Strings compared

This geezer is attempting to demonstrate that the Chinese Maestro strings are at least as good as some of the more expensive brands. What do you think?
Also, how about the Evah vs Obligato vs Dominant vs Larsen comparison?

No, definitely not! As for the others, far more important than a direct comparison like this is surely how they sound on one's own instrument. And one single scale is not really sufficient to form an opinion about how the different strings perform. We also don't know basic things like whether the strings had been "broken in" or allowed to settle.

Sure, but purely on the basis of the clip, what do you think of the sounds produced by the various strings? I'm interested in people's perception of sound.

I would have preferred a 'blind' test, I keep thinking I might get 'biased' just by knowing what strings are being played, not on purpose but 'unconsciously', in fact while I could hear little difference between strings I wonder why I preferred the Obligatos??? (says the person who always settles for gut strings on her violin?? mmmmhhhhhh)

You really need to be in a true acoustic setting for this to have relevance. By the time it hits our ears the sound has been modified by recording equipment and dubious utube compression. Then there is the factor of end user computer equiopment which isn't usually of Hi-Fi quality. I'm often surprised how people are easily swayed on the sound quality of instruments played on Utube. The best comments are those that state ' WoW! That's a really loud Guitar/Violin etc.' Perhaps, but if they turned the volume down on their PC it might not sound quite as loud!
I'll opt out.
Is that Giuseppe Marcello Violin made in China?

I would imagine so.
I don't understand why people are so reluctant to express opinions. I'm not trying to catch anyone out.

In my opinion, the maestro sound brash, the larsen sound a bit dull, the evahs sound brighter and the other two i can't tell!


Think it's just a question of things sounding so different depending on the violin - daughter had dominants, and was extremely happy till a passage of harmonics came up which didn't sound quite right. With teacher, we went off to the violin shop and tried a couple of other varieties - the evah pirazzis (evil pirates!) just transformed the sound, but on a friend of ours' fiddle they sounded brash and brassy. They are expensive.

Viohazard's comments (just arrived home from school). He stresses that these are his naive impressions and no guide to actual quality or otherwise.

Maestro - soft, some depth, maybe flabby. OK.

Evah Pirazzi - brilliant, more centre to the sound, but is player exerting more bow pressure??

Obligato - bit harsh and thin/flattened. Sound the way Obligatos used to sound on Viohazard's violin when they'd been on for about 10 days...the very short "best sound period" was the main reason he switched to his current Infeld-based blend.

Larsen - bit harsh but plenty of tension in higher register.

Dominant - quite brilliant, stable throughout.

He thought that there was a generally gritty sound, but that he preferred the Dominants and the Evah Pirazzis (that is, he generally likes a reasonably bright sound, though he used to prefer warm, dark, sticky, treacly...). He has never tried Evah Pirazzis "in real life". Or Larsen other than an A string long ago, I think.

He also commented that it's just about meaningless to give a preference based on a very brief scale on youtube.

But if I can comment....I notice that Australian vendors use youtube a lot. It is just not practical for many customers to visit shops in person, so youtube is a lot better than nothing. Secondly, if you check out the AUD prices of Maestro compared to the other brands tried out here, you'll see that instead of being marginally cheaper than a Dominant set, the Maestros are more than 30% cheaper. Since very few people can disregard price, that makes the decision very different for British vs. Australian consumers.



I wonder why?

I asked my daughter and just played the extracts to her without telling her which was which and she said she preferred the second one which I think was the Evahs.

Just listening to that clip, I still preferred the sound of the Dominant Strings they were more balanced and less 'flabby' They were more even throughout the range of the violin.

Of course He tried to make out this was very 'scientific', and he could have altered lots of parameters.

There are lots of reasons that Dominant Strings are popular with violinists whereas cheaper makes are not.

Of course String Choice is up to each individual player, but given no2son decided to 'tune his own instrument' and the result was that two strings snapped at which point I got it Re-strung, I'm very happy that I decided to put a set of Dominants on at that stage.

Thanks for this thread, it is comforting to see that there are so many different opinions because I am completely bewildered and frustrated about the choice of violin string, compared to guitar strings. They are expensive so "finding the right ones for your instrument", well, I don't know where to start. I have dominants but the a-string is harsh, piercing, metallic, I don't like the sound. Teacher suggested try obligatos....

The amount of choice in violin strings never ceases to amaze me. Just sticking to Pirastro and Thomastik you have something like 20 different types, each of these are available in 3 different gauges, then you have the choice between plain steel, gold plated, tin plated and even platinum plated E strings in the new Thomastik PIs. And experimenting is not cheap.

I've listened twice and I like the Larson strings best. I don't think I'm really qualified to say why but I just like the sound

I used to love Obligatos but am currently using Passiones on my viola although I'm slightly concerned that my D string is getting tired already after only a few months (I play less than 8 hours a week so it's hardly receiving harsh treatment )

I don't know anything about Larson strings ie. whether they're expensive/synthetic etc but I'm going to look them up.

