Well I have been playing away on my cello and having great fun!

But I'm not happy with the way the strings are sounding. Especially the bottom two, it feels like I'm playing elastic bands or something, they just have no resonance in them, its horrible. I have a feeling that they are probably Astrea strings, I had them on my old violin and they had the same feel to them.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what strings I should consider replacing these ones with??

Do you have this cello to keep or just on loan? You probably know that cello strings are quite pricey. If it is not an expensive cello it might not be worth putting top grade strings on anyway. Jargar is a good make and a reasonable price, I put those on my beginner's cello as the strings that were on it were terrible.
I now have Larsen strings, but they are not cheap.
Are you sure the strings are the problem? If the instrument does not speak it could be the set-up too.

Enjoy your playing anyway!

Hmmm, it just feels like the strings. The A string is Ok. The cello is Hungarian and not the usual orange chinese ones that you would expect of a council instrument. . I had a long lesson today and my teacher (who is also a good freind) had a play on it and reckoned the cello was a good one, but the strings perhaps just old.

I know strings are quite expensive thats why I wanted some guidance with it rather than spend to much money on spectacular strings, nor do I want to go and buy truley awful strings.

What is the consensus of Pyramid strings? There are some being sold quite cheaply on ebay, and I looked at the website (having a website which must be a good sign) and they look ok?

I put a set of Dominants on my new cello last year and it improved the sound immensely. The strings on my old cello were Prim - my teacher's recommendation.

I have never heard of Pyramid strings, which might be just displaying my ignorance? Looking on websites of violin/cello dealers who sell strings (in the UK) I cannot see any easily either. So no opinion I 'm afraid.
What does your teacher recommend?

Personally I think Ebay is great for handbags (or mirrors, I bought a huge one to practise in front off), but not for serious stuff like instruments and strings.

Well, she isnt really a teacher, she is just a good freind who has been playing the cello for about 40+ years, she isnt a serious player, just as a hobby now so she didnt really know much about strings.

I might leave it a couple of weeks and see if it just all needs loosening up a bit or something.

Dominants are fine and reasonable value on the net. Thomastik Spirocore are also fine for cellos and a little cheaper than Dominants. My Daughter had Chromcore for a while and liked them. They are a bit bright (some would say shrill) sounding but could be quite good on a European instrument.

I suspect, like violins, different strings work better on different instruments.

However, if it's a cello you've got to keep for a while you'll probably get a lot more fun and reward out of it if you take the plunge, get some good advice and get some new strings and maybe the setup checked by an experienced luthier - even tweeking the position of the bridge and soundpost can make a huge difference but you need to know what you are doing.

Enjoy!

...& as well as making it more fun for you to play, you'll make the day of whoever has it after you

Hear hear.

I've never heard of pyramid strings - I'd shy away. Go for well-known good brands like Pirastro, Larson, Dominant. Personally, I like a combination of Larson on the top and Spirocore on the bottom.

A list of articles here with some on comparison of cello strings which might be of interest

http://www.aitchisoncellos.com/articleshome.htm

Thats helpful thanks!!

Well I put a bid in on the pyramid strings and won it for 99p + postage. So I got a C and G both for about £5.
I found this on them :
PYRAMID® SOLOFLEX strings are exceptional quality strings, pure nickel flat wire wound on a woven steel cable core. Designed with the solo artist in mind. Extremely responsive, very flexible, with outstanding tonal quality and volume. $93.25/set

Dont know if thats good or not?

And managed to get a Larsen D string for £12

Depends who wrote the description but for a fiver I guess they'll be worth a try!

Yeah, if it was the manufacturer or someone else trying to sell them, remove all the adjetives from the description and see if it still reads like something you want to buy!

Well, yes the description was from the pyramid website, but another site does have them on a list of strings: huge variety of specialist strings for both Baroque and Classical period music, from both major and niche suppliers including Baroco, La Folia, Dlugolecki, Gamut, Kurschner, Aquila, Pyramid, Savarez, Sofracob, Pirastro and CHD.

Well, My new strings arrived in the post this morning (the 2 pyramid ones) and I put them on...And they sing!!! They are lovely!! I was amazed at how different the G string sounded. And the C string has more of a ring to it than previously. And this is all without even breaking them in very much!! I'm so chuffed! I'm just waiting on the Larsens for the top now.

And the larsen came this morning - I must say, it is a very pretty string what with the cold end with a bit of blue spiraling upwards. I'll just have to wait to see how this one goes...

*goes to practice*