Hello all,
i have been playing fiddle for over 25 years and every now and again take the notion to try new stings on my fiddle. I usually revert to dominants but have experimented with helicore spirocore. What do others prefer and why?
On my acoustic fiddle : Corelli Crystals, cheaper than Dominants, quite a soft tone. Synthetic core. Good on a cheap fiddle, if that's what's you've got.
The best I ever used (and still use them) are Obligatos, sweet bright tone, but very expensive. Synthetic core.
As Zina says, it depends on what kind of sound you want, and also on the fiddle itself - and not forgetting the bow (a critical component in tone production).
No two fiddles are the same and a string set-up that suits one may not suit another (which is why I'm not going to mention the Infeld Reds I'm currently using). Advice from an experienced luthier should be sought, otherwise you could find yourself embroiled in expensive experimentation.
Don't forget that new strings can take up to a week or more to settle in and develop their tone. Some strings can sound very bright and scratchy when new, but a couple of weeks later they're fine.
Trevor
I also use Obligatos on my fiddle which has a little too bright of a sound with Dominants especially under your ear, and I find the Obligatos tone that down a bit while keeping a nice tone. I do use a dominant wound E though - mostly because of the response it has vs. solid E's.
I tried the helicore's because I heard really great things about them, but on my violin they sounded terrible - like I was playing an old cigar box. If anyone's in the Washington DC area and they'd like to try some helicores for free, I still have them & hate to see them going to waste.
well,rzaikoski,i've been using Prim on the viola for a long time now (c,g&d anyway with jargar dolce a string)but i have some bad news for you.when i wanted to get some more at a shop in Bristol last month i was told that they are no longer going to be made.this is a shame as they particularly suit my instrument and i hope it's not really true but the assistant seemed pretty sure about it so it looks like me going back to the dominants again.there's plenty in stock for now i think but if she's right, the writing's on the wall. pity,as they're good strings.
i have doms for the fiddle and one of the reasons i like them is that they don't take too long to settle down.that and because they're relatively cheap.
Anyone in the Toronto area may like to know about the Sound Post's string lab - they let you try a variety of different types of strings on your fiddle so you can choose what you like best. That's how I "discovered" first Tonicas, which I used for a while, and then Obligatos, which I like best and still use. You have to book an appointment, so call them first.
I have just tried spirocores on my fiddle after using dominants for years. The E and A sounded great but the D and G terrible, so I put the D and G doms back on and I'm realy pleased with the result.
I'm now looking for someone who's fiddle works well with E and A doms and D and G spiros!
Well Zina when I bought them I was just going by what the local luthier said when I used them I was amazed the E string can be a little scratchy for a second but it is all good.
LOL -- sorry, unseen, I was asking Johnny what kind of sound he wanted out of his strings...because they all have a different sound, and of course as Trev says, they all sound different on different fiddles...
thanks for all the suggestions. My fiddle is a late 19c hand made english violin with a lovely mellow tone and soft sound ideal for kithchen sessions. It is quite quiet and as i also play in pub sessions I have used helicore for volume but they can sound too harsh. I have settled for tone each time and accept that other fiddles and players are louder. A bit like personality.
ps i am the johnny who raised the question but couldn`t log in from my home connection
It's worth remembering that the sound you hear from your strings when you play them is never the same as heard by a listener only a few feet away. Ask a friend to play your fiddle (with your bow) and stand a few feet away to listen. If your friend is a better player then you may be pleasantly surprised by what you hear, and you'll have a target to aim for.
Also, try recording your playing with a decent mic a few feet away.
another vote for obligatos here. i've had dominants, tonicas, and evah pirazzis on my main fiddle, and the obligatos seem to give the best sound without being too bright or overbearing. but like someone else said, they're **expensive**
my 'other' fiddle has tonicas, with an obligato g string.
Go guts!!
Playing the fiddle is nothing like before since I put gut strings on my fiddle! A few weeks ago I put a pure gut A string. For the first 2 hours I was loosing half a tone every 3 minutes, but now that it's stabilized it's not so hard to tune, it's not as quiet at I thought, but it sounds very sweet and tender and it's much nicer on my fingers. And pure gut is cheap, too!
For all you Dominant users out there, give the Infeld Red or Infeld Blue strings a try. They're similar to Doms in many ways (including the colour coding) but have a bigger tone; the Reds have the richer tone, and the Blues are brighter. Apparently, these strings are designed so that Red and Blue can be mixed and matched on the one instrument to suit requirements. I'm using Reds at present on both my fiddles; very nice to play on, after allowing them a few days to settle in.
Trevor
Best Strings for Fiddle
Best Strings for Fiddle
Hello all,
i have been playing fiddle for over 25 years and every now and again take the notion to try new stings on my fiddle. I usually revert to dominants but have experimented with helicore spirocore. What do others prefer and why?
Johnny
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by johnny
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
I've been using Prim's lately, and like them. They're very bright and seem to last quite a long time.
Before the Prim's I used Helicore's.
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by KeepFiddlin'
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
On my acoustic fiddle : Corelli Crystals, cheaper than Dominants, quite a soft tone. Synthetic core. Good on a cheap fiddle, if that's what's you've got.
The best I ever used (and still use them) are Obligatos, sweet bright tone, but very expensive. Synthetic core.
I use Dominants on my Yamaha SV200 electric.
Jim
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by Worldfiddler
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
Infelds Steelcore those are some great strings.
