Hi everyone,

I'm currently using Dominants on my violin, & I really want a change and try something new. At the moment to me they are sounding possibly a bit too bright for my violin. But my violin teacher says they is nothing wrong them an that I will be wasting my money.

I've narrowed it down to some slightly darker sounding strings. So far I've got Larsens, Corelli Crystal, Pirastro Gold and Sensicore.

I play a Stentor Zeller, which is the antiqued finished (not glossy).

Please help as I'm unsure what to do.

Loz xx

I find Dominants too brassy, and am very pleased now with Pirastro Obligatos. Not cheap, though. A lot of folk also like Aricores - I tried them when they first came out and found them a bit unresponsive but that was a long time ago.

Just to complicate things the rosin you use makes a difference too! The "gold" ones that e.g. Pirastro and Liebenzeller make give a nice rich sound. I was recently given samples of Andrea "solo" and "a piacere" rosins. Both are very good but very different - the "solo" would be fantastic for soloists (surprise!) but I think would stand out too much in the orchestra. I love the "a piacere" even more than my Liebenzeller, but am still balking at the price .

I second the Obligatos from Pirastro - very nice on my violin and I don't like too 'big' a sound. I like mellow rich sounds, not harsh and bright.

I'm using Passiones on my viola and they are gorgeous but VERY expensive and they're not lasting very well

My teacher puts Corelli Crystals on her student's violins and is very happy with them - and they don't break the bank.

I'd forgot to mention that it was violin teacher who said I should swap my original strings to Dominants. The original strings where the barrbed wire type. But I think they where darker sounding.

I've also changed my rosin to Pirastro Oliv, which I love as it makes my violin quite loud without making too much effort.

Loz xx

I used to have a Zeller and found that Dominants worked well with it, although I used a different E string. But I recently tried Pirastro Tonica on my spare violin, as an alternative to Dominants as they were in the same price range and was pleasantly surprised. They are darker sounding than Dominants but have good durability.

Out of interest, how long have you had Dominants on your violin?

I'm not an expert at all, but am delighted with my new strings.
I didn't like the screechy sound of my dominant strings, particularly the A string was harsh sounding, piercing, so was advised to change to obligatos. Very funny when they arrived and are made of gold and silver, which I wasn't expecting...that explained the price! I was then forced to admit how much they cost to my OH! Anyway, it's like having a new violin. I dont' have the right vocabulary to describe it, being only a beginner really, but to my untrained ear it sounds kinder, softer, sweeter and smoother. I'm very happy with the change. The gold E string is a dream, it sings.

I third the obligatos. Have just taken off my Corelli Crystals and replaced them with obligatos - much more mellow. I'm afraid I really dislike dominants - especially on my violin.

I've had the Dominants on my violin for nearly two years, as well as the Obligato gold steel E. My violin teacher says I've got another 6-12 months left in them.

I've had a look at the price for a set of Obligatos & they are a little bit out of price range. Any other recommendations would be appreciated.

This has happened before only last time it was with rosin. I started off using the cheap and nasty and about 6 months into my lessons I wanted to change the rosin as it was turning my violin into a snake, as it wouldn't stop hissing. So I changed to Liebenzeller, which I really liked. Now I'm on Oliv as it brings the sound out of the violin.

Loz xx

Sorry for the last reply not making much sense. I've just come in from work & I'm a little bit on the tired side

Loz xx

I was about to post a similar question, but I think this may have helped.
I'm doing grade 8 this term and I want to upgrade from my trusty dominants just to help boost the tone and feel a little. Does the general consensus seem to be a set of obligatos?

I use Corelli Crystal strings and am very happy with them. My violin has a bright but sweet sound and they seem to add a bit of fullness without suffocating the sound. I can get a darker, rich warm sound when I want it (using vibrato, bow etc) and can also have a clearer, brighter sound when I want that - so I get the best of both worlds.

The other suggestion which my luthier made for strings for my volin was Infeld (I think he said the Red, but check which are darker). I haven't ever tried these because I liked the Corelli Crystals (which are less expensive).

I've never used them myself, but I've heard good reports about the Thomastik Vision strings, which are relatively inexpensive.

It might be worthwhile, before you ditch the Dominant strings, to talk to your teacher about ways of making your tone darker. There is a lot you can do with things like bow angle, pressure and vibrato in order to create a darker sound. However, it is more difficult to make a dark violin sound bright.

This thread is tempting me into experimenting once again! There was a time when I'd wear out an E string in a month or two, and the others in three, and at that time I had access to an endless source of strings on an "I'd like your opinion on them" basis

However, I've stuck with Dominants for the past *ahem* years, because nothing I tried back then was anything as durable, with the exception of an Oliv Gold E. If people can vouch for an increased longevity of the competition, I might go wild and get something different...

