I just changed strings on my fiddle. I use D'Addario Helicore 310 medium gauge with with a Kaplan non-whistling E.
The last set I had on sounded fansastic. This set seems to be absolutely HORRIBLE!!
1.) The strings sound fuzzy and they're only a day old.
2.) They are so slow to respond. It feels like I'm having to work twice as hard than I did on my old, strings to make them sound good. The old strings sound better than these new ones!
3.) Holy Cow! On my D and A, when I go to play it feels almost like the string disappears out from underneath my bow and fingers...and it sounds like it, too. They make a sound like a dying moose sometimes - like I've got the string depressed only half way and I'm sliding at the same time. They actually change pitch, too...about a quarter tone.
4.) They're soooooo slow to respond!
I have NEVER had this problem with any strings before, and I wasn't having this problem with the old strings. I put new ones on because my old ones are kinda dead and I had a gig coming up.
It didn't start right away. At first, they seemed OK. But the more I played, the worse they started to sound. The A went first, making the moosey pitch-griding slidey sound. I took the string off to see if it was broken somewhere, but it wasn't. Eventually it made me so made I put the old A string back on and it quit. Then my D started doing it.
Has anyone else had this problem? Did D'Addario change the way they make these strings, or the materials they're made of?
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Who did you buy them from? Can you take them back? Sounds fishy. I'd let them know if they don't exchange your strings you'll be making your purchases elsewhere. There are some great online vendors, and shipping is near zero if you buy a few sets at at time, cause strings are light and fit in envelopes. Never had a problem with new Helicores, but Ive heard similar reviews as yours on strings that are a month old or less... they just don't hold up for some players. I do ok with them, and buy them when I feel too poor for my favorites (Vision)
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Sounds like a bad batch of strings. Odd for Helicores--they tend to be pretty consistent. Take 'em back. Music stores sometimes get stuck with old stock laying around and they sell it anyway. Ask for fresh strings.
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
This may be one of those "be sure your power cord is plugged in" sort of answers, but check your bridge for alignment. The last time I changed strings, they sounded worse and worse. My bridge had crept out of position, and made the whole fiddle sound awful.
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Id do as already suggested, check bridge. I assume you changed them one at a time so your soundpost didnt shift. You may also want to ID them by color code to make sure you got Helicores and not those $15 D,Addario preludes. Funnty things can happen at a factory.
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Interesting batlady, after reading your post I remember attempting to make notes on a pawn shop violin, in which the sound post had fallen, and the experience was very similar to what the OP wrote. I hope she posts her final solution.. what suspense..
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Do keep us posted on the outcome of your problem, LDG - favourable or otherwise!
I've just bought a set of those myself, which I'll probably fit sometime in the next two weeks. As soon as I've done so, I'll update this thread with my findings.
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
I had this problem when I switched from Dominants to Evah Pirazzis. It is about the rosin, not the strings. I would recommend that you clean the strings very lightly with dilute alcohol, and switch to a lighter rosin. This did the trick for me, and I love the Evah Priazzi's!
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
One overlooked point, you may have done, but most don't know about, Did you lube the bridge and nut with a #2 lead pencil before installing the strings>
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Fiddleshed - no, I didn't think to do that. I'll try it and see what happens.
The music store I bought them from is the store where I work and we'd just gotten them in. They were sealed and they have the blue thread with the yellow spiral, so I know they're the right ones and not returns, either. I'll check my bridge and sound post and see what goes on. I thought I'd checked at least the bridge when I put them on. As far as them going south so quickly...they were leaving from about the moment I put them on. =( I'll see if the rosin theory helps, though.
I've tried Dominants...had them for a week before I ripped them off and gave them away. Too "springy" for a fiddle player like me. I like the steel.
I know the Helicore are steel, but perhaps should they be stretched a little when I put them on...like guitar strings? I know if I stretch my guitar strings a little while I put them on they aren't so unstable. I wonder if that would help with this.
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
LDG a bridge and Soundpost don't need to venture far from their prime location before adverse effects are noticable.
I don't recall Helicores taking much more break in time than the various synthetics Ive used (Evahs, Visions, Zyex, Dominant) usually they are done moving in less than 48 hours, tune them right up.... then probably one or two more major retunes, then they should stay fairly true(till they crap out), if they don't then you might benefit from a trip to the nearest preferred luthier in for an adjustment of pegs/pegbox/bridge/ and even soundpost if necessary.... the pencil lead Ive always thought helpful for lube to prevent wear on strings, and pulling on the bridge, but never thought it had effect on tone.(bonus!)
PS I love to visit my local luthier, I find it to be fun, and educational, he stands behind any work he does, or equipment he sells... without ever a giving me sensation of a "dealer".... Cannot stress enough the value of that relationship to me as a fiddler. He works for peanuts too, knowing that I'll be loyal when I need to make larger purchases. What an endorsement!
Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Hello!
I just changed strings on my fiddle. I use D'Addario Helicore 310 medium gauge with with a Kaplan non-whistling E.
The last set I had on sounded fansastic. This set seems to be absolutely HORRIBLE!!
1.) The strings sound fuzzy and they're only a day old.
2.) They are so slow to respond. It feels like I'm having to work twice as hard than I did on my old, strings to make them sound good. The old strings sound better than these new ones!
3.) Holy Cow! On my D and A, when I go to play it feels almost like the string disappears out from underneath my bow and fingers...and it sounds like it, too. They make a sound like a dying moose sometimes - like I've got the string depressed only half way and I'm sliding at the same time. They actually change pitch, too...about a quarter tone.
