Agapanthus II is doing just great and is settling down nicely after his trip from Shanghai.

But my teacher agrees that he needs new strings. She likes Evah Pirazzi but I think they might be too 'big' for me. I like Obligatos although they're quite expensive. Neither of us are keen on Dominants.

What do you have on your viola at the moment?

Also, what make/kind of shoulder rest do you use?

I have tried and tried but I can't play without one. I'm using an extended violin one at the moment but it keeps falling off. The one I have on my violin doesn't come in a viola version so I was just wondering what everyone else uses? The Kun one with folding legs seems popular

(gosh you do have to 'dig deep' on a viola to get a lovely tone compared to the violin but Pan II does sound nice )

I've got helicores on my viola at the moment, Lottie - they sound great. They're standard on most violas in France, it seems.

I don't use a shoulder rest most of the time on the viola, but I do have one. Just a standard Kun - sometimes I put it on, sometimes I don't, depends on how I'm feeling (odd because I never use one on the violin).

As for digging deep, you'll probably find that it will have knock on effects on your violin tone too - many violinists who play viola for a while realise that their violin tone improves!

Allan

This is violin but I was recommended the Wolf Forte Secondo shoulder rest, which has been fab so far, I think they do a shoulder rest for viola too

What size is your viola, Lottie? Mine's 15 1/2 inches (a bit of a baby, I know...) - I use a Kun rest which suits me as it is lower than the Wolf (which I use on the violin and is much too high for me on a viola , even on the lowest setting, because of the extra depth of the viola) . The Kun only just fits without falling off - it might be worth phoning one of the good string specialist retailers who advertise a few different sorts of shoulder rest to suggest one that will definitely fit your viola, especially if you are after one of the lower ones.

(I personally use Ealing Strings and talk to them by phone but I know other people will have other recommendations)

If I remember right, your new viola is only small, so you really want to be putting high-ish tension strings on it.

Evah's would be good in this respect.
For other brands, go for "heavy" rather than medium gauge if available (again, because of the tension issue).

Although your new viola will undoubtedly be much better than the first, I'd still be willing to bet that the bridge and soundpost will be a good deal less than optimum, so if funds are an issue, cheaper strings plus a new bridge and post will get you further than stringing up "as is" with a premium brand.

Thanks for the replies

Pan II is 15.5 inches so is quite small (feels big to my little fourth finger tonight )

And yes, I'd need a low shoulder rest because it is quite deep and I'm not a giraffe


What's the difference between 'medium' and 'heavy' gauge - is that the thickness of the string?

Yes, but the difference in thickness isn't usually very noticeable. The key point is that the heavy gauge strings have a higher mass per unit length.

The fundamental frequency (pitch) of a string of length L, tension T, mass per unit length m = square root (T/4mL^2)
so for a given pitch, the increased m of a heavy gauge string compensates for the smaller string length to give a similar string tension to a bigger viola.

If that makes sense!

Hmm as I'm 6'2'' the fact that the Wolf violin rest is high is just what I need, therefore the wolf viola rest might not be appropriate...

Uhm I think I understand (physics never was my strong point )
Would this gauge difference make much difference to a beginner like me? I mean would the 'heavy' gauge string be more difficult for me to produce a good tone (ie is the medium 'easier'?).

In a nutshell, heavy gauge strings on your viola should feel like medium gauge strings on a bigger viola (16.5 inch, say). You might well find medium gauge strings a bit "floppy" on your small viola.
A lot of (very good) makers make the string length disproportionately long on a small viola to make up for this effect. I don't think that will be the case on your viola, though.

I understand "floppy" better than (T/4mL^2) .. but thank you, yes I do understand. Now I need to decide between Evahs, Helicores and Obligatos

Go for the cheapest, play them for a few months and decide what (if anything) you don't like about them. You can then identify a sensible upgrade path.
Also, don't assume that your likes/dislikes for violin will necessarily transfer to viola. You might find Dominants work really well, for example.

My Yita viola (Lola) has dominants on at the moment. I'm very pleased with the C, G and D but the A is rather 'tinny' by comparison.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, warm viola A string to complement dominants on the other strings?

A lot of people like Larsen A strings.

Larsen A, Evah Pirazzi D and G, and an Obligato C. Sounds great on my viola (a 17" Gliga Gama).



I don't use one. Strange though it may sound, I find that feeling how the instrument vibrates makes it easier for me to achieve good sound and intonation, and I don't feel the vibrations very well when I put a shoulder rest between myself and the viola.

So it's okay to use a mixture of makes of strings?

It's quite common over here, Lottie - violinists and violists both mix strings quite a lot to achieve certain tonal qualities.

hi lottie,

from the 'post pictures of your instruments' post, i see that you have the yitamusic starter viola, i have this viola on order, it should arrive soon, what is opinion on it??? the sound mainly...i've done up loads of cheap instruments so i could easily make it good...i hope.....my violin only cost me £40 but people who have high quality stentor instrument say how much better mine sounds....lol....my first cello was only £27...second one £85...plus my viola is beautiful, i won it on ebay for £51 and its the best i've ever played on....point is that people spend too much on instruments lol....any way now i've ranted at you...i'll answer you question

i have some spare obligatos, and when my yitamusic viola comes, i'm going to put them on it, so i could get back to you on how they sound, (they sound fantastic on my other viola)

bon musica viola rests are fantastic!!!!! but all too expensive, you could get a free set of pirastro strings if you email info@pirastro and say you want to know what obligatos sound like on you viola, but can't afford to waste money if they are rubbish

Hi Kyle. to the forum.

I don't know how to link threads, but if you pull up the 'viola' thread which fflwit started and Lottie's 'I have a confession to make' thread (both in Viva strings, but a few pages back) then you'll get the info you're after.