Hi fiddlers,

I've tried a set of Evah's on my session fiddle and absolutely hated them - I know some people love them, so if anyone wants a set of used Evah's (used is a little exaggerated, they were on for about three hours) - less the e string, they're up for grabs.

Pm me if interested.

Allan

Just a quick addition to earlier message to clear up a misunderstanding. These strings are not for sale, there going free (less the e string, which I'm keeping).

ta.

Allan

Woah, that was fast. They've gone. And the Winner is (by a tiny amount......) Violin Hero!

Allan

You beat me to it VH! Just as well I'm not a sore loser.

In all my playing I have only ever used domianants. I will enjoy change for once. Thanks to rosfrg for allowing his strings to go to a good home.

Evah strings are really intended for the concert hall soloist. They strangle most instruments because the tension of them is far too high. They don't tend to blend well in an ensemble either - far too brash.

Nice strings, but only when used for what they were designed for.

Yes, that's very much the impression I got - I found them too loud, too bright and no good for sessioning. I'm not sure I'd even use them if I were playing solo on stage - I don't think the sound is right for traditional music.

Ah, well - expensive experiment, eh?!

The tension is only about 6% higher than Dominants (according to Pirastro and Thomastik data). This is a tension increase equivalent to tuning a Dominant-fitted violin about 1/2 a semitone sharp. A noticeable increase, sure, but it should not go anywhere close to "strangling" (whatever that may mean) any well-made instrument.
I think they are fantastic all-round strings.

In that case I needed them last thursday for that competiton. I was paying solo in a hall, all beit a small hall.

I find Larsen Tzigane to be a great practice-room equivalent to Evahs. I would prefer in a way to use Evahs all the time, but they are brash, as Amanda says, and under the ear they are painful on my already loud violin. I'm pretty certain that Larsen Tzigane will actually project better overall in a recital and quartet (but not a concerto).

I've used Pirazzis for a couple of years on my main (modern french) violin with good effect but they sounded vile when I tried them on my spare, a good old german instrument.

I'm tempted to try the Passione strings - at the risk of hijacking the thread, has anyone had any experience of these? At around £70 a set they'd better be good and long lasting!

So did you like the e-string a lot, or just better than the other strings in the set?

No, I just put it on and don't have another spare, plus the E always ends up so twisted at the end - I figured I'd just give the others away and keep the e!

I'm not being too lazy to buy a new one and change it, mind... honest...

E strings die so quickly it's hardly worth replacing a rubbish one...give it 3 weeks and it'll need replacing anyway...

But they don't suit every instrument. Older violins are sometimes just not suited to high tension strings. As a player with a lot of experience, I've tried almost every string under the sun and although the Evah's are ok - if you're a soloist who needs to project over the top of a 100+ piece orchestra - they certainly haven't been suited to the ensemble/orchestral work that I do.


Not tried these yet but, as you rightly say, at £70 a set you'd hope they were going to be good and built to last a decent length of time. At least as long as a set of nylon cored strings.

From the various write-ups I've read, they could well be a gut version of the Evah's, but with more warmth in the tone. I also get the feeling their response (under the bow) is quicker than most gut cored strings. Apparently they are resistent to humidity and temperature changes too.

AmandaL, if you like gut but don't like the instability and lack of response, I heartily recommend Larsen Tzigane too - beautiful string, warm, responsive, rich and the best E I've ever played on in my life.

Argh I am so frustrated - I changed my E to a cheapy £1 Goldbrokat like 2 weeks ago, and I have a Larsen Tzigane E in the packet, unopened, and I'm so tempted to just bung it on, I've heard so many people rave about it.........patience is a virtue that eludes me, apparently!

You could keep the Goldbrokat as your "spare"...and put the Larsen Tzigane on in the name of science, so that you can give us a full analysis of the comparison!

But perhaps you had better save it for a worthy occasion. I wouldn't want to corrupt you!

I have a whole load of spare Goldbrokat Since I get though an E every 3 weeks on average. So actually, you could argue that it wouldn't be much of a loss to replace this one a liiiiittle bit early...I'll give it a few more days, wait til my GDA Tziganes are settled (apparently it takes a lot longer than Evahs, they've only been on since yesterday) and then bung it on
At over £4, you would hope the E would be nice

Do it, do it, do it!

If you don't, puppies will perish.

Seriously though, it is the best e string I have ever played - it doesn't sound squawky even as an open string, it plays beautifully in high positions and in first, it hardly ever squeaks - brilliant.

Strings are on their way V.H.

Don't say that
Does it last any better than other gold Es? That would be nice...

