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Full size strings on a Fractional?Instruments: I recently purchased a 5 string violin, with CGDAE strings. I would like to know what the trade-offs are for the different string options.
Should I use a violin set, and a Viola C?
I can find more options available in full size Viola strings, however I do not know how that affects the sound. Does anyone have any ideas or experience on this? P.S. This thread accepts all Viola jokes, however this is not truely a viola, but a cyborg.
From Bart Meijer
Posted on October 22, 2009 at 06:46 AM What is the vibrating string length of your fiddloid? Thomastik/Infeld publish tension values for their violin strings. They are given in kp (kilopond, aka kilogram force). Once you know the string length and the total amount of tension your instrument is comfortable with, you could calculate. Total tension for a violin (all four strings together) is around 22 kp. The tension needed to reach a given frequency goes up with the square of the vibrating string length. Hope this helps, Bart From Nicolas Temino
Posted on October 22, 2009 at 06:54 AM HI, there is a solution for your "greenie": D'Addario has a special set for 5 strings violins of their Helicores. From David Blackmon
Posted on October 22, 2009 at 10:42 AM My 5-string has a std. violin scale length and I use Helicore 4-string violin strings with a Spirocore med. Viola C string. I have heard of others using a heavy guage Evah Pirazzi viola C as well....have not used one myself though. Prim viola c strings have worked well for me too.
David Blackmon From Michael Richwine
Posted on October 22, 2009 at 01:41 PM Several companies make 5-string sets nowadays, but a regular violin set with a short scale viola C will work fine as well. A full scale viola C is just too flabby and hard to play at that scale length. We put Helicores on ours, but some players have found that Evahs work well for them. From Roland Garrison
Posted on October 22, 2009 at 03:18 PM Thanks all for your input! I'll start looking for 5 string sets; I didn't even think of that. Bart: I'll measure the vibrating length and see if I can come up with a good measure of the response to tension (Unless there is some short way to find the optimum without spending a lot on strings!). Michael: Flabby is a very accurate description! The C string I am currently using is like a noodle; wiggles all over the place when I try to put any bow into it! From S Dunlop
Posted on October 30, 2009 at 07:55 PM Ultimately you'll have to experiment. Selection in five-string sets is relatively limited and while they are convenient I would suggest finding violin strings that you like and adding a C string that blends reasonably well. You're not going to get great sound that low on a 14" instrument anyway so you might as well compromise there and have the higher strings perform better. 14" viola strings are only available in a few brands. They're student strings. You can get Dominants in 4/4 size, or if you're using steel strings, there are Helicores in "short scale." You might do best getting a high-tension C for a full-size viola. Pirazzis would be an example, since they are higher tension than most other synthetics. A Pirazzi "stark" C would have about the same tension on a 14" instrument as an Obligato "mittel" C would have on a 16" instrument. Let us know how it goes. I've heard that bowing is the hardest part with five strings. From Michael Richwine
Posted on October 31, 2009 at 12:55 AM S Dunlop - my experience differs quite a bit from the opinion you offered. I have been working with 5-string fiddles and violas and the players thereof for some time now. IME there are some very good sounding 5-strings on the market, and they get better all the time. Plenty of competiiton. Lots of high level professional players are using them to good effect in the USA and Europe, and people like Darol Anger, Casey Driessen, and Stephan Dudash, among many, are exploring the expanded opportunities that a five-string fiddle offers. I recently heard from a player who had been playing professionally for most of 40 years, that her five-string was the most interesting instrument she had encountered. I also know a soloist from a major symphony who is considering material to play in concert on a 5-string. Most of all, it seems young "alternative music" players are turning to them. Among young string students, there are many who want to expand their musical limits and make different kinds of music than the standard classical offerings. As far as string sets go, the 5-string sets I have worked with are basically violin sets with a C string tailored to a 330 mm scale, and they seem to work well. Short scale viola C strings work about as well - could be the same for all I know. Full scale viola strings just don't work; they are too light, and have to be played too loose for reliable intonation. Short strings need to be heavier per unit length to play low pitches at reasonable tension. It is indeed possible to get a decent C string sound on a short scale, at least judging from the response of many musicians. It helps if the instrument is designed from the inception as a five-string. Even so, lots of them that are just based on expanded violin patterns do pretty well. I know of at least a couple of makers who are getting $10,000 plus for theirs. Roland - feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. The Helicore set has proved to be a pretty good place to start, if you are a fiddler. From Roland Garrison
Posted on October 31, 2009 at 05:03 AM Thanks for the extra feedback. So far, I'm pretty amazed at how well it works in the low register. I'm deciding on the right computer microphone to get so I can send a sample. Once I get the tonicas on them, I will have some recording system available so I can share the sound. |
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