4.) They're soooooo slow to respond!
I have NEVER had this problem with any strings before, and I wasn't having this problem with the old strings. I put new ones on because my old ones are kinda dead and I had a gig coming up.
It didn't start right away. At first, they seemed OK. But the more I played, the worse they started to sound. The A went first, making the moosey pitch-griding slidey sound. I took the string off to see if it was broken somewhere, but it wasn't. Eventually it made me so made I put the old A string back on and it quit. Then my D started doing it.
Has anyone else had this problem? Did D'Addario change the way they make these strings, or the materials they're made of?
~Jessica
# Posted on November 15th 2009 by LivingDedGrrl
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Who did you buy them from? Can you take them back? Sounds fishy. I'd let them know if they don't exchange your strings you'll be making your purchases elsewhere. There are some great online vendors, and shipping is near zero if you buy a few sets at at time, cause strings are light and fit in envelopes. Never had a problem with new Helicores, but Ive heard similar reviews as yours on strings that are a month old or less... they just don't hold up for some players. I do ok with them, and buy them when I feel too poor for my favorites (Vision)
# Posted on November 15th 2009 by SandyBottoms
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
The more I thought about it I wonder were they sealed did someone else return them cause they just caved in so fast?
Visions have that in common with Helicores when they go south, they become just nauseating, seems that is how it is.
# Posted on November 15th 2009 by SandyBottoms
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Sounds like a bad batch of strings. Odd for Helicores--they tend to be pretty consistent. Take 'em back. Music stores sometimes get stuck with old stock laying around and they sell it anyway. Ask for fresh strings.
# Posted on November 15th 2009 by Will Harmon
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
This may be one of those "be sure your power cord is plugged in" sort of answers, but check your bridge for alignment. The last time I changed strings, they sounded worse and worse. My bridge had crept out of position, and made the whole fiddle sound awful.
# Posted on November 15th 2009 by Michele Sims
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Good point, Batlady. All that tuning, especially with the pegs, can pull the bridge out of plumb.
# Posted on November 15th 2009 by Will Harmon
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Id do as already suggested, check bridge. I assume you changed them one at a time so your soundpost didnt shift. You may also want to ID them by color code to make sure you got Helicores and not those $15 D,Addario preludes. Funnty things can happen at a factory.
Good luck and I would love to know the outcome.
# Posted on November 15th 2009 by Barry1963
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Interesting batlady, after reading your post I remember attempting to make notes on a pawn shop violin, in which the sound post had fallen, and the experience was very similar to what the OP wrote. I hope she posts her final solution.. what suspense..
# Posted on November 15th 2009 by SandyBottoms
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Do keep us posted on the outcome of your problem, LDG - favourable or otherwise!
I've just bought a set of those myself, which I'll probably fit sometime in the next two weeks. As soon as I've done so, I'll update this thread with my findings.
# Posted on November 16th 2009 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
I had this problem when I switched from Dominants to Evah Pirazzis. It is about the rosin, not the strings. I would recommend that you clean the strings very lightly with dilute alcohol, and switch to a lighter rosin. This did the trick for me, and I love the Evah Priazzi's!
# Posted on November 16th 2009 by 99 Sheep
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Good ol' dominants have never failed me. Any time I switch to anything else, the strings sound queer.
# Posted on November 16th 2009 by Fiddlechick7
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
One overlooked point, you may have done, but most don't know about, Did you lube the bridge and nut with a #2 lead pencil before installing the strings>
# Posted on November 17th 2009 by Fiddleshed
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
Fiddleshed - no, I didn't think to do that. I'll try it and see what happens.
The music store I bought them from is the store where I work and we'd just gotten them in. They were sealed and they have the blue thread with the yellow spiral, so I know they're the right ones and not returns, either. I'll check my bridge and sound post and see what goes on. I thought I'd checked at least the bridge when I put them on. As far as them going south so quickly...they were leaving from about the moment I put them on. =( I'll see if the rosin theory helps, though.
I've tried Dominants...had them for a week before I ripped them off and gave them away. Too "springy" for a fiddle player like me. I like the steel.
I know the Helicore are steel, but perhaps should they be stretched a little when I put them on...like guitar strings? I know if I stretch my guitar strings a little while I put them on they aren't so unstable. I wonder if that would help with this.
# Posted on November 17th 2009 by LivingDedGrrl
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
LDG a bridge and Soundpost don't need to venture far from their prime location before adverse effects are noticable.
I don't recall Helicores taking much more break in time than the various synthetics Ive used (Evahs, Visions, Zyex, Dominant) usually they are done moving in less than 48 hours, tune them right up.... then probably one or two more major retunes, then they should stay fairly true(till they crap out), if they don't then you might benefit from a trip to the nearest preferred luthier in for an adjustment of pegs/pegbox/bridge/ and even soundpost if necessary.... the pencil lead Ive always thought helpful for lube to prevent wear on strings, and pulling on the bridge, but never thought it had effect on tone.(bonus!)
PS I love to visit my local luthier, I find it to be fun, and educational, he stands behind any work he does, or equipment he sells... without ever a giving me sensation of a "dealer".... Cannot stress enough the value of that relationship to me as a fiddler. He works for peanuts too, knowing that I'll be loyal when I need to make larger purchases. What an endorsement!
# Posted on November 17th 2009 by SandyBottoms
Re: Ghastly Problem w/ Brand New Helicore Strings!?
I am curious as to if my advice about cleaning your strings and using a lighter rosin was helpful.
# Posted on November 28th 2009 by 99 Sheep