Hi All
I’m looking for advice on a set of fiddle strings for my father in law. He has asked me to get him an A string, but I was hoping to get him a full set of (good) strings. I tried looking online but I was bombarded with information on strings and there are so many to choose from. He says whatever way he plays the A string is always the first to wear away. Maby I’ll be told that any set will do, but I just thought I’d ask the experts.
Any advice would be great
Joe.
Does he know what he’s got on now?
In general, Dominants are a good default, being kind of a Goldilocks string.
How long between string changes? I fully replace mine every 3 months. I play between 2-4 hours per day. Generally around three hours.
I never knew until a few years ago that strings age even if you don’t play them at all! Just for a comparison - I play much less and replace every 12-18 months. 🙂
I play Corelli Crystals these days.
For fiddling (as distinct from sweet violining) I agree with Calum about the Dominants. Either those or Hellicore, but *I think* Dominant’s are probably slightly the cheaper of the two and possibly a bit more resilient. I am about to find out, as I have always used Hellicore, but my luthier recently set up my fiddle with Dominants, which he actually recommended. They seem very ‘gutsy’. I am happy with them but still adjusting.
I’ve just replaced Helicores with Pirastro Tonicas on my Yitamusic chinese fiddle. I have really liked them on my better violin, and Tonicas can be bought for around $36 as compared to Dominants for around $50. I did the replacement because the sound was too bright for my taste. Unfortunately, the only way to figure out what sounds good on your father-in-law’s violin is try a set out and see how he likes them.
> Just for a comparison - I play much less and replace every 12-18 months.
I must admit I typically seem to get well over a year out of my strings and more often than not, regret changing. I’ve got Ascentés on at the moment and I honestly feel like they’re only getting better. They went on in December last year.
@jod82 - a full set of “good strings” (aside from the others mentioned) would be Evah Pirazzis. They are bright, robust, stable in tuning, last for ages, are excellent tonally, but the down side is that they are expensive.
As an example, just from one shop :
d’Addario Ascente £23
d’Addario Zyex £40
Corelli Crystals £41
Thomastic Dominants £42
Evah Pirazi £70
Difficult to recommend a specific set, not knowing the violin, but generally speaking, Thomastic Dominants and d’Addario Zyex are used as a standard by retailers.
Corelli Crystals are good for helping to sweeten up a brash or overly bright instrument.
One last thing - if the A keeps wearing out, maybe have the instrument checked out? As well as eliminating possible damage by a fingernail when playing.
Just my two cents - over twenty years, I have used cheapies, Dominants, and Pirastro Tonicas. Since the last string change, I have switched to D’Addario Pro Artes which were less expensive than the Dominants as well as the Tonicas, if I’m not mistaken. They also sounded better than both in my opinion. It has been at least a year since I changed the ProArtes and I have not had any unraveling, rough spots, or noticeable drops in sound quality.
@Buck, just wondering how many hours a day/week you would play? My only reason for asking is that I like D’Addario strings in general, but I’ve never tried the Pro Artes (never heard of them actually). I just like to take note of these things for my next string change.
Hi Gobby,
I used to play much more than I do now - maybe an hour or two a week normally, but sometimes much more. However, I started using the ProArte when sessions were still a thing and they were bulletproof. To be honest, I was shocked at the price difference between them and Dominants because they really make my fiddle sing. Maybe it’s a your mileage may vary type of thing, but I would recommend trying them since you can’t go wrong for $32.
It is usual for the A to wear out more quickly since it has the thinnest winding and probably gets the most use. I usually buy an extra A with every set.
I have used Dominants which seem to be of a reasonable standard and relatively hard wearing but I use Obligato now because they give a much richer sound on my fiddle. Alas, they are twice the price and dont last as long but to be they are worth it.
If your Dad doesn’t know what strings he wants I would go for Dominants then he can go brighter or warmer from there with his next set.
.