What strings would you recommend for 7/8ths violin?

September 5, 2012 at 05:35 AM · What do you mean when you said 4/4 Dominants are "too low-tension" for your 7/8? What's wrong and what is the string length of your violin?

My violin is 7/8 too. Medium-gauge Dominants used to be my baseline strings (I alternated between Dominants and the strings I'd like to experiment with) until I found my new baseline strings - Warchal Brilliants, which, I believe, have lower tensions than Dominants...

Many people use regular 4/4 strings on 3/4 size violins, so I don't think that using them on a 7/8 is out of line. If you really want to try high tension strings, get the heavy-gauge version, or Evah Pirazzi.

September 5, 2012 at 10:18 AM · Ouch! Just thinking about heavy gauge Evah Pirazzis makes my fingers ache.

[edit]

Just realized Joyce meant heavy gauge strings other than Evah Pirazzi, which are already high tension, and torture on the fingertips.

September 5, 2012 at 10:59 AM · I used to have a 7/8 violin and never had any trouble using full size medium tension strings :)

September 6, 2012 at 02:40 PM · My violin is a 7/8 and I had the opposite problem - most strings were too high-tension for me. Maybe the tension, or lack thereof, has to do with the height of the bridge and/or nut, rather than the overall length of the violin?

September 6, 2012 at 02:58 PM · For the utmost in tone use 4/4 sized Vision Titanium, for a little less expensive string use Vision. Vincent J Lour Blanc Old World Trading Co. 214-636-8766

September 6, 2012 at 08:17 PM · The height of the bridge matters too fo course. The only quanitiy, which determines the string tension (except of pitch and string weight) is "wibrating string lenth", in other words nut to bridge length and this measure is influenced by the bridge height as well.

September 6, 2012 at 10:40 PM · "Maybe the tension, or lack thereof, has to do with the height of the bridge and/or nut, rather than the overall length of the violin?"

I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure that the tension will be directly related to the string length (distance from the nut to the bridge). The reason the pitch changes when you press the string to the fingerboard is because it changes the length of the vibrations. The higher up you press (e.g., closer to the bridge), the shorter the vibration length and hence the higher the pitch. This is the same as changing the string length.

So if you take a 4/4 string and put it on a 3/4 violin, and use the exact same tension, you will get a higher pitch due to the shorter string length. Therefore, if you want to get the correct pitch on a smaller instrument, you would have to reduce the tension of the string. So as the OP correctly pointed out, if you use 4/4 strings on a smaller instrument, you need to reduce the tension to get the correct pitch.

Practically speaking though, the change in tension when using 4/4 strings on a 7/8 instrument should be nominal. I have even put 4/4 strings on a 1/2 size instrument and they still work.

September 7, 2012 at 02:34 PM · Some of you clearly know more than I do about strings and tension! I was taking a simplistic view based on how the strings feel to play.

I have slim fingers with little padding at the tips, and strings that feel too tight/hard to press down are frustrating for me. I was really happy to discover Warchal Ametyst strings a few years ago - they feel easier for my fingers to press than any of the previous strings I had tried. I also need less bow pressure, so my right arm feels freer now, and I like the sound I get much better (my violin is a 1914 Heberlein).

I don't know if the OP was thinking of tension in the same way I was, but if so, she probably would not like the Ametyst strings.

September 7, 2012 at 04:23 PM · Medium gauge strings are designed to sound best for "standard" vibrating string length of 325-327mm when tuned @ 440Hz.

This tension depends, among the other factors, on specific mass of string per 1 mm. The higher the gauge, the more mass per vibrating string length there is.

If one wants to keep the same physical tension level and tune to 440Hz, using the same brand of strings, the following applies:

The shorter vibrating string length is, the thicker gauge is needed.

The longer vibrating string length is, the thinner gauge is needed.

So, if the violin does not sound at its best, try using thicker stings of the same producer. Do not use different brands of strings unless they have documented and comparable string tension charts. You can at first experiment with changing E string only; it is costs less and contributes to most of the tension anyway.

If violin sounds good but you do not feel comfortable, that is a different story: Subjective perception of "tension". It depends on many factors. One of most important is the string clearance - the distance between the strings and the fingerboard. Another is string gauge, type of strings, width of the fingerboard, players hand size, etc.

So, we are talking about physical, objective and measurable tension, and player's subjective (non-measurable) perception of tension.

The first is important for violin's sound, the second for player's comfort. Ideally, one should use the gauge that provides the best acoustical performance of the instrument and at the same time feel comfortable.

The taller the bridge, the more vertical pressure is. The sum of the forces (vertical and horizontal) will remain the same, but the distribution will change.