Hi All,
I want to change my strings but i cannot make up my mind if it is better to try a different one this time. I've been using Dominant.
What do i need to consider?
Full Version: Violin Strings
Different violins suit different strings. What sort of violin have you got, and what would you like to change (more volume, more warmth, etc)?
Liz
Liz
i think u should use the same brand's string for ur violin.
Have you tried Thomastiks 'Superflexibles'? You mentioned you have tried Thomastiks 'Dominants' whilst considered a nice nylon string, they don't last very long do they? However the 'Superflexibles' are considered a good all round string being formed from stranded steel, hence they last much longer and have good sustain.
Well, so far, since I got my violin 3 yrs ago, I have only changed the A string and D string, that is why i think it is about time that i change all of them. I already notice some marks on the strings so i am not sure if that influences my finger placement...( i always find it difficult to get the right D note on the A string).
I was thinking of trying a Pirastro one.But i read on one of the articles on the web internet, that it easily gets out of tune and is influenced a lot by the climate. It says it's a synthetic core string, While the dominant is made of nylon called Perlon ( a name used only by Thomastik ), and the core of the string is made up a many filaments or strands of Perlon. The exterior is aluminum winding, which is quite susceptible to corrosion through sweat and perspiration. If not cleaned ( as all strings should be - except Chromcore ) within 6 months or less the surface smoothness will be lost, as tiny holes eat into the aluminum surface of the string
When my D string broke, i had to put a Pirastro one, which was the only one i had available at that time. The string felt softer to touch and it felt lighter than the Dominants.
I would want to the sound to have more volume, and more 'powerful' if you know what i mean, but at the same time, also sensitive to changes in dynamics.
I was thinking of trying a Pirastro one.But i read on one of the articles on the web internet, that it easily gets out of tune and is influenced a lot by the climate. It says it's a synthetic core string, While the dominant is made of nylon called Perlon ( a name used only by Thomastik ), and the core of the string is made up a many filaments or strands of Perlon. The exterior is aluminum winding, which is quite susceptible to corrosion through sweat and perspiration. If not cleaned ( as all strings should be - except Chromcore ) within 6 months or less the surface smoothness will be lost, as tiny holes eat into the aluminum surface of the string
When my D string broke, i had to put a Pirastro one, which was the only one i had available at that time. The string felt softer to touch and it felt lighter than the Dominants.
I would want to the sound to have more volume, and more 'powerful' if you know what i mean, but at the same time, also sensitive to changes in dynamics.
Use gut
I have removed this message
I think you've already found you can google a lot of learned info on different types of strings from the web. I found the only way to put it to the test on your own violin is to take the plunge and order some. It's tempting to order a few different E strings since they're loads cheaper, plus they wear out quicker so you might conceivably need them all in the next 10 years.
I have resolved the gut/tuning dilemma by having space age "Zyex" on GDA which never go out of tune, and a gold plated gut E (pirastro olive gold). Although I have to periodically re-tune the E (it's ok once it settles into a new environment), it's made much easier by the fact that I have an utterly reliable A to tune against - I think all four strings going way out of tune all the time would be a bit of a nightmare for me.
Zyex is not everyone's cup of tea, though - they are quite high tension. Pirastro Obligato are supposed to combine a sound very close to gut, with the reliability and tuning stability of artificial strings - I'm not sure how loud they are, though. Evah Pirazzi will give you all the brightness you want, but I found them comparitively shrill on my violin. Eudoxa is the traditional no nonsense gut and sounds beautiful. Why not order 3 E's - Evah Pirazzi, Eudoxa and Obligato and give them a try - it will cost you less than a tenner including p&p. If you like the Evah Pirazzi, order 4x Evah Pirazzi. If you like the Obligato, but not quite as much as the Eudoxa, why not get Obligato GDA and keep the Eudoxa on the E, which seems to get a lot of the notes in ensemble music anyway.
