Review: Dynamo Violin Strings by Thomastik
Thomastik's Dynamo violin strings were introduced a little more than a year ago in March 2023, with their Dynamo viola strings were released earlier this year.
In early April, I strung my violin with Dynamo strings, and I have been playing on the same set now for three months, so I wanted to report my impressions to everybody. Overall, I would say that they are solid, nice-sounding strings that have held up well.
It took a few days to break in the strings and get that initial "edge" off. Once broken in, they produced a very straightforward sound in my violin, not particularly sweet (and my most recent comparison would have been the Pirastro Perpetual Cadenzas - and those really do have a "sweet" sound). But that doesn't mean I'm describing the sound as unpleasant; the Dynamos produced a nice, true, neutral sound, and it was up to me as the player to work with that.
That impression has remained with me through the months that I've been using the strings - this is the solidly good vanilla ice cream on which you can pile whatever you like - but you will have to bring your own hot fudge, sprinkles, whipped cream, etc.
The sound is even across all strings, and the volume is medium to loud. In the time I've been playing them, they have not lost any of their power. I've sometimes had issues with strings that feel too loud under my ear (I'm not a soloist!) - I did not have that issue with these strings. They they speak well and they carry well.
I used the strings mostly for orchestral playing. After five straight days of Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 (the "Unceasing Tremolo" symphony) - they still hadn't gone false (after the near-constant sawing in that symphony, I thought they might "go," but they held up!)
The "Dynamos" retail for between about $130 to $150 - so they are more than double the price of Thomastik's longtime popular "Dominant" strings. They are comparable in price to higher-end strings like Thomastik's own Rondo Golds and Pirastro's Evah Pirazzi Gold, Passiones and aforementioned Perpetuals.
If you'd like more thoughts about these strings, we have also had a number of Violinist.com discussions about them - click here for a fairly in-depth one that had a lot of responses. And you are welcome to share your thoughts in the comments!
You might also like:
- Thomastik to Release New 'Dynamo' Violin Strings in mid-March
- Discussion: Review: One week with Thomastik Dynamo strings
- Discussion: Long-term experience with Dynamo strings
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I have really enjoyed Dynamos on my violin. I feel like they are less "sterile" than some of the more recent high-power strings out there. Along with PI, they are my favorite set and I expect I'll probably stay with Dynamo strings for a long time. They have also lasted a long time, 5 months so far without noticeable changes. I've played them in orchestra and as well as outdoors and they are stable and sound good.
Thanks for the beautiful review, Laurie! I have a new violin that currently prefers Passione, but I’m sure I’ll revisit Dynamos soon. I’ve got a question about Bruckner, because we are discussing possible Bruckner symphonies in our community orchestra: of course No. 4 is wonderful, but what you wrote about the challenges in the strings does not sound very encouraging. Would you recommend other Bruckner symphonies as more rewarding for the strings? Perhaps No. 6 or 7?
Francisco, you change my meaning when you are rewriting what I said. To clarify, what “stood out” to me was their consistency of sound and reliability. I would rarely use a word like “outstanding” all by itself in a review like this because it is a word that means so little. Also I noted that the volume under my ears was tolerable and not overwhelming, not that they “weren’t soloistic.” I’m not a soloist - I also noted that. (Most violinists are not.) I can speak only from my experience. Some strings are designed so much for volume that I actually do not want them on my violin, as I don’t want to have to wear earplugs or a mute to play.
Laurie, thank you for this review. I always enjoy string reviews from you & violinist.com because it gives me some idea of a baseline on what to expect when I restring my violin. My violin is an Eastman I bought from a luthier listed here on V.com and he had reworked it for his son. It is very LOUD under my ears. And with Dominant lights the overtones just RING! At times this a desired, but not always. When I am using effects boxes and an amplifier, I prefer strings with the qualities you mentioned, "the Dynamos produced a nice, true, neutral sound, and it was up to me as the player to work with that." I prefer such strings because they make working with effects (stomp boxes) easier to dial in what I want and need when composing and performing. Amplifiers and preamps can really project overtones & undertones which can be quite a problem unless I am working on textures, but even then, they present problems. I think I will be trying these strings out myself. Thank you again. Royce Faina
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July 9, 2024 at 01:00 PM · Hello Laurie and thanks for your review! It surprised me that you describe the strings as good but not outstanding, loud but not soloistic. And those are precisely the attributes that Thomastik-Infeld gives to these strings. In fact, the price discourages average players to buy them. I have not tried personally. Well, strings are always very complicated and depend a lot on the instrument, the player...