Where to buy Silver Pipa Strings?

[wanwan]

Hi all - I am new to this forum
Just found it during my search to buy a set of silver pipa strings online.
I am a music student from Hong Kong but studying in California, USA.

I am trying to look for a website where a starving student like me can purchase silver pipa strings at a reasonable price. I would be grateful if any of you know one. Thanks a lot!!!!!

[davidmdahl]

Welcome to the forum, wanwan, and thanks for already helping to answer questions about the pipa.

Regarding the strings, Eason is a good bet:

www.eason.com.sg/products/pluck_access/mpp15.jsp

A domestic source might be Clarion Music in San Fran. I couldn't fine pipa strings on their website, but you could call to see:

www.clarionmusic.com

Best wishes,

David

[wanwan]

Thanks David,
I have never used Chang Qing Strings, I was hoping to find Dun Huang strings online. The clarion music actually do have pipa strings - but each set is like 30 dollars plus shipping Thanks for the websites anyway.
I should have bought some when I was in HK this summer, but didn't expect my silver string would break so easily.
And I am glad i helped answering questions - I love pipa and I am glad there are more people playing the pipa now.

Wanwan

[davidmdahl]

You might contact Eason by email and ask if they have the strings you want. I expect that they don't list everything on their website.

The dollar is weak, so instruments and supplies are more expensive than in the past.

Best wishes,

David

[sanmenxia]

Perhaps someone you know in HK can buy the strings and post them to you.

[wanwan]

thx david, i will try that but chang qing is much cheaper than Dun Huang in China - and chang qing is already 28, then dun huang must be > 30 if they carry it.
thx sanmenxia - i will ask and see how much the postage would be

[xindi]

Well having had my pipa for just over a week (!), I've errrmm....broken a string.

I replaced it with one of the two Shanghai Dunhuang spares which I bought, just in case. Within a day, I've managed to
break the replacement string

I checked the string, and I see what's happened. Using plectra on all the right hand fingers, the sharp end of the plectra actually ribs off the wound nylon around the steel/silver core of the string until it completely frays. Once it frays, then the string sounds out of tune, which is why I adjusted the peg, and then snnnapp! It broke.

Okay, so now I understand why my pipa tutor had the most awesomely scarey fingernails. Unless I take to filing the plectra which I got in a set.

The price of the Dunhuang Shanghai set of 4 strings seem to vary dramatically. At the minute, I restrung the pipa withh one of the spare (broken) guzheng strings (it has to be the high 'A' or 'So' string). It works in key, but due to its greater tensile strength, is likely to wear down the frets or pegs. If anyone plays guzheng and has wondered what to do with all their broken strings, now you know. The top octave string 5; middle octave 2, 1 and 5. are the ones to keep if you are stuck for pipa strings in the meantime, however use at your peril!

I suppose mandolin or other guitar/strung instruments might be passable? Has anyone tried this?

[joepip]

When I got my pipa (which came with the standard accessories), I smoothed out the edges of the nails with a nail filer/buffer block and it seems to have worked nicely

[joepip]

About the silver strings, how would those differ in sound from normal strings?

[Blue]

I wish Xindi was around to quickly answer your question.

I'm no pipa player, but here's what I found on the net:

www.scmp.com/article/171447/slick-sound-silver-strings

The next article explains that as China "modernized" according to the philosophies of the Nationalists and Communists who loved bombastic propaganda, silk strings provided too soft of a tone to meet such thematic requirements. Silver-wound strings would produce much larger tones to overcome China's persecution complex and help compete against western music.
www.danwei.com/the-pipa-how-a-barbarian-lute-became-a-national-symbol/

[joepip]

Thank you

[edcat7]

Jan 13, 2013 2:53:43 GMT joepip said:

About the silver strings, how would those differ in sound from normal strings?

I had that question too. I assumed since they were more expensive than the standard strings they had to be better.

So I asked my liuqin teacher about silver strings and showed him a link. I was surprised he had never heard about silver strings before and for his £2000 liuqin he uses standard steel strings.

David had used silver strings for his erhu but he prefers standard steel strings.

[wanwan]

To be honest, there is not a big difference between the two type of strings...
I prefer silver strings on stage, but I do perform with another pipa with regular steel wrapped in nylon strings often too