Just an idea - bin it if it sounds daft.
happy hunting,
David
I have resolved the gut/tuning dilemma by having space age "Zyex" on GDA which never go out of tune, and a gold plated gut E (pirastro olive gold). Although I have to periodically re-tune the E (it's ok once it settles into a new environment), it's made much easier by the fact that I have an utterly reliable A to tune against - I think all four strings going way out of tune all the time would be a bit of a nightmare for me.
Zyex is not everyone's cup of tea, though - they are quite high tension. Pirastro Obligato are supposed to combine a sound very close to gut, with the reliability and tuning stability of artificial strings - I'm not sure how loud they are, though. Evah Pirazzi will give you all the brightness you want, but I found them comparitively shrill on my violin. Eudoxa is the traditional no nonsense gut and sounds beautiful. Why not order 3 E's - Evah Pirazzi, Eudoxa and Obligato and give them a try - it will cost you less than a tenner including p&p. If you like the Evah Pirazzi, order 4x Evah Pirazzi. If you like the Obligato, but not quite as much as the Eudoxa, why not get Obligato GDA and keep the Eudoxa on the E, which seems to get a lot of the notes in ensemble music anyway.
Just an idea - bin it if it sounds daft.
happy hunting,
David
The problems of strings rears its ugly head again.
Over the years I've owned several violins and none of them have been strung exactly the same. There was a time when I always used Dominants, but found that the range of tonal colour from them was limited on some instruments.
Most recently I tried Evah Pirazzi, but found that they were a bit too bright, so I switched to the Obligato and have been happy with them. They offer volume but with a warmth that just wasn't in the Evah Pirazzi. I use a Hill E string, soft, since the medium E didn't balance too well against the Obligato. Hill E strings don't squeak either - or at least, I've not found them too.
However, my spare violin is strung with a Pirastro Oliv G, a Pirastro Eudoxa D, a Dominant A and an Oliv Goldsteel E. This might sound a bit of a mish mash, but the volume, balance, and eveness of tone is brilliant.
Every instrument is different, as are peoples tastes for the sound they want from the instrument. On the whole, finding the perfect string combination can be an expensive game, but there are specialist violin shops out there who will let you try out different strings first - to save you spending a small fortune on sets that you might use for a week and then not like - so it's worth browsing the web and contacting a few places first.
Over the years I've owned several violins and none of them have been strung exactly the same. There was a time when I always used Dominants, but found that the range of tonal colour from them was limited on some instruments.
Most recently I tried Evah Pirazzi, but found that they were a bit too bright, so I switched to the Obligato and have been happy with them. They offer volume but with a warmth that just wasn't in the Evah Pirazzi. I use a Hill E string, soft, since the medium E didn't balance too well against the Obligato. Hill E strings don't squeak either - or at least, I've not found them too.
However, my spare violin is strung with a Pirastro Oliv G, a Pirastro Eudoxa D, a Dominant A and an Oliv Goldsteel E. This might sound a bit of a mish mash, but the volume, balance, and eveness of tone is brilliant.
Every instrument is different, as are peoples tastes for the sound they want from the instrument. On the whole, finding the perfect string combination can be an expensive game, but there are specialist violin shops out there who will let you try out different strings first - to save you spending a small fortune on sets that you might use for a week and then not like - so it's worth browsing the web and contacting a few places first.
Interesting that Amanda L on this thread and Violinia on another thread - two of our resident professional violinists - both say that they have settled on Obligato. Looks like an inside tip to me 
David
David
I use Pirastro Obligato strings too and love the sound. They never seem to go out tune either!
Please can anyone tell me if Dominant viola strings are good?
They're almost certainly the most popular viola strings. Whether they will be the best for your instrument is another matter. What have you got?
Liz
Liz
On my viola, Dominants are beautiful, they seem to open up more, the more you play on them!
What does the gold plating sometimes seen on the E do?
