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Changing Strings, Pt. 1

May 30, 2007 at 6:50 AM

I decided that it was time that my strings got changed. It's been about a good 6 months for by D and G strings, and 3 months for my A and E strings. They were still sounding pretty good, but their tone was diminishing just slightly.
I had been using Evah Pirrizi's, and while slightly expensive, getting them through Concord Music made it a bit easier on my bank account (AUD$70 including shipping, as opposed to AUD$130 from the shops here). It was the standard medium gauge set, with the Gold Eing.
I decided however that since I didn't have a recital this year, that I'd experiment with some other strings to see how they sounded on my violin. Of course, when you change a full set of strings every 6 months, it's kinda hard to get an idea of which strings sound better when new. I know that most strings sound pretty good on my violin (the Exception being Obligatos, which lost their tone within a month), so I thought I'd write about my thoughts as they break in. I'm also recording myself playing a couple of easy pieces to see if I can notice any change in tone.

So I bought a set of Larsen strings from Concord, with the Gold E string and the Silver D string. I'm also wanting to try out a few different E strings, so I also got a Lenzner Goldbrokat, Westminster, and a Hill Special Steel E string. At the moment, I've got the full Larsen set on. I put them on this morning - so they're still settling in.

First thoughts.
I Have a set method of putting strings on my violin. G-E-D-A. I think I read somewhere that it you put it on this way, it creates a more mellow tone, where as if you put it on E-G-A-D it creates a more brilliant tone. Personally, I don't think it would make any difference, but I do it the same way anyway. It also means that you're working from the closest peg to the furthest peg, so it does make it slightly easier.

The G string sounded very raspy on my violin. There wasn't the rounded tone that I had come to expect from a G string. I'm hoping that it will develop as the string wears in.
The E, A and D strings were all pleasant, I had no complaints at this stage. The E found it's pitch rather quickly, the A, D and G are still stretching, though the D is probably further along than the G or D strings.

They've had about an hours worth of playing at the moment. They'll get another couple this evening, and hopefully another couple tomorrow, when I post again about my thoughts on them.

People who create rules about the order in which new strings are strung must be neurotic. It made me nervous just reading that, just to think I've been doing it wrong this whole time...