Strings again.

[renaissance]

I know there are a lot of threads about the virtues of various strings, but I am confused. Maybe you all can help.

I have always used Dominants. When I started playing again, I continued to use Dominants in honor of my teacher, who is now deceased. He used Dominants on his violins.

I would like to try something else, because I'm not sure I'm happy with them. Problem is, I'm not sure what to try next. It needs to be a pretty educated guess because I can't afford to change strings on a whim just because I don't like them. There are sure more choices now than there were 20 years ago!

My violin is from the workshop of Leo Aschauer, Mittenwald, 1966. (Anyone else know this maker? Would love information on him) My bow is an H.R. Pfretzschner that is 30 years old, so I don't know how it compares to the models now appearing in the Shar catalog.

I know that how I play makes a difference, but I thought maybe I could get some advice if you know my violin and bow. The violin is very well set up.

I have a pretty dark tone now. I would prefer to have a brighter, happier tone that carries a little better without being shrill.

Suggestions?

Oh, please play nice on this thread.

I didn't realize the can of worms I opened when I started that Kreutzer thread

[Violinchick]

I think that maybe the Evah Pirazzi's would be good for you. They have great sound and volume without being too dark (Obligatos are more of the warmer strings). I really enjoy these strings, and feel they are much better suited with my Gliga than Dominants.

I also think that the Infled Blues might be good on your violin as well.

As for the E string I use the Obligato goldstahl. Some say that this string has a great tone, but it has the tendency of whistling. But I haven't experienced this with my E-string.

I hope I have helped some.

Diana

[SteveLaBonne]

quote:

---

Originally posted by renaissance:

I have a pretty dark tone now. I would prefer to have a brighter, happier tone that carries a little better without being shrill.

---

Bravo! This is a good example of how to go about intelligently narrowing the (potentially mind-boggling) choice of strings to try- you are clear about the sound you have now and the sound you're looking for. Of strings that I am personally familiar with, I would suggest trying Obligatos. Evah Pirazzi, Infeld Blue, and Larsen are three other possibilities, widely described as being high in quality and brighter than Dominants, that I haven't tried myself. (My violin likes darker, less free-ringing strings; it was happy with Dominants and is now even happier with Infeld Reds.)

[sm]

The strings I like best are Pirastro Oliv and Obligato. The Oliv strings have a bright, lighter sound (at least in the violin i put them). The Obligatos have a little diferent character, but I did like them.

It also seemed to me that the Obligatos were a bit more tense than the Oliv, that might affect your instrument's set up.

Tonicas are a good choice too.

cheers -sm

[sm]

take a look here:

www.pirastro.com

-sm

[HuangKaiVun]

My guess is that an adjustment by an expert luthier would give you the sound you wanted, renaissance.

[administrator]

Aschauer? I had one of those. Dont know

anything about him, but I had one.

Strings? I used to try them all. After

playing for 30 years, I only use one brand,

Dominant. I think just about everybody I

know ( I am a pro) uses dominant, except

for the E string. I use a Jargar E.

[bobcat]

Whatever happened to Tonica's?

When I first came to Maestronet, whenever someone wanted to change from Dominates , Tonica's were recommended as being superior.

Now they are hardly ever mentioned. Are the other strings that much better?

P.S. I use Dominates but I'm thinking of switching also.

Bobcat

[Celloontheside]

This probably belongs more the Pegboard, but ... my new beginner's viola came with fine tuners on A & D. Should I take the tuner off of the D and replace the steel string with a synthetic core? I already replaced the messed-up G string that came with the instrument with a Dominant "stark," and it sounds 100% better; I also bought a "stark" Dominant C that I haven't put on yet. I, too, do not want to throw a lot of money around buying new strings, but am curious what people's opinions would be about the A & D. I just want something I don't have to fight with too much. Thanks.

[Andrew Victor]

I think this is a great topic, but it is one that has been done since Maestronet began - even back in 1996.

Tonicas are still as good as ever. So are Dominants. But the strings are different. In fact, all string brands show some differences from each other --and all instruments do too -- and all players too -- and also all listeners. As a player you will string your instrument to satisfy (and motivate) yourself while you play. As a performer, you will also consider how the instrment projects and sounds in an ensemble and to an audience.

So the choice one faces in selecting an instrument and the strings for it is based one what one does with the instrument and what one wants to hear and be heard.