I think it softens the sound, as some E strings can have a very hard sound at times.
tootsie,
I've been using the Pirastro string for 2 years, and I have also used the Dominant String before and I found the Pirastro string really gets out of tune easily as you said. However, I prefer Pirastro because it produce warmer sound and its sound is very nice when you vibrate. You may try the Pirastro string as it is not bad.But may I ask,you said you read one of the articles on the web,and you state the string is quite susceptible to corrosion through sweat and perspiration,what string are you refering to ? (I am not quite understand). I wish to know more about Pirastro and Dominant string.
I've been using the Pirastro string for 2 years, and I have also used the Dominant String before and I found the Pirastro string really gets out of tune easily as you said. However, I prefer Pirastro because it produce warmer sound and its sound is very nice when you vibrate. You may try the Pirastro string as it is not bad.But may I ask,you said you read one of the articles on the web,and you state the string is quite susceptible to corrosion through sweat and perspiration,what string are you refering to ? (I am not quite understand). I wish to know more about Pirastro and Dominant string.
HI Eliza,
This is the website where i got the info. I hope the link works.
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~leonid/v...lin_strings.htm
This is the website where i got the info. I hope the link works.
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~leonid/v...lin_strings.htm
You'll get more power and response from new strings than you are getting from your 3 year old strings, no matter WHAT brand you use.
Also...your violin. Is it a sturdy factory-made model? Does it have quite a high bridge? If it does, it will probably exert quite a bit of tension on the string, and you should find a string like Dominant satisfactory...better to change your strings more often and use a cheaper string, than to buy very expensive strings and leave them on for years!
Viohazard absolutely hated Dominant when he was using very small student violins. I think he had inexpensive Pirastro Tonica strings back then. He moved back to Dominant on his half-size violin.
His full-size violin is a 20th century German violin, nothing fancy, but a little more responsive than a fully factory made violin. It is set up with Dominant at present, and he has only been playing a full-size for about a month, so he will probably spend some time in front of the mirror looking at his bowing before thinking about new strings.
Tootsie, if you live somewhere where summers are hot and humid, you may have to change your strings more frequently than in northern climates (Cleaning your strings with alcohol wipes after sweaty practice sessions helps too, don't get alcohol on the fingerboard or violin though). Fresh hair on your bow...a moderately good rosin...those things help too!
Also...your violin. Is it a sturdy factory-made model? Does it have quite a high bridge? If it does, it will probably exert quite a bit of tension on the string, and you should find a string like Dominant satisfactory...better to change your strings more often and use a cheaper string, than to buy very expensive strings and leave them on for years!
Viohazard absolutely hated Dominant when he was using very small student violins. I think he had inexpensive Pirastro Tonica strings back then. He moved back to Dominant on his half-size violin.
His full-size violin is a 20th century German violin, nothing fancy, but a little more responsive than a fully factory made violin. It is set up with Dominant at present, and he has only been playing a full-size for about a month, so he will probably spend some time in front of the mirror looking at his bowing before thinking about new strings.
Tootsie, if you live somewhere where summers are hot and humid, you may have to change your strings more frequently than in northern climates (Cleaning your strings with alcohol wipes after sweaty practice sessions helps too, don't get alcohol on the fingerboard or violin though). Fresh hair on your bow...a moderately good rosin...those things help too!
I'm still very happy with my Obligato strings. I used to use Pirastro Gold Label many years ago but they were always breaking. Then I tried Eudoxa for a while but in the end they were too harsh. I switched to Dominants and found them reliable and not at all prone to breaking, but a little bit bland in tone - they certainly didn't get the best out of my violin if the truth be told.
The Obligato are the best I've found so far - they seem strong, yet they resonate with a wonderful warm tone, which is what I want more than anything. Not cheap though, although I managed to get mine cheaper in a closing down sale; but I'll definitely be sticking to them.
Violinia
The Obligato are the best I've found so far - they seem strong, yet they resonate with a wonderful warm tone, which is what I want more than anything. Not cheap though, although I managed to get mine cheaper in a closing down sale; but I'll definitely be sticking to them.
Violinia
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.