Pirastro Passione Violin Strings, SET
By Pirastro
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Description
Set of four strings in medium tension, ball or loop end E. The modern gut cored string. Old sound, modern stability.
These incredible strings are the latest strings from Pirastro designed to combine the best qualities of synthetic cored strings with the traditional gut sound. True gut sound with plenty of volume plus excellent tonal stability. Recommended rosin: Oliv/Evah Pirazzi.
The gut core of Passione strings is manufactured, wound and polished in the traditional way, by hand. The core sound is full, round and warm, with a complex overtone spectrum combining brilliance and clarity and a great power of projection.
Passione strings possess a fascinating diversity of sounds, which allows musicians to alter their tone as desired. Big and powerful sound with very easy response on all levels of the dynamic range Passione strings have a significantly reduced playing in time compared to other traditional gut strings.
Pirastro gut string tensions are measured in units of PM (Pirastro Measurement) and refer to the diameter of the string. 1PM = 0.05mm, so gauge 14PM = 0.7mm diameter. The tension of the string varies by 3% for each gauge.
Using a loop end E? The use of a protector to prevent the tuner hook breaking the string is essential with loop end E strings. We cannot accept claims for strings broken by the adjuster hook. Click here to purchase this item.
Gut cored Pirastro string. Please note that these strings are very delicate and have a shorter and unpredictable life span compared to other strings. We do not recommend their use by beginners or that they be fitted to instruments not set up by trained and experienced craftsmen.
Specifications
- E- silvery steel, gauge 0.26mm ball or loop end
- A-aluminium on gut, 13.5pm
- D-silver on gut,13.5pm
- G-silver on gut, 16.5pm
- 1 PM =0.05mm, e.g. 14PM=0.7mm diameter
- Made in Germany
Customer reviews:
16
6
4
1
1
Professional
Great sounding, full of character, expensive!
12
out of
12
found the following review helpful
Pros: I've had these Pirastro Passione strings on for a couple of weeks - obviously took a time to settle in and required regular tuning at the first couple of gigs. Now more stable, but not yet as stable as the Eva Pirazzi Gold set they replaced. I play professionally, performing about 100 gigs a year at the moment. I play lyrical slow airs through to very fast Irish & Scottish trad pieces. The response time is very fast, the strings seem to articulate every single thing being played and this took some getting used to - but is wonderful! The tone is beautiful. I was anticipating a richer mellow sound, it is that, but it also has an edge and allows one to be very expressive. The strings do feel very nice under the fingers and I enjoy playing on them. I find the balance of tone and feel across the strings very good and I actually like the E string supplied. I use wittner fine tuning pegs (no fine tuners at tailpiece). Much nicer than the Eva Pirazzi Gold set they replaced. I will be buying these again (providing they have a sensible lifespan).
Cons: Expensive! I worry about a string breakage, I have a set of cheaper strings which are very stable waiting in the case, I wouldn't want to replace one of these at a gig as the settling in period would make the violin unplayable for the evening! I'll have to pick a gap in my schedule when the time for changing strings comes, at this price I'm hoping it'll be a while. The main problem in the first instance was a different response to bow speed and pressure. "Digging in" to the A string has to be at a faster bow speed than I've used previously as heavier pressure and a slow bow speed produces a dramatic flattening of the note - quite a surprise the first few times that happened!
Keen Amateur
worth a try
9
out of
10
found the following review helpful
Pros: Settled very quickly for gut strings, lovely tone quality, can't describe it, you'd just have to hear it for yourself.
Cons: Pricey
Other: Don't know how long they will last I've only had them on for 3 weeks now. I have been playing anything up to 6 hours a day so my strings do take a hammering. My last ones were Evah Pirrazzi and in comparison the sound of the passione are much warmer and complex, not so brilliant. suits my orchestral playing.
Keen Amateur
Strong sensuous to play but light under the bow
9
out of
11
found the following review helpful
Pros: I play fiddle music and decided to try some gut strings despite being told that gut strings would be unstable when exposed to moist conditions and less responsive than the Obligato strings I normally use. I chose Pirastro Passione and after they settled in they are drop dead gorgeous. They are a dream to play for both a slow waltz or a fast rhythmic breakdown. I can get a dry edgy sound that is complex and strong plus the strings are certainly very responsive. I live on the edge of Exmoor and play in pubs so the air can be quite humid and changeable but I have no trouble with strings going out of tune . With Passione strings I can still use fine tuners and by clipping a guitar tuner onto my chin rest I can quickly tune up, usually once during an evening session, and often my violin is still in tune when I first take it out of the case. I am converted I love them.
Cons: They do take a bit longer to break in than the manufacturer says.
Other: For the first two days they were unplayable then for the next week or so they needed tuning quite a lot but on the third week they were stable and sounded sublime.
Keen Amateur
A good quality warm toned string
8
out of
9
found the following review helpful
Pros: Mellow tone- great for Brahms
Cons: Fine for my primary instrumetn which has a bright tonality. Not good on my back-up instrument which has a mellow/ muffled tone anyway
Other: You get what you pay for- fine quality string and a year on no string breaks (touch wood)
Professional
Sounds expensive
7
out of
8
found the following review helpful
Pros: These strings have a big, rich sound - I have been using eudoxa and notice a big difference. They seem to suit my old fiddle well.
Cons: They take a long time to settle in. The D string in particular still sounded a bit harsh after a fortnight, although I do think that the result is worth the playing-in.
Other: They seem a bit expensive to try for the first time, but the quality of sound has won me over.
Teacher
Passione violin A-strings currently unravel fast.
4
out of
5
found the following review helpful
Pros: Beautiful sound, responsive and with great flexibility of tone-colour.
Cons: As with the last few Passione A strings I have put on, the binding on this one began to unravel very soon, with gaps in first position appearing within a week this time, and now a week later getting much worse! It feels horrible of course - I'll have to change it today.
Other: Why on earth does this happen?
Professional
Warm and lively sounding strings!
3
out of
4
found the following review helpful
Pros: Yes they are as good as I hoped! Gives so much more colour and warmth to the sound than Evah Pirazzis.
Cons: There's nothing to not like about these strings. Yes they take a few hours to settle but that's to be expected.
Other: Go on try them!
Keen Amateur
nice string
3
out of
4
found the following review helpful
Pros: This is a nice string,quite a full sound with overtones and good depth,bow contact is resonably good.However they still have a "synthetic" feel to them with less power than the Olives which I think are unbeatable!
Cons: not as powerful as I had thought
Other: Probably good string for those who have never played with gut but would like to try.
Keen Amateur
Complimentary set of strings for instrument.
1
out of
1
found the following review helpful
Pros: Very good set of strings nice sound and very stable for gut strings. Improved tone quality of instrument dramatically from previous metal cored strings.
Cons: None as of yet.
Professional
No Complaints About The Tone
2
out of
3
found the following review helpful
Pros: Nice sound, rich and warm. Nice feel under the fingers, as a player of Irish traditional music I need strings to be quick and reponsive. They're quite loud too. Nice for the odd slow air as well as dance music.
Cons: They seem to have taken an age to settle in, 2 days after they putting them one were losing half a tone during every set, though it was a very warm hall. Lesson learnt, though I wouldn't normally change strings 2 days before a gig. As regards tone quailty I have nothing to say against them.
Other: Still not sure if I will stick with Passione - I'm still in two minds whether or not to go back to Evah Pirrazzi which are very good all round strings and have a slightly sharper tone quality.