I don't think the Larsen Tzigane is gold, it's tin - isn't it ?

I've had mine on for two weeks now I think, by now any other e would be showing black spots from my fingers - this one isn't and it's still singing sweetly.

You know you want to.... go on.....

Allan
(go on).

Yes, yes, I mean does it compare well in durability to gold Es (sorry my wording is pretty rubbish, too much Ben-Haim today.....destroys the brain). I will be patient and give it until the GDA are settled so I can experience the full set in all their glory! What a find though, these strings are brilliant. The G especially

I honestly like my Obligato strings - which play like gut but with a better response and no hassle tuning. They suit the music I play and my violin too, and I've never had any trouble with their goldsteel E string.

Interestingly, on the Stringmail website, it describes Tzigane strings as "will bring out the gypsy in your playing". Hmmm, as I don't play folk fiddle these are probably not the strings for me. The impression I got from reading another forum, is that for some people they strike a middle ground between Evah's and Olivs.

String preference really is individual and while we can all recommend what we like, we also need to bear in mind that on this forum we don't personally know the violin the strings are going on.

That's not what I'm getting from them at all, just a whole lot of resonance but without the edge of Evah, and a less focussed sound under the ear. Amanda, could you elaborate a bit on Obligatos, as I was considering buying them instead of the LT's since they sound quite similar when people describe them. I've never tried Obligatos before, and wonder if they might be an alternative to LT's (for example, when they're on sale and LT are still at c.£45 a set...).

Looks as though all the waffle I've read about the Tzigane strings recreating the gypy fiddle sound, is probably a load of rubbish.

I switched from Eudoxa to Evah a few years back. The Olivs hadn't suited and I found the response of the Eudoxa strings in high positions - esp. on the D and G - a bit slow. I think we are so used to getting an instant sound from strings these days, that when it doesn't happen, we feel it's a negative thing.

I stuck with the Evah for about a year, but they were just too brash for ensemble playing. Even a colleague of mine, with a beautifully made and lovely sounding Paul Aryes violin, found the Evah strings too bright and too high in tension.

Dominant strings had never done much for me and instead I decided to try Obligato. It was an instant success, with both me and my violin. The tone is very warm, but the strings still retain the ability to vary tonal in colour, just like the Evah. You can switch from a dark tone to bright tone quite easily, just by slightly altering the bow angle and pressure. The speed of response from the strings is excellent, even with a really light bow touch. They really do combine all the best of gut, with all the practicalities of a synthetic core.

Recently, a pupil of mine changed her strings from Dominant to Obligato. Not only was she stunned by how much more power the the violin had, but also how much smoother the sound was. It's opened the instrument up to new possibilities and new tonal qualities.

Shop around for best prices. I usually try asking for a discount as a teacher, so I'm sure you could as a student.

Sounds just like Larsen Tzigane to me! Except LT are more difficult to vary the tone on, but frankly the tone is so close to what I aim to produce anyway, that it bothers me less than it should (for now, anyway). I'm now curious to compare Obligatos on the same violin...

I tried obligatos and liked them on one of my fiddles, hated them on the other. Interestingly, it was the same fiddle that loved the larsen tziganes and obligatos.

Bohemian - the e is truly amazing, I usually can't get more than three to four weeks out of an e string without it going black and sounding shouty and hard edged. This doesn't appear to be happening yet with the Larsen.

Hi - I tried Evah Pirazzis on my Gliga Maestro and found them a bit harsh and overpowering. Have now changed to Obligatos and love them - much smoother and easier on the ear!

I have them on my Gliga Gama and love them! They have completely tranformed the instrument!
I also have them on my Gama viola but may try something else next time I change.

They are MUCH nicer than Dominant!!!

Just a quick up to see if the two people I sent strings to have received them yet ? It's been a week almost...

Well, Violin Hero told me today (after a pm from me) that he actually received them five days ago, so at least that set hasn't gone missing.

I also sent some different strings to Miss Ross - any news there ?

I just put some Evah's on my violin a few days ago. They sound nice, and have a nice rich tone, but everyone has said how loud they are and i don't find them thaaat loud, but then they probably haven't completely settled in yet!

Yeah, they're really surprisingly loud - I think it's something to do with how bright they are.

How are you finding the response ?

I'm finding them good in general tbh but not as good as i expected, but definately my best strings so far. The sound is really clear and rich

i went from dominants to evahs, the low notes are amazing, but the e string is absolutely terrrible, if not worse than a dominant e.

Absolutely terrible in what way? I find the Evah E rather strident under the ear, but very clear and sweet from a distance of more than a few feet.