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Hi - has anyone tried D'Addario Ascente strings ? Seems to be very little about them on line and I was wondering how they compare to their Pro Arte strings.
Regulars
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@martind welcome to the FM forum. I've never used d'Addario strings, but I'm sure someone here is familiar with them. I've found that FiddlerMan strings are similar to Dominants and have used them on all of my violins. Good luck and keep posting your progress while you and your child learn together (read your profile that your starting Suzuki).
Bob in Lone Oak, Texas
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Thanks for the review, Bob.
@martind - I haven't but I've been intending on doing so. Will let you know if and when I do test them.
Testing strings are so difficult since you need to have fresh sets of the one you are comparing to as well. In other words, it's not fair to remove old strings and test new fresh strings. Better to test new fresh strings back to back. Which means putting on and taking off the strings a lot. Also, testing strings for up to a week will give a better idea of what they sound like after breaking them in.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Honorary advisor
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Fiddlerman said
Testing strings are so difficult since you need to have fresh sets of the one you are comparing to as well. In other words, it's not fair to remove old strings and test new fresh strings. Better to test new fresh strings back to back. Which means putting on and taking off the strings a lot. Also, testing strings for up to a week will give a better idea of what they sound like after breaking them in.
Oh yes, I can see the problem @Fiddlerman
I imagine that a good test would involve having 2 violins of similar quality to test the strings. Plus, you might want to keep the strings on the hypothetical violins for enough time to settle and maintain their tune so you can compare their tone and sound after they've been on the violin for a bit, since new strings can change their sound over time.
Apart from this, I suppose the other way to determine string quality and/or how to chose the strings that produce the sound you want is to try them at a violin shop or with a luthier if you have access to one.
I am actually not looking forward to when I have to search for and change strings. However, I do want to be proactive and not wait until something catastrophic happens like a string breaking or something. So I appreciate all the advise that everyone offers here!
- Pete -
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And two violins of similar quality won't cut it either. Even though I have found violins that sound almost the same, they usually don't feel the same or play the same, but yes, that could be one option. I still prefer switching strings on the same instrument though it's a pain and I need to memorize the sound and playability.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Regulars
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Wow!! I agree! It would be a pain!
Yeah, I am not looking forward to changing. The strings I am using are my first strings and I am used to them. So changing them will be a pain as far as getting used to. My first change I will have a professional do. I don't feel confident enough yet to try that myself. But the selection of strings I will rely heavily on the advise of my music teacher and the luthier to help with.
Not to mention the $100 or so that I will need to have.
It's all part of the life of a violinist, right!
- Pete -
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That said. I am very curious about those strings.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regulars
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my Luthier got a set of Ascente sent to him, didn't get around to trying them, so his wife gave them to me to try out.
like Helicore, the diameter of the D string is smaller than the A string...one of the several reasons I don't like Helicore. BUT, the Ascente are warm to medium warm with a very nice tone.
However, I didn't like the A string that much on my fiddle. I didn't think it balanced that well with the the D & G. a bit too aggressive, louder, brighter, more metallic. So I put my Evah Gold A back on. it blended great and smoothed everything out.
So I'll only be using the Ascente G, D, and prolly E, with the Evah Gold A. Very happy with what the Ascente G & D did to my fiddle over all, and plan to keep them on. previously I had Evah Gold D and Violino G. I have an Evah Gold (silver) G but it was a bit too much bottom end so I used the Violino G.
anyhoo (somewhat surprised) the Ascente G & D took out some grainy-ness over all, focused every thing up, and somewhat improved my over all tone. I really wasn't expecting this from a lower cost D'Addario string. Having said that, if I HAD to use the Ascente A string, I'd just go back to what I had.
You can see in this vid that the A string looks (and imo sounds) different than the others. Maybe wouldn't make that much difference on other fiddles or to different players.
I'll be waiting to hear what @Fiddlerman thinks of them.
"Striving to attain Mediocrity"
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Thanks for the feedback. Think I'll hold off trying them for a while yet !
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Thanks for the review Blues,
I'll try to get to it this week.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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@martind I've been using them for about 6 months now and I really like them. I'm still using all 4 Ascente strings and I can concur with what @bluesviolin said about the G & D strings and the A string. The Ascente E is warm and sweet all the way up the string. The Ascente strings took out the buzzing of the Prelude G & D strings that was really annoying. I think I'll try @bluesviolin recommendation for the A string replacement next time it breaks.
Regulars
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Hi Pchoppin (and others). When I saw your quoted cost of $100 for a set of these strings, I though that the Ascente was some sort of super premium product. In fact, the cost that I have found is very modest. Does your luthier really charge $75 + to install a set of strings?
Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. —Earl Nightingale.
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Imagine $75 for string installation. We do it for free provided the person buys their strings from us. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regulars
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FiddleRat said
@martind I've been using them for about 6 months now and I really like them. I'm still using all 4 Ascente strings and I can concur with what @bluesviolin said about the G & D strings and the A string. The Ascente E is warm and sweet all the way up the string. The Ascente strings took out the buzzing of the Prelude G & D strings that was really annoying. I think I'll try @bluesviolin recommendation for the A string replacement next time it breaks.
@FiddleRat: Cool! yeah, I really like my Ascente G & D after doing a lot of busking with them for the past coupla weeks. I agree, the E is nice, however it's just a bit too much tension for my fiddle. For years, one of my 'go to' E strings has been a Prelude E. I've tried all the expensive E's, but I like the Prelude E... has good volume, fairly warm, clear, and a bit less tension than the Ascente and other E's.
I wish my fiddle could take the Ascente E, but it seems to adversely affect the other 3 more than I'm comfortable with.
"Striving to attain Mediocrity"
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