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by Unseen122
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
What kind of sound do you want?
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
As Zina says, it depends on what kind of sound you want, and also on the fiddle itself - and not forgetting the bow (a critical component in tone production).
No two fiddles are the same and a string set-up that suits one may not suit another (which is why I'm not going to mention the Infeld Reds I'm currently using). Advice from an experienced luthier should be sought, otherwise you could find yourself embroiled in expensive experimentation.
For a fairly detailed run-down of the major string brands and their playing properties have a look at this page on the Ifshin Violins website: http://www.ifshinviolins.com/features_guide.html
Don't forget that new strings can take up to a week or more to settle in and develop their tone. Some strings can sound very bright and scratchy when new, but a couple of weeks later they're fine.
Trevor
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by lazyhound
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
Larsen strings seem to be the favorite for many pro's around here for all-round use.
But they are expensive, and don't do the E-string justice.
Lars.
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by Larshansen
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
I also use Obligatos on my fiddle which has a little too bright of a sound with Dominants especially under your ear, and I find the Obligatos tone that down a bit while keeping a nice tone. I do use a dominant wound E though - mostly because of the response it has vs. solid E's.
I tried the helicore's because I heard really great things about them, but on my violin they sounded terrible - like I was playing an old cigar box. If anyone's in the Washington DC area and they'd like to try some helicores for free, I still have them & hate to see them going to waste.
Heidi
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by RedFiddle
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
well,rzaikoski,i've been using Prim on the viola for a long time now (c,g&d anyway with jargar dolce a string)but i have some bad news for you.when i wanted to get some more at a shop in Bristol last month i was told that they are no longer going to be made.this is a shame as they particularly suit my instrument and i hope it's not really true but the assistant seemed pretty sure about it so it looks like me going back to the dominants again.there's plenty in stock for now i think but if she's right, the writing's on the wall. pity,as they're good strings.
i have doms for the fiddle and one of the reasons i like them is that they don't take too long to settle down.that and because they're relatively cheap.
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by biggus dave
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
Anyone in the Toronto area may like to know about the Sound Post's string lab - they let you try a variety of different types of strings on your fiddle so you can choose what you like best. That's how I "discovered" first Tonicas, which I used for a while, and then Obligatos, which I like best and still use. You have to book an appointment, so call them first.
Helen
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by fiddlefingers
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
I have just tried spirocores on my fiddle after using dominants for years. The E and A sounded great but the D and G terrible, so I put the D and G doms back on and I'm realy pleased with the result.
I'm now looking for someone who's fiddle works well with E and A doms and D and G spiros!
John.
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by rosenun
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
Well Zina when I bought them I was just going by what the local luthier said when I used them I was amazed the E string can be a little scratchy for a second but it is all good.
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by Unseen122
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
LOL -- sorry, unseen, I was asking Johnny what kind of sound he wanted out of his strings...because they all have a different sound, and of course as Trev says, they all sound different on different fiddles...
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
Don't worry about it.
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by Unseen122
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
thanks for all the suggestions. My fiddle is a late 19c hand made english violin with a lovely mellow tone and soft sound ideal for kithchen sessions. It is quite quiet and as i also play in pub sessions I have used helicore for volume but they can sound too harsh. I have settled for tone each time and accept that other fiddles and players are louder. A bit like personality.
ps i am the johnny who raised the question but couldn`t log in from my home connection
# Posted on April 10th 2004 by johnny1
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
It's worth remembering that the sound you hear from your strings when you play them is never the same as heard by a listener only a few feet away. Ask a friend to play your fiddle (with your bow) and stand a few feet away to listen. If your friend is a better player then you may be pleasantly surprised by what you hear, and you'll have a target to aim for.
Also, try recording your playing with a decent mic a few feet away.
Trevor
# Posted on April 10th 2004 by lazyhound
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
another vote for obligatos here. i've had dominants, tonicas, and evah pirazzis on my main fiddle, and the obligatos seem to give the best sound without being too bright or overbearing. but like someone else said, they're **expensive**
my 'other' fiddle has tonicas, with an obligato g string.
of course, all of these may suck on your fiddle
# Posted on April 10th 2004 by eleyne
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
prim blues or helicore or larsen
also I've tried d'addario fiddle for cheapos
-dogma
# Posted on April 10th 2004 by dogmageek
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
Go guts!!
Playing the fiddle is nothing like before since I put gut strings on my fiddle! A few weeks ago I put a pure gut A string. For the first 2 hours I was loosing half a tone every 3 minutes, but now that it's stabilized it's not so hard to tune, it's not as quiet at I thought, but it sounds very sweet and tender and it's much nicer on my fingers. And pure gut is cheap, too!
# Posted on April 11th 2004 by sklerjen
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
My fingers are calised so to me that finger part does not matter maybe I will try it sometime.
# Posted on April 11th 2004 by Unseen122
Re: Best Strings for Fiddle
For all you Dominant users out there, give the Infeld Red or Infeld Blue strings a try. They're similar to Doms in many ways (including the colour coding) but have a bigger tone; the Reds have the richer tone, and the Blues are brighter. Apparently, these strings are designed so that Red and Blue can be mixed and matched on the one instrument to suit requirements. I'm using Reds at present on both my fiddles; very nice to play on, after allowing them a few days to settle in.
Trevor
# Posted on April 12th 2004 by lazyhound