Can 4/4 strings be used on a 3/4 violin?

March 31, 2010 at 06:22 PM ·

I use 4/4 Dominant strings with a Larsen A on my daughter's 3/4 violin without problems.

www.manfio.com

March 31, 2010 at 08:49 PM ·

Generally not a problem. If the windings on the peg end of the D or G are quite thick, you may need to carefully clip off  a 1/2" or so, so you don't have big wads wrapped around the peg. If your 3/4 is small or delicately-cut or has a small pegbox, full size strings might not fit or work. Sue

March 31, 2010 at 10:12 PM ·

Thank you!  I will give this a try.  They are Tonica's and I like the 3/4 set we put on my daughter's violin...she has been using Obligatos, but the Tonica's sound great too!  (She has a darkish fiddle anyhow...).   When she wears these out in say, EIGHT WEEKS, I'll replace them with the 4/4s.  My daughter is a string eater!  (and good practicer too....albeit a sweaty one....)

I love violinist.com!  I knew you learn-ed folks would come through!

Erica

April 1, 2010 at 03:35 PM ·

Erica-- It's not well-known, but the 3/4 strings you put on a smaller violin are usually the same as the 4/4 strings in that product line, they're just shorter. What you need to be careful about in your case is that there is room in the pegbox for the extra turns of the string around the peg. If you get overlapping winding, you might feel the string bind against the floor of the peg box. The wood is very thin here, so you don't want to stress it. If the string winds up around the peg inside the peg box so that it's pressing against the walls on both sides, you might find that it is impossible to seat the pegs.

April 2, 2010 at 03:24 PM ·

I think I will clip off just a bit of the winding then....she has a rather petite (old, lovely) 3/4...with a delicate neck...so I am guessing the peg box is also smallish.  I actually LOVE changing strings, and do it very slowly and carefully, so that things stay tidy.  Type A, a bit!  : )  Thank you so much!  Erica

November 18, 2010 at 01:37 AM ·

This thread is a life saver. I ordered a bunch of Tonica string 4/4, and now giving up my 7/8 leave me not know what to do with them, while selling them in VN where most players use Alice string is almost impossible!

Just one question: how much should I trim down the winding (colored) part? I have an impression that 1 inch is not enough?

November 18, 2010 at 10:03 AM ·

 Phuong: Just cut until you have 4 turns on the peg.

November 18, 2010 at 12:07 PM ·

Ah, I'll try it. I never pay attention how many rounds I have to turn the peg when I replace string though :|

October 6, 2016 at 12:56 PM · You people won't think the full size set will be very loose on the 3/4 violin? If you understand what I meant, even if after I tighten the string to the correct tuning. It should feel just like a regular 3/4 strings on a 3/4 violin?

October 6, 2016 at 02:10 PM · Tonicas 3/4 strings are also their 1/2 strings, and their 1/4 strings are also their 1/8 strings, so I guess you could say their 4/4 strings could work as 3/4 strings.

October 6, 2016 at 09:27 PM · Yes. I volunteer with a youth orchestra and pack extra strings because during the season many strings break. I got advice from my Luthier and she told me that all I need are 4/4 and 1/2 size strings to handle any instrument. Simply cut off about 1 inch of the peg end for the smaller instrument and that will assure that you don't have too much string in the peg-box.

I also pack some tools in my case including a set of needle nose pliers with a wire cutter as part of their design. I've also found that the needle nose make it a lot easier to thread the string into the hole in the peg - particularly on the very small instruments. FWIW: the pliers also assist in unsticking jammed fine tuners on the small instruments where my fingers cannot get a good grip.