Following another thread I have posted, I have some new strings ready to try on daughters violin, Larsen Tzigane strings which have only recently come onto the market. Daughter had new violin 6/7 months ago and has Obligatos on at present which are nice, but thought we would try these for comparison. We don't like Dominants too much and Evahs are a little brash. Teacher however has always used a combination of G and D Eudoxa, A Soft Dominant with Hill E string, and thinks Gut strings would be the perfect strings for daughters violin. She is a grade 7/8 player, but we have steered clear of gut strings because of their reputation of being unstable re. tuning and as daughter is only 13, although not bad at tuning, have always gone for the more predictable and stable option of synthetic strings. Who still uses gut strings? Have you compared tonal qualities against the newer synthetic strings on the market, and if so, how do you feel they compare? Are they as unstable as some people make out? Are the new Passione strings better than the Eudoxa?

I don't use them, but my teacher does. She says that her strings go out of tune very easily indeed, compared to mine which just don't move!!

Hi, I use Eudoxa A D and G with an Olive gold E, and have been very happy with them. They do go out of tune fairly easily, and take a little while to settle in when replaced, but the main problem seems to be that they respond very quickly to a change in humidity and temperature. However - the sound is good and warm, they are good for getting a variety of expression, and you get very confident at tuning quickly which I think is an advantage. I haven't tried the Passione strings but I might when my playing is better as they are rather more expensive. I like the Olive E very much, very sweet and pure sound - at least in the hands of an expert!
Hope that helps,
N

You've chosen synthetics for all the right reasons. If you like Obligatos why change? There are plenty of far more important things for promising young players to be concerned about than minor differences between string brands, in my opinion.

As you yourself and others have said, yes, gut strings are unstable. However, if there's a good reason to use them (e.g. for the authentic sound in Baroque music) then why not give them a go? Be warned though, it's difficult to produce a big sound using gut strings, and this might be inappropriate for some situations such as playing in a modern symphony orchestra. For this reason alone, it's never occurred to me to do a direct comparison of tonal qualities.

I used Eudoxas and found them very unstable and also take a long time to settle (not that it makes much difference when they have). They're really not appropriate for most students, not least because it gets very frustrating in ensembles. The closest strings I could find are Larsens, which have some of the tonal qualities of gut but loads more projection and stability.

I used olivs for a while and found them just as stable as anything else once they broke in.

I understand that the Passione strings are particularly stable, too.

That said, Discopants makes (as usual) an excellent point - if you like the obligatos, leave them alone!

Obligato strings are about as close as you will get to gut, but without the hassle of gut. If you like them, stick with them. They also speak quicker - gut strings are slower in their response and even require slightly different bow pressures in higher positions as a result. That takes some getting used to in itself.

I did use Eudoxas on my fiddle for a while, but opened the case one day to find that the E string had just broken while it was in the case overnight. That can be another problem with them, and makes them an even more expensive habit!

(bumping an old thread.......)
I fitted a set of Pirastro Passione to a new fiddle a week or so ago. These strings sound and feel fantastic, and break-in time/stability seem on a par with most synthetics.

Shhhh - Discopants! I've only just made peace with dominants... now you've got me thinking about the Passione....

Do they sound really gut like?

Allan the string addict.

Oops

I used to use gut years ago but had problems with A strings breaking and swapped to Dominants as they are good and solid and strong. I always recommend them to pupils for these reasons, and even on a cheap or little violin they make a big difference to the sound.

However....

I got hold of a set of Passione...
wow!
I totally love the feel and sound, but I hate the E string, it goes like rusty old cheese wire so I have a gold Olive E now and I reckon I've found the perfect combination (for me anyway).
I also use the rosin with the gold flecks in it and it's made a dramatic difference too - again, even with cheap old battered school violins.

My daughter loves the Eudoxas - she's 13 and has had no problems with them.

M.x

Funny how people's perceptions and opinions vary: I think the Passione E string is really nice, but don't like the Oliv E at all!

But sometimes it's not people's perceptions alone, so much as a set of strings that sounds great on one violin just not suiting another at all. Dominants do not suit my fiddle at all. I have been exploring Obligatos for a while, but am still not wholly satisfied with the sound. I've never used gut, mostly because of their reputation for instability.

Discopants - how are they volume and response wise, compared to dominants? Just wondering...

I use obligatos but I am not sure about theE string. I have had the strings on for 6 weeks and they sound great apart from E.

Obligatos aren't gut

Nobody said they were.

probably wreck the Passione E with my sweaty little fingers!

Hi Allan, to be honest, I wouldn't like to make a detailed comparison without doing an A/B on the same instrument, which I haven't done.
I find the Passiones have a really rich, complex sound with a nice bit of "sizzle" and plenty of volume without being brash. Responsiveness is excellent. Bit of a weird thing going on with the G-string peg end silk winding: Pirastro deliberately make it very long (to stop the string chafing in the pegbox, apparently), so if you have anything close to a "normal" string length, the silk winding will be over the top nut when you first fit the string. Took about 4 days for the string to stretch enough to take the winding behind the nut. This doesn't affect the sound, I just find it a bit annoying.


Violinhero, what is it about the Obligato E that you don't like? Do you have the plain steel E or the gold plated one?

Hi Discopants - this sounds odd. I haven't had it with my Passione strings. I'm on my 2nd set and not had this with the G.

does anyone use gut E strings, or are they just too much hassle?

Hi Miffy, this property of Passione is quite well documented (including on Pirastro's website), as you can see if you do a bit of Googling. If you don't have this situation, then I suspect the string length on your fiddle is a bit longer than average (unless Pirastro have changed the winding length recently).

Hi Discopants - yes my violin is a big old French warhorse, so maybe that's why. I battle with it a bit as I'm quite small, but love it anyway!

M.x

I'm pretty sure the Passione E is exactly the same string as the Pirastro Gold E that many people use with Dominants etc (this string is actually plain steel, the "gold" is just a brandname, as you probably know).

I have the gold-plated E string, and cannot fault it.

I use the Olive gold E. I find it very different in sound and feel to the Passione one. Feels thicker and a lovely tone, no squeak. My luthier recommended the change to me, he also wasn't happy with the Passione E.
It's all down to personal taste though and what suits your violin.

The olive gold E really is gold (plated) unlike the pirastro gold E, which isn't. Confusing, isn't it! I agree that these gold-plated strings in general can sound quite nice, but they have an annoying tendency to "whistle" (which is why not many makers fit them to new instruments: people tend to blame the fiddle!).

I have them on my baroque violin. I find they behave quite well once they have adjusted to a particular room. The plain gut ones hold their tuning very well, but the copper-wound G string can be quite unstable.

The E strings, not surprisingly, have the shortest life, but they are also the cheapest and they are double length so I can get two for the price of one. I like the Dlugolecki strings - the varnished ones last much longer than unvarnished and don't get whiskery.

A gut E string sounds gorgeous - it is so sweet. I am sometimes tempted to put one on my modern violin but I would have to alter the bridge and am a bit reluctant to do so.

Incidentally I have always worn specs to play, originally just plain glass, ever since seeing people being hit in the eye by breaking E strings. The frayed end whips hard! The person without specs ended up in casualty though fortunately there was no lasting damage.

I don't think you'd need to do anything to your bridge in order to fit a gut E to your modern violin, unless it is cut rather low.

Yay! At last there is a plus point for those of us that have to wear glasses all the time!

Currently, I use Tonica for G and D and Wondertone solo for A and E.
Tonica for the low warmth and Wondertone for the brightness and power.
give it a try