Wires strings–preferences?

[karen]

I am having a harp strung and plan to request Pirastro Nylon, Vanderbilt gut and am unsure about the wires strings (only 5 of them on my harp).

I’d love to hear what people like for wire strings and why.

Thanks!

[carl-swanson]

All of the wire strings made for Lyon & Healy, Salvi, Vanderbilt, Venus, etc. come off the same machine in the same factory. So it doesn’t matter who you get them from. Only Pirastro wires are different.

[karen]

Carl~

That is a huge help and great clarification. Thanks so much. Are Pirastro wires worth it?

[karen]

Also, what are your thoughts regarding tarnish resistant vs. non?

[carl-swanson]

I could swear that silver strings sound better than tarnish resistant. But Eleanor Fell told me that they have done blind tests several times at Vanderbilt, with harp students trying to distinguish between tarnish resistant and silver strings, and no one has ever been able to hear the difference. In addition, even if you think that silver sound better, the C’s and F’s are not silver anyway. The thing to remember is that any harp sounds one way to the player and another way to anyone out in front of it.

[edith-zonneveld]

I have a Lyon & Healy Chicago Petit since 2 month. I love the harp because of the sound, the look, the feel and the size. There is only one thing I don’t like so much: the difference between the (great) sound of the gut strings and the sound of the wire strings. I know it is not possible to change the wire strings by gut strings. Could anybody please tell me if there is a possibility to change the wire strings by strings with a

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I don’t trust in blind tests. I hear a very clear difference. It may be less when the strings are new, but I greatly prefer the silver strings. The copper strings are still better than nickel alloy or whatever you want to call the tarnish-resistant. The only thing you can do about the difference between wire and gut strings is adjust your playing, or use nylon instead of gut.

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