Permanents vs. Obligatos

[Aroneng]

Looking for players who have tried Pirastro Permanents and their impressions of the strings.

I asked Pirastro the differences between the Permanents and Obligatos, they replied that the Permanents were more of an orchestra player string, while the Obligatos were a more "universal" string.

[Francois Blais]

Pirastro's technical manager, Adrian Mueller, once told me that the Permanent were designed for a 70% arco / 30% pizz use.
They are bright orchestral strings, with a deep low end, while having good clarity and sustain.
They have more metallic edge than Obligatos though. (too much for my instrument but YMMV)
They are also higher tension than Flexocors and Obligatos, to make a comparison.
The A string is my Permanent's favorite.
They are also available in solo gauge, as the Obligatos.

HTH!

[Aroneng]

Francois,

Thanks again for your insight.

Would you have the string tensions of Permanents, Obligatos, and Original Flexocores? Currently I am using Original Flex. and was looking for a good orchestra string as a replacement, preferably lower tension. I was going to switch to Obligatos, but became interested in the Permanents. The brightness that is come to describe the Permanents tends me to lean towards the Obligatos.

Thanks,

Aron

[Francois Blais]

Originally posted by Aroneng
Would you have the string tensions of Permanents, Obligatos, and Original Flexocores? Currently I am using Original Flex. and was looking for a good orchestra string as a replacement, preferably lower tension. I was going to switch to Obligatos, but became interested in the Permanents. The brightness that is come to describe the Permanents tends me to lean towards the Obligatos.

Unfortunately, tension figures are not published by Pirastro.
Flexocor 92's A & E strings are lower tension than original Flexocors, but the G & D seem higher tension to my hands.
You can also get solo-tuning Original FlatChromesteels (same string as the Original Flexocor, only selected with a higher tolerance range) and tune them at orchestra pitch.
This gives much lower tension.
I'd not recommend that with Original Flexocors if you were playing pizz only, but for arco playing it may be interesting.

Of course, Jargar strings are very good orchestra strings with a very warm tone, and are available in three gauges.

Last but not least, Kolstein Varicors are also excellent orchestral strings with a superior definition and articulation.
(and also available in orchestra and solo tunings)

HTH!