Mike's Oud Forums

Savarez Plastic Wound Trebbles

ameer - 2-11-2010 at 10:16 AM

Anyone ever try these on an oud? I just put a pair of the B strings for classical guitar (that I got from juststrings.com) on my Sukar in the second course and wow, I can nail the sound of the second Awel Hamsa taqasim on this site 90-95 percent. Now I'm tempted to get some for the first and third courses.

ameer - 2-11-2010 at 12:19 PM

Here's a sort of stream of consciousness taqasim that I did to give you an idea what they sound like. The Savarez are in the second course.
http://rapidshare.com/files/349301623/Untitled2.mp3

fernandraynaud - 2-11-2010 at 07:04 PM

I can't tell much from this recording. I don't know what's played on the second course, and there are artifacts. Perhaps you could play a few notes explicitly on these strings compared to others? I am very curious about any strings that might rise above the rather dull sound of plain nylon. How would you DESCRIBE the sound?

Do you know the gauge of this plastic wound string? Is it the 0.035" model SAV_528R ?

What does it look/feel like? How long is it? The French site says 65 cm playable. Is that about right? Does it have a ball end or?

Most importantly, since we have no idea how wound plastic relates to plain nylon, and so we can extrapolate, what is your impression of the tension on this string compared to what you had on before?

It replaces what gauge string on your oud?

was your original plain or wound?

and what is your oud's scale length?


Thank you.

ameer - 2-12-2010 at 10:17 AM

Here's a recording emphasizing the second course. When I get back to school next week I'll probably be able to make a better quality recording with something other than an embedded laptop mic. As for your other questions, yes it's the .035. I would describe the sound as slightly metallic but not as "beafy" as a wound D or even a metal wound 0.2 string used on the second course which I tried last year and didn't like. To me it would be a very logical progression from a wound D; a wound D and a nylon G just don't mesh very well in my opinion, but a metal wound D and a plastic wound G would probably work better. The plastic G has more "dimension" to it than a nylon G; I had a 0.28 nylon on the second course before I put this one on and it didn't project as well. As for the tension, I would say it achieves a "normal" tension when tuned to F# on my Sukar 213 which is around 62 CM if memory serves. Pushing it to G produces a noticeably high tension and the string loses much of its twang; a shorter scale would probably give you twang at standard tuning. The string has no ball end but is definitely long enough to put on an oud with length to spare. It feels rougher than a wound A but not uncomfortably so. Be careful while putting it on though: In my experience there are always quite a few threads sticking out from either end of the string, and under some circumstances they can cause the string to get caught and come apart while putting it on. When I had this happen and tried to cut a solid end for the string like you do with a metal wound, the threads cut but the winding stayed in tact, rendering the string useless. I just replaced it with another one I had so I don't know how you can get it to cut. Hope this helps.

Attachment: Untitled3.mp3 (599kB)
This file has been downloaded 130 times

spyblaster - 2-19-2010 at 02:17 AM

hey be careful dude, thick strings may bend and even break the neck!!!

David.B - 2-19-2010 at 09:37 AM

I'm not found of Savarez, I tried Silver plated wound basses on nylon multifilament and the multifilament just broke up after a few weeks... I hope you'll be luckier with the Plastic Wound Trebbles :shrug:

rojaros - 2-19-2010 at 04:07 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ameer  
Anyone ever try these on an oud? I just put a pair of the B strings for classical guitar (that I got from juststrings.com) on my Sukar in the second course and wow, I can nail the sound of the second Awel Hamsa taqasim on this site 90-95 percent. Now I'm tempted to get some for the first and third courses.


I did try them on a lute. Nice sound, but much more playing noises (especially with risha it could be even more) and a little rigid sound. An oud is not a guitar after all.

Sometimes I have the impression that the guitar sound is a new model or ideal for oud sound - I actually like it when the sound is a bit softer and flexible. The oud comes from being stringed with gut or silk, as far as I understand ... Of course things can and may change, so if it pleases you, go for it. The nylon wound savarez strings are not so expensive after all.

But, especially the guitar g-string is quite thick, so you might need to drill the wholes wider

best wishes
Robert

fernandraynaud - 2-19-2010 at 10:51 PM

I rather like what I'm hearing. Of course, the jump from e.g. a wound 0.024" D string to a plain 0.032" plain G strikes me as bizarre, and I too have been wondering what could be used on the G.

I suppose if this wound plastic 0.035" is light enough, it could work here, but as you note it's a bit thick and pulled up to G it gets overstretched. I rather expected that, going back to the tension formulas. The weight per unit length after all is determining, and these probably are a tad heavier than plain nylon. I have a 0.032" plain nylon on my Sukar and a 0.028" plain nylon on my Egyptian, same scale 61.6 cm on both. Maybe we should try a thinner Savarez E String:

SAV_511R Plastic Wound Treble E High Tension .028, 511R $3.35

Anything else you tried?