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Hello and welcome to the Adam Sullivan Music Theory Blog review of the "Larsen Crown cello strings". If you like this review, then please subscribe to the blog for more musical reviews, and much more.
Now as a few of you have requested I have a review for the Larsen Crown strings. Shout out to Frank up at Davidson Violins (homepage and facebook) for helping me get the strings. Now for those who are interested in the overall view on them I think they're decent strings. They aren't the best I've ever played but if you need strings for cheap or want your student some good strings for cheap, then these are a very good option. Also, I need to point out that I was using Evah Pirazzi Soloist A & D, and Spirocore Silver G & C on my Spainhour cello.
First off, let's go over the packaging. The mediums I tested came out in a plastic box with the strings in a white envelope and the logo Crown on it. I opened the box to see the four strings were uniquely sealed in their own envelope. Each strings I had in the set was well sealed. The strings felt a little heavier than what I was use to, but I eventually got use to them. The strings are made from peek, which is a high quality synthetic core. I've never had the opportunity to try them before these. After first putting them on, I noticed they the A and D were a lot louder than the Evah Pirazzi, but the sound wasn't as clean. They didn't sound as direct a sound, but the overall volume of the cello was louder. The G and C were the same volume wise as the Spirocore but they weren't as clear, and I couldn't get any projection out of them. I felt like the quality of sound had gone down, however seeing this was my first play with them I assumed it was from them being unboxed and new. I let them sit for a few days on my cello, and they never slipped on me. I loved that they never slipped while breaking in on me. However, the clarity of the sound diminished overall. I feel that the strings have gotten quieter since they settled in and the tone has gotten a bit better than before. I will have recordings of what I'm referring to in the near future.
Overall, these strings aren't that bad. I've never used synthetic core before, but after using these I am willing to give any others a try. I feel like the overall sound from my cello has diminished, so I'm removing the strings from my cello after I record the audio for showing how they sound after getting broken in. However, these strings aren't the worst you can pay for the money. The average price online that I've seen is around $100 for a set, so if you are curious to test out synthetic core or feel your student should try some new strings for cheap then these would work. I give them a 3/5. I will update this article with the audio files and the unboxing soon!
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It should become obvious to anyone playing synthetic core strings that the sound projection will be less than steel strings. If you play string quartets for example, that may be a requirement to have a better balance for the softer sounding viola and violins.
ReplyDeleteA long time "synthetic strings" cello player.