel strings, but it is harder on the fingers, and puts more tension on the instrument. The steel is also necessary if you wish to use a magnetic pickup (reds or blue line). I used Bergfee reds initially on my Great Grandfathers Zither. They sound lovely, but honestly after trying the Bergfee greens, it’s hard to go back.
Andy
Re: The ever reccuring string material advice question
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2021 2:15 am
by Sabsi
Hmm. Maybe I'll buy the greens for the first accompaniment set and go from there. (They do seem to be popular!) I have a few synthetic strings on it someone replaced and they... are not right. So I've been a bit weary. But maybe I'll do that. Thank you~
Re: The ever reccuring string material advice question
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2021 5:34 pm
by Rudy Mueller
One day, a cello player started playing the same note, over and over, hours long, days long......and it started to get on his wife's nerves. Finally she confronted him, and he replied...
"they are all looking for the spot, and I have found it".
Strings are the vocal chords of your instrument! Unless you are using a magnetic pick-up, nylon strings like the Bergfee greens enhance the natural comfort/beauty/gemütlichkeit of instruments made from natural products. I only use nylon "folk" style strings on my guitar.
Rudi, da oida
btw, "Fee" roughly translates to "good spirit"; in colloquial English, 'fairy godmother". If you're out skiing in rough terrain and hit a tree, the Bergfee is the one to start praying to...and if you've jut hit a rough piece of music, well.....
Re: The ever reccuring string material advice question
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 4:47 am
by attila57
Rudy Mueller wrote: ↑Wed Oct 13, 2021 5:34 pm
One day, a cello player started playing the same note, over and over, hours long, days long......and it started to get on his wife's nerves. Finally she confronted him, and he replied...
"they are all looking for the spot, and I have found it".
Strings are the vocal chords of your instrument! Unless you are using a magnetic pick-up, nylon strings like the Bergfee greens enhance the natural comfort/beauty/gemütlichkeit of instruments made from natural products. I only use nylon "folk" style strings on my guitar.
Rudi, da oida
btw, "Fee" roughly translates to "good spirit"; in colloquial English, 'fairy godmother". If you're out skiing in rough terrain and hit a tree, the Bergfee is the one to start praying to...and if you've jut hit a rough piece of music, well.....
Nice story, Rudi! The advice and the etymology, too! I must get a set of Bergfee's.☺
Attila
Re: The ever reccuring string material advice question
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:45 am
by Sabsi
Thank you all for your kind words and advice~
After a strange sequence of events, I ended up with a full set of the greens.
And the switch from steel to nylon
is
incredibly
stressful
They feel slippery, both in tuning and touch, but they *are* easier to use. My guitar friends are insisting the tuning slippery and the feeling slippery will go away/feel normal, but it's very weird. I was immediately told I sounded "crisp" though, but I am changing them fairly slowly. ...Actually, I think my string anxiety is sourced from a misbehaving cello that isn't holding it's turning well. But thinking about those faeries right now....
They did also include some guitar strings for me, and I am a bit excited to use those, once I calm down from fear I will ruin strings.