Violin strings

There are many dozens of varieties of violin strings, and that's not counting the "light", "medium" and "strong" formulations of each string.

Online reviews

• This review from Violinist.com is fairly comprhensive, and the discussion has some useful "second opinions."
• Strings Magazine also did a review, though I don't find it as useful as the violinist review.
• This discussion/review from Violinist.com is really more a guide on what might work best, than a "review."

My thoughts

String sets

Corelli Alliance (medium)

I've used these for quite a while. I think I started because they were expensive and were described as "long lasting." They sound ok, and certainly do maintain their sound for a good long while. They are quite loud, and need a fairly high tension, but don't seem to need a particularly long break-in period, and maintain tune well.

Infeld Red (medium)

Just put on a set of these (with a Jargar medium E). So far they have a very harsh "metallic" buzz, and won't stay in tune. They do seem to take much less tension, but unless that harsh sound goes away, I'll have to switch.

A couple weeks later: The buzzing is mostly gone, but I'm not real happy with the sound, and they seem to need a lot of tuning. If I wanted to tunes strings all the time, I'd use gut! There is still an odd quality to them. Maybe overtones? I'll use them through FLV and then decide.

I gave up on them at the beginning of January. The odd tones were still there. Part of the trouble was likely the bow needing rehairing, but I switched when I opened the case and all but the E were unwound after I got back from New Years and the AAS meeting (just one week!).

Hungarian instrument: still has that strange pseudo-overtone thing going on, but they make the instrument a lot less harsh. Certainly better than the steel strings I'd put on because they were cheap, and I think I like them better than the Infeld Blues that I'd put on in Hungary (though it's been years since they were fresh, so...).

Pirastro Tonica

Replaced the Infeld reds with these. They won't stay in tune at the moment, but it's only an hour... On the other hand, there are no strange tones and the sound isn't too bad. But they don't seem very "complicated" -- a basic, pure tone, I'd describe it. We'll see how they break in. (note: I bought them because they were on sale for $25 at Prodigy Instruments for the set.)

After more than two years with these, I guess they're fine. Nothing amazing, but also nothing to complain about. The 'e' has been a bit problematic, but not terrible.

Thomastik/Infeld Dominant (medium)

These are supposed to be the most popular violin strings ever. So said the lady at the shop. The 'D' on the Tonicas broke today (05.08.2011) and she didn't have a set of Tonicas, so I tried these. They do sound somewhat harsh, with a bit of a hum, but I hope it fades. They also seem to need a fair bit of stretch, and the initial installation was a series of "tune it up, it stretches with a 'pop'", that was a bit nerve wracking. Going to let them settle for a day or two.

E strings

Corelli Alliance medium E

I was getting a fair amount of whistling with this string. Partly I need to improve my technique, but I think it got worse over time, so the string may just have been worn out.

Jargar medium E

No "E-whistle" so far, but I just installed it. May be contributing to the buzz of the Infelds I installed with it. I would describe the sound as "bright," though I don't know if that is appropriate or not.

Pirastro Tonica

Installed with the Tonica set above. Just started with it, but it seems fine enough. After a year or so, it had some whistling, but not as bad as the Alliance.

Thomastik Dominant

Just installed, no whistling yet, but a bit stiff.

This page last modified 2011-08-04 20:48