I've been told (by a worker in a large violin shop) that the Pirastro "people," (who make Tonica, Obligato, Evah Pirazzi, and who for over a century made (and still make) Olive, Eudoxa, and Wondertone/Gold Label gut strings) have been trying to continue the tradition of sound that their gut strings gave. Indeed, i have found that Tonicas can mix well with their newer string sets to adjust the tone of one string or another - for example a Tonica E can provide a good to to Obligato G, D, A if the violin has a very strong high end. Sometimes a Tonica A can modify some over-bright partials from the A string rage.

In contrast, the same people told me, the Thomastik tradition (Dominants, Infelds, Spirocore, BelCanto, etc.) has followed on from the original and somewhat different sound quality their Dominant strings create -- and we do tend to here some familiar Dominant string qualities when we first install a set of Infelds.

In addition to the differences in sound (tenson, and responsiveness) of different string brands and thicknesses of them within brands, there is also the complicating fact that some instrments just do not respond at all well to certain string brands -- and it is from this that the prejudice against Dominants first arose at Maestronet a few years ago.

Norman Pickering has done major studies of strings and instrument response as a consultant to D'Addario, but some of what he has written is parochially slanted toward the products of his client company, so that I can't draw objective conclusions from it.

I have 5 violins strung and they are all strung differently except that at the present time two are strung with Obligato G,D,A, but with different E strings. Variously, the others are predominantly 1) Infeld Blue (but with aRed A), 2) Infeld Red (but with a Blue A), and 3) Evah Pirazzi. I also changed someonelse's Dominant-strung violin with Infeld Red and got a stronger, mellower tone, with much smoother G-string sound.

I think one can dig deeper and deeper into this subject - probably far deeper than anyone's real knowledge - but most of what we here would uncover would be anecdotal.

Andy

[This message has been edited by Andrew Victor (edited 03-10-2001).]

[JKF]

This topic has created a good deal of fascination for me. Material aspects of strings is beginning to cause me to think deeper on the subject, Andy, and I started a wild conversation with a friend about the chemical aspects of the nylons with respect to shelf life, etc. I thought it might be an interest, albeit esoteric, study to look at the degredation aspects, as well as the frequency response.

Andy, the Pickering study, is there a paper on it? And if so, was it published in a journal or magazine, or perhaps available from the manufacturer (on request?). Thanks,

Me

[Trent_Hill]

Ren, I would second Huang's advice on getting a good luthier to adjust your setup. A very small amount of soundpost tweaking can make your fiddle bright again, especially since you're already using a string that many folks consider to be bright.

Hope this helps,

Trent

[Dumky]

quote:

---

Originally posted by renaissance:

My violin is from the workshop of Leo Aschauer, Mittenwald, 1966.

---

http://www.itcwebdesigns.com/tour_germany/violin1.htm

This page contains some information about Mr. Aschauer. He was a teacher of some of the Moennigs, Reuters, and Peter Paul Prier. It must be a nice instrument.

[This message has been edited by Dumky (edited 03-11-2001).]

[Andrew Victor]

JKF,

Pickering's book "The Bowed String" was published by Amereon, Ltd, in 1991. It has no ISBN, but the frontspiece says it is available from: Bowed Instruments, 23 Culver Hill, Southampton, NY 11968. It's ~130 pages long. The graphs showing the amplitude of partials with different strings and bow sounding point and pressure are very iteresting, but only the beginning of a serious study - to my mind. I think I bought my copy from Vitali Imports, Whittier, CA (in the LA area).

Pickering has continued to work in this area and seems to present freqently to the VSA-Violin society of America (which I first joined just one year ago).

He had a brief piece in the VSA's quarterly newsletter within the past year that was definitely slanted toward his work at D'Addario and ignored other brands of strings that could have been appropriately mentioned (that's what I remember most about the article - that it was more a marketing piece than anything else). The VSA seems to also publish a journal twice a year (at least twice within the past year) with papers from the big VSA meetings. In addition, every two years the VSA meetings host a competition among instument and bow makers that now seem to be approaching 200 entries. Prizes are awarded, although this year no Gold Medal was given for violin (so they are as tough as the Tchaikowsky is for players).

Andy

[JKF]

Dear Andy,

Thank you again! Fascinating..yet, I know something of the aspects you refer to regarding a bend toward marketing purposes. I'll write for a copy and view the tables with that in mind. Again, my thanks, Andy.

'til later,

-J-