Yes - you will get a warmer sound with Obligatos. I have tried out quite a few different strings (including Obligatos) and propose going back to them after Christmas - if someone buys me a set!

Many thanks Discopants for posting this clip. I found it really interesting as I've used several of the strings tested and on the clip my sound perception of them was completely different to how I hear the sound when I play. Also interesting to hear how they sound on a different violin.

The Maestros were not my cup of tea at all - sounded very ordinary. The Evah's sounded bright which they've never done on my violin. I'm biased towards the Obligatos as I use them but noticed that on this violin they lacked the richness I'm used to hearing - if he's put them straight on that would probably explain it as I find it takes a couple of weeks for them to settle on my violin. The Larsens sounded similar to the Obligatos but a bit brighter - I've used them before but found that they EAT rosin by the bucket load.

The big surprise on this clip was the Dominants - I've liked their stability and longevity (apart from the E which is horrid and the metallic sound when they first go on) but I've never actually considered their sound and on this violin they sounded good.

Many thanks again, I think the biggest surprise was that my ears could actually hear a difference

When checking with my step-father he uses Dominants much for the same reason I'd liked them in the sound test.

He's a much more experienced player so I'll defer to him for experience as I like the tone he gets out of his violin too.

As I can get a decent tone out of no2sons violin with the Dominants on and I am no violinist, then he should. (Mind you the one thing I was taught was plenty of rosin and plenty of bow)

Having just acquired an unused bow, I was amazed to find just how much rosin is needed to "prime" it! And yes, plenty of bow is the watchword. I had an adjudicator say I looked like I was playing in a phone box once... and supervising children's practice really brings it home to you all those things that you never believed when your teacher told you

I just naturally want to use the whole bow because the violin then sounds like a violin and not a bad experience with a blackboard and chalk, or roof tiles and cats claws. It is also what I am used to seeing my good violin playing friends doing, and I feel they must be doing this for a reason.

no2son naturally wants to use lots of bow and thus far, not squeeky chalk sounds or cats on roof tiles either - it sounds like a violin. However he watches orchestras and the players use all their bow.

I keep reminding myself I have only ever had one violin lesson, and that was only in jest and from a friend. The one thing I remembered was attack strings, plenty of bow and listen to the tuning. I am not a violinist. I blow down things, attempt to play the piano and sing.

It's never too late...

W

It is very tempting...
Next time there is a Grade-1-athon on in our area I may well consider it. Getting the 'right violin' will be interesting as being small, a small full-sized is probably best. I know I can make a reasonable sound, and the question of my ear is not the problem.

A teacher who isn't family is probably a good idea. I love my step-father very much, but we'd drive each other crazy!

I'm only about 5ft1 and absolutely tiny, but i play a big beasty full size I used to have a 7/8 violin, but i dont think it was necessary and i play better on my now violin

That is helpful.

I've tried a full size and I could manage to get around 1st position without too much problem. I'd want to try various instruments in the shop first. I'd want Dominant Strings having seen them on no2sons violin.

I'm small and my violin is a big warhorse of an instrument but it means I can really throw myself at it

I went through a stage of experimenting with different and rather expensive strings (luckily donated by the string company!). They were all very lovely and stuff, but I suddenly felt I didn't sound like me anymore and there was nothing wrong with how I've sounded for the last 20 years or more..so I went back to dominants and felt better straight away. I do change them every 8 weeks, if I don't shred one before that. But the other strings didn't last me any longer either..or my bowhairs..I get my bow redone every 2 months as it gets a bit threadbare

I used to use Red O Rays in my teens -does anyone remember them? Do they still exist?

I've just posted on the 'string change' thread but I'll add it in here too.. talking about strings.

I have just tried Passione strings on my viola and at first I LOVED them! It's the first time I'd tried something other than a synthetic core. They sounded absolutely great although I had heard others say they didn't last long.

Well the D string has just died. After only 3 months of VERY light playing!! It just suddenly started to get harsh, dead, then squeaky and finally just horrible! I changed it out for a Helicore that I had used before and it's miles better.

I'm just wondering how long it's going to take for the other 3 strings to die! I think the A is already on its way. At ?90 a set it's far too much for only 3 months considering I only play 5-8 hours a week at MOST!! (Although after the holidays my playing will be stepping up a bit I hope).


The Helicores were not too bad but I wanted something richer - hence trying the gut core. Now I want to try Larsons but don't know whether to bite the bullet and change the whole set, or just buy a Larson D string and see how I get on with that before investing in the whole set.

Do you think it's okay to do it that way?

Which Larsens? Some of the violin ones are reputed to have a very short life span. You may find this link useful, even though it is about violin strings.

It won't harm your viola to mix strings but the different varieties might sound very uneven. It's an expensive business, I'm afraid! On my violin I have settled (for the moment at least ) on Obbligatos for a lovely rich warm sound.

Has anybody tried Pirastro Aricore strings? Or know anything about them?

I have, and really like them... I also like corelli crystals. Feel free to message me about it