Choosing the right strings
for your instrument
Strings are made from basically three different core materials i.e.
gut, synthetic fibre, and steel. Most strings are wound with and
ultra-thin metal ribbon. How a string sounds depends not only the material
of the core, but also on its winding.
Gut Strings
For centuries strings were made from unwound gut (sheep intestines).
Later, gut was wound with metal, such as silver, which increased the
density and decreased breakage. Gut has a warm, rich,
"colourful" tone sought after by string players. But gut strings
need to be broken in. They take a few hours of playing to get them to
develop their full sound. They are generally quite expensive and not very
durable.
Steel Strings
Steel core strings provide powerful, direct, and transparent timbre.
Relatively inexpensive with a fast response and quick break-in period,
these strings are long lasting. A good choice for musicians seeking a
clean, precise sound, particularly students playing fractional size
instruments. Because of their bright tone, steel strings are also popular
with fiddle players who need a lot of volume and a strong, big sound.
Violin steel E-strings are sometimes wound, but usually they are plain
strings. A plain E-string sounds a little clearer than a wound one.
Ordinary steel discolours easily and may go out of tune as it does. You
can get around this problem by using a chrome-steel string, or and
E-string with a coating of gold or silver. This ultra-thin protective
finish gives a slightly warmer sound.
Synthetic Strings
Over the years, string manufacturers have experimented with many
different materials trying to replicate the warm tone of gut while
providing the player with the obvious advantages of tuning stability.
Manufactured with a variety of metal windings, synthetic-core strings
are reliable, long lasting and offer a robust, complex tone in an easy to
play string. As the string is stiffer the response is superior to gut.
Today, synthetic-core strings are most widely used strings by beginners,
students and professional players alike. You should consider them
'in-between' gut and steel, in terms of sound, life expectancy and price.
New synthetic-core strings may sound a bit harsh at first, but their sound
improves after a couple of hours of playing. Synthetic violin strings are
often combined with a steel E string.
Pro and cons of different materials
The type of material used to manufacture a string as well as the
diameter of the string influences the sound. When designed to be strung at
the same tension, silver and tungsten result in thinner strings
(considerably easing fingering and string response), while aluminium
produces thicker strings.
Strings wound with silver have a warm and powerful tone colour, and are
a good choice for the lower strings in the set.
Aluminium winding lends brightness to the string, so to achieve a good
compromise between the right sound and the right diameter, this material
is used predominantly for the upper strings of a set.
Synthetic and steel strings often come in a variety of diameters:
(soft), medium, and forte (strong). Forte strings are heavier than dolce
strings and have a higher tension, Strings with a higher tension take a
little more effort to play and respond less quickly, but their brighter,
stronger sound enhances the projection of your instrument. Medium strings
are the most commonly used.
Most string players change their strings at least every six months.
Although the string may still appear to be in good shape, over months of
playing, strings gradually lose their brilliance and responsiveness. The
best time to change a single or entire set of strings depends on several
factors: in particular, how many hours a day and how intensively they are
played, and the corrosiveness of the player's perspiration. There are
three reasons main why your strings should be replaced: the windings may
break, they do not stay in tune anymore, or they lose their quality of
sound. The commonly accepted lifespan of a string is around 150 hours of
playing. For a professional this mean replacing your strings every 6 weeks
or sooner! Investing in new strings at appropriate and regular intervals
means that your instrument will consistently produce its best sound.
Qualities of the most popular strings
All-Metal or Steel-Core Strings
All-metal or steel-core strings, have a simple, bright, and
well-focused sound. Their advantage is very quick response, a stable pitch
and volume. The down-side of the all-metal string is a thin or edgy
quality to the sound with few overtones and no real complexity. Country,
folk and jazz musicians often prefer steel strings for their volume and
pure, direct sound.
Thomastik - Spirocore: Spirocore strings with a spiral steel
core. A bright sounding string with some edge. The sound is full and
homogenous, balanced and voluminous. They are especially popular with
cellists who need a great deal of brilliance. The cello G and C tungsten
are high-tension strings with a big sound. The silver G and C have less of
an edge to their sound. Thomastik-Infeld has tackled notorious cello
problems such as wolf notes and muting difficulties with Spirocore C and G
strings in wound tungsten and silver wound. Spirocore's hi-tech core makes
for effortless fingering, responsive bowing, stable tuning and a very long
string life. With Spirocore the steel string's technical possibilities
have been developed to their maximum.
Pirastro - Flexocor: High quality string for viola, cello and
bass with a warm sound.
Dogal - These premium grade steel-core strings are the perfect
choice for beginning students who seek durability, tuning stability, and a
powerful clear tone at an affordable price.
Jargar: These strings have been popular for many decades,
especially with cellists. The G and C strings are also available with
silver winding for a brighter, more brilliant sound. Jargars have a warm
sound when compared to most other all-metal strings.
