Pirastro Chordas Carlos H sound clip

gcordez · #1 02-03-2010, 11:26 AM

I ended up playing on a jam session the other day with my new-ish Chordas on. I really love these strings, tuning is a pain in the ass etc, but im hoping to get a better sound over time with it and its worth it.
I love Mingus, LaFaro, Haden and all those gut guys and these strings are so much fun to play

Someone had a cheap and cheerful tascam recorder and sent this to me. Its rough etc, but should give an idea of how they sound.

Its the first track of the myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/gregorycordez

Anyone else use these strings? How you gettin on with them?

Phil Rowan · #2 02-03-2010, 12:55 PM

Sounds good Greg! They should stabilize tuning-wise after a few weeks if you just put them on. I've only used the regular tension Chordas (except for the D.. sounded dead on arrival and had to switch it out). I'd be curious to try out the C. Henriquez version, especially the E and A.

gcordez · #3 02-03-2010, 01:40 PM

Hi Phil,

Id be really curious to know what the difference is between standard and Carlos (great player!) Chordas.

I love the G, the D is a little flabby at the moment, hopefully itll loosen up and sound better over time. E and A are great straight away.

Phil Rowan · #4 02-03-2010, 02:16 PM

Well, I can't really compare the two since I've only played the Chorda G and the E and A. The E is super thick and very punchy, but IME it put out a HUGE sound. The A was very punchy with a blend of.. I don't know how to put it really, a growl-esque edge? Reminded me a lot of the way PC's sound cut through. The G was relatively thick and somewhat stiff for a gut string (in a good way, for me at least). I've played some gut strings (Lenzner's come to mind right away) that were just way too low tension, and I didn't dig that at all. I think gut D's in general can be a little "flabby", some more than others.

By flabby do you mean too low tension? I'm a little confused that you mention they're flabby but that you hope they loosen up. If they are too loose you could try re-stringing the G and D with the knot facing out on the tailpiece for a feeling of slightly more tension. Also, the longer they stay on, the more they stretch and stabilize, their tone should become a little more centered and defined.

gcordez · #5 02-04-2010, 03:17 PM

By 'flabby' i guess i mean that its not as tight and precise as the other strings. It dosent respond as quickly or have as sweet a sound as the other unwound gut G. I think (from what ive heard) that a lot of unwound gut D strings are a bit like this. Its fine to play, but its the least favoured of the set for me...

Phil Rowan · #6 02-05-2010, 12:07 AM

Yeah, gut D's can be tricky. Try restringing it with the knot facing out on the tailpiece... worth a shot, right?

Nathan Levine · #7 02-18-2012, 02:11 AM

Sorry to revive this, but what would stringing the d string backwards through the tailpiece do exactly for a flabby or less responsive D string?

Phil Rowan · #8 02-18-2012, 07:16 AM

The thinking is that by doing this the string's angle over the bridge is lessened and this might add (or at least give the feel of having) slightly more tension/focus (YMMV). Some D strings might be so flabby that this kinda thing just wouldn't work but it's at least worth trying. There's been a bit written about this restringing method here on TB.

threetone · #9 02-18-2012, 07:52 AM

I restrung my Chorda Carlos Henriquez D string with a loop knot at the tailpiece and it seems to result in somewhat more tension, not a very spectacular difference though, but still worth the effort.

Nathan Levine · #10 02-18-2012, 07:59 AM

Thanks for info Phil and Rob. I've done a pretty good job of reading through the threads relating to gut strings, but this little tidbit didn't stick out in my mind as something I had read before.

Phil Rowan · #11 02-18-2012, 10:21 PM

It may have been discussed in a non-gut string thread though.. not sure, but I'm pretty sure I've read stuff about it before on here (maybe a thread about Velvets, or some other low tension string.. or maybe some players wanted to add more umph to their E string).

gcordez · #12 02-23-2012, 11:07 AM

Wasn't this a Dennis Irwin trick? I heard that he used to do that with his D string as well.

threetone · #13 02-23-2012, 04:12 PM

Here is a YouTube clip about Dennis Irwin's bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIVJ7...e_gdata_player

At around 19 mins they show how Mr. Irwin attached his strings to the tailpiece.