A reader recently wrote in inquiring about my feelings on Thomastik Bel Canto strings and how they compare to Pirastro Permanents (my string of choice for many years). Here’s my response:
Hi __________,
Thanks for the message, and thanks for checking out the blog! I have played on Bel Cantos and like them in some ways, though I personally prefer the response of Permanents. For me, Permanents have a snappier response and a well-balanced treble/bass body. They have nice punch for more articulate playing but sounds nice on more melodic playing.
My experience with Bel Cantos has been that they have a really magnificent and lyrical sound, but that they have a kind of strange rubbery feeling that makes them more temperamental for faster playing. It is possible to play fast and heavy excerpts and the like on them, but there is much less “tolerance” in the string for me than there is for Permanents. I hope this helps!
Jason
I’ve had a lot of students struggle with this choice in string as well. For certain things, Bel Cantos seem superior to just about any other string out there, but there’s always a trade-off, and I have a hard time tolerating the “strange” qualities of Bel Cantos. My bass seems to work great with Permanents, so I have a hard time justifying moving over to the Bel Cantos.
Thoughts?
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This is exactly the question I have been thinking about. Permanent works great on my bass too but I think I have to try the Belcanto soon to see if they will fit.
Thanks for your opinion. I put Bel Cantos on about a year ago and have loved the dark lyrical sound it provided (it balanced out the natural brightness of my bass). But since the change, I have switched my focus towards orchestral excerpts and low and fast excerpts such as the Beethoven 5 trio prove to be excessively difficult in the field of response. I think I’ll give Permanents a try after my recital.