Larsen: These premium priced strings were introduced only a few
years ago and have become popular with cellists for their pure, clear
sound. The Larsen Solo Edition strings have a brighter, more brilliant
sound. Available as A & D steel and G & C tungsten for cello.
Larsen Strings developed this string to emulate the musical qualities of
the classic gut string. With a unique wire core at their heart, the new
strings offer many of the qualities that soloists, orchestral players and
chamber musicians require: great strength and volume; deep, beautiful
sonority with a distinct clarity; a clear attack and an immediate
response.
Synthetic-Core Strings
Synthetic-core strings, usually made from a type of nylon called
perlon, have a rich, full quality and an easy, quick response.
Although not as complex or subtle as gut-core strings, the
synthetic-core brands still share many of the tonal qualities as gut
strings. In addition, synthetic-core strings do not need to be tuned as
often as gut-core, and stabilize after a day or two of stretching on the
instrument.
Thomastik - Dominant: The original synthetic core string, made
with Perlon. Dominant strings are bright and responsive and are very
popular. When new, Dominant strings have a metallic edge, which fades
after a few days of playing.
Comparable in sound to gut, without gut's disadvantages, these strings
have a highly flexible, multi-strand nylon core and cater for artists who
feel uncomfortable with steel strings. The resounding success of Dominant
strings owes a lot to its similarity in tone and response to gut strings,
without gut's attendant drawbacks.
The sound of the Dominant string is full and mellow, yet rich in
overtones. Its radiance, its ability to project sound without being
metallic, comes to the fore both in arco and pizzicato. Other advantages
are Dominant's effortless response to intricate fingering and its tuning
stability even under extreme atmospheric conditions. But Dominant's beauty
of tone is not as long lasting as that of a steel string. Dominant strings
should be changed at regular intervals to ensure continuity of tone
colour.
Thomastik - Vision and Vision Titanium: Wound on an advanced
synthetic core, these strings create a rich, brilliant, complex sound and
are easy to play. They take just 2-4 hours to settle in and offer high
tuning stability. They are designed for advanced players in orchestral and
chamber group settings. VISION TITANIUM has a pure focused tone, and is
the choice for soloists. The ball ends are made of titanal. The string
surface is highly polished. Features great volume, stability, quick
break-in, response and reduces wolf tones.
Note: The ball on the E string is removable to convert to a loop if you
want to use this string with a loop-type string adjuster.
Pirastro - Obligato: These strings have a warm, brilliant and focused
sound. Powerful tonal volume, yet flawless character through all dynamic
ranges, Synthetic core is extremely stable and resistant to changes in
temperature and humidity.
Pirastro - Evah Pirazzi: The advantage of this new core material
over nylon, carbon and steel is that it offers a wider range of tone
colours. Produces an intense, powerful sound excellent for soloists.
Exceptional playability, and good response at any dynamic level. These
strings resonate beautifully and have a silvery, sweet, full tone. The
sound is complex and rich with overtones. Based on a focused warm core
sound which has great playability, excellent response and stability.
Resistant to changes in temperature and humidity. They take longer to
settle in than other synthetic strings.
Corelli - Crystal. These strings are excellent for instruments
with a very bright sound. They have a warm, full sound that can reduce the
harshness of many bright instruments.
Corelli - Alliance. These premium priced strings have a kevlar
core. Their sound has more brilliance than the Corelli Crystal along with
a richness and complexity. Alliance strings also seem to have a longer
life than most other synthetic strings.
Gut Strings
Gut-core strings have the greatest richness and subtlety. Most often
used by professional classical musicians, a gut string produces a warm
sound, full of complexity with rich overtones. Gut strings are, however,
prone to weather effects, they take longer to stretch
and, during this period, require tuning more frequently. They don't
last as long as the metal or synthetic strings and are more expensive.
Gut-strings are usually not used by beginners or intermediate players.
Pirastro - Olive. These premium strings have a brilliant sound with
rich complex overtones and a relatively fast response. Brilliant sound
with big tonal volume and high ability of modulation. Quickly tuned,
brilliant warm sound, rich in overtones, easy response. The Olive E is
gold plated and has an unusually pure, clear and brilliant sound.
A Final Note about Strings
All of the E strings for violin and most of the favoured A strings for
viola and cello are all-metal. Otherwise, on violin and viola the
synthetic-core strings are by far the most popular. Fiddle and folk
players often prefer the added volume of the all metal strings. For cello,
a greater variety of both type and brand are commonly used. Metal top A
& D and synthetic bottom G & C combinations are popular although
many cellists find they want the added brilliance or clarity from using
all metal strings. There are many players, however, that prefer the gut
string sound for its colourful and complex qualities.
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