I don't use Oliv gold E anymore since one snapped while I was playing and shot past me and under the piano - leaving a cut and bruise just under my eye...

To be fair, that could happen with any string under such tension, and there's no guarantee that any of them won't snap!

There's nowt wrong with Dominants, so if you're happy with them I'd probably stick with them unless some freebies come your way. People seem to turn their noses up at Dominants on here, but they are (as you know) perfectly decent strings. You're experienced/advanced enough that if you haven't found something you prefer already then you probably wont - unless there are some of the newer strings (e.g. Evahs) which you haven't tried.

I sometimes wonder how many people read this forum and then feel that they have to go out and (unecessarily) buy really expensive strings because of what gets said on here. I'm not saying that people shouldn't buy the strings which they feel best suit their violin and their playing - and I know that they can make a significant difference for more advanced players - but for beginner and intermediate players improving technique makes far more difference to tone etc than does changing to expensive strings. Dominants are good, reliable workhorse strings which are suitable well beyond grade 8. As a grade 6-ish standard player, deficencies in technique etc are by far the biggest limiting factor for my sound and tone. My Corelli Crystal strings do a perfectly good job and buying 'better' strings wouldn't make any significant difference to the sound of my playing because my lack of ability is the biggest factor.

For what it's worth, I personally am not convinced by Obligatos. I haven't tried them on my violin, but I have played violins which have been strung with Obligatos and I didn't like how they felt under my fingers. That said, I wouldn't mind trying Eudoxas at some point...

I agree that it's far too easy to get swayed into a particular option.

New strings are always better than old strings, and that's why it's so often hard to make a meaningful comparison...if not impossible! (It's hard enough to compare instruments, so how can strings be any easier?!)

Very wise words. When I got my new violin I used the Dominants that were on it (a big step up from the Jarger/Astrea combo that I had in the past) but it really did sound quite nasty. For a while I was really disappointed with the violin - until I tried Evahs which completely transformed it! The current set have been on for well over a year now and still sound pretty good - so they are not that expensive in the long run...

W

I agree with your teacher.

Flossie, I've often wondered about this too. I played on something resembling cheesewire for several years. (I remember once breaking an E string and the replacement costing the same as a small bar of Dairy Milk.) In fact, so ignorant was I about strings that I didn't ever replace a set of strings until I was about grade 5 standard when my teacher suggested I get some Dominants. I'm not saying this is recommended, but it worked and it was fine. So LoopyLoz, your Dominants are more than adequate for your current standard. Also, if your teacher says they are fine, then they probably have plenty of playing hours left in them.

However, I do understand that sometimes you just fancy a change, and experimenting can be fun. If you can afford it, go for it, and enjoy yourself. But don't be too disappointed if the upgrade doesn't make a massive difference. And hold onto your used Dominants in case you (or somebody else) need to replace a string in an emergency!

That is a fair comment. I'm afraid that when I recommended Obligatos I hadn't noticed that the OP was pre-grade 1. And I don't think anyone has suggested that Dominants are not good strings. I know that quite a number of pro orchestral musicians use them.

However different strings do sound different, as do different violins with the same strings on. All the strings recommended so far are good, so it boils down to a matter of personal taste. I can make a good sound on Dominants but on my violin I prefer Obligatos - that's all there is to it.

(The bow makes a difference too. Over the last 25+ years I have acquired 3 bows, and they all sound slightly different. I use one in the orchestra, one in chamber music and one in the ceilidh band!)

For beginners it is much to early to start experimenting with strings, unless the violin came with cheap cheesewire. Dominants are excellent for all levels.

Me too I don't think there's anything 'more' you can get out of a stentor and i'd always use dominants on them cause i think that's the best string for that type of instrument Dominants make a huge improvement to a stentor but i think anything more expensive will be a waste of your money. Save it up for that new violin you wanted

Yep - many people in music college use them. They're only suggested often for beginners as theyre an 'all rounder' generally good string... evah pirazzi or obligato arent necessarily 'better' or 'more professional' ...

I think there's a huge temptation to do anything which will improve the sound, and when someone's a beginner the learning curve seems so long and steep (speaking for myself that is!!)
I know for sure that the improvement in my own violin's sound over the last few years is a lot bigger than any set of strings could have provided - not that it's brilliant or even good, just better . Dominants are seen by many as good allrounders, and just recently the luthier who did some work on my viola strung it with dominants because they said they would get the best out of a fairly mediocre instrument; and they do sound pretty good.

Not that the OP is doing this at all, but when I started playing my OH started running (there's a joke in there probably!) and I noticed we both spent lots of time and money researching and buying "stuff" for our respective enthusiasms, often the wrong stuff - now he just runs and I just practice (he may be trying to tell me something ).

Perlman uses them (with a gold Oliv? E) and he does ok
They are also used extensively in professional orchestras as they are so stable.