No more metallic sound !!!
Hi, witch synthetic strings don't have any metallic sound (or lesser at last) ?
Replies (24)
The metallic sound may come from your instrument too.
Infeld Red, at least from my experience broke-in within the first hour of putting them on and playing. Downside is that they started sounding old after 2 weeks.
If I had a fat salary, they would be my standard set(They used to cost $40Cdn[2013] locally, now over $90 on discount).
@ Luis : if it's the case, how to settle it? it's need time to disapear?
It just takes time, and I think this varies from instrument to instrument. Quite honestly, I think Tonicas have virtually no metallic edge when you first install them, but that may just be me.
Hi Amine! Some strings may work well for instruments that are too bright, as OBLIGATOs.
Try Violinos. Soft,with no metallic sound.
Warchal Ambers
DaDarrio Pro-Arte
@ Luis : Hi! What do you think about Pirastro Aricore or D'addario Pro Arte to compare with Obligato?
Hi Amine, I don't know the strings you mentioned. For the E string you can use that plastic tube over the bridge too.
Perhaps you could visit your luthier for some advice, it is quite difficult to give opinions without seeing the violin, perhaps some changes in the set up may help too. Good luck!
Dominants or Tonicas are supposed to be more neutral sounding synthetic strings. So using them (after the break in period) should give you a better idea of your instruments natural sound. Then you'll know better if you want to modify the sound qualities further by using more specialized strings like Obligatos.
I'm doing this at the moment, and will be testing alternate 'e' strings as well.
Going from Evah Pirazzis to Dominant on my violin got rid of most of the metallic ringing that I was experiencing.
Aricore and Pro Arte have a sweet, warm tone; Obligato has a rich warm tone.
Aricore have a polyester core and a low tension, like Dominant; Pro Arte have a nylon core with a fairly high tension, like Zyex; Obligato have a medium tension "composite" core and a more "complexe" timbre.
Nylon cores take longer to settle pitch-wise, but deteriorate much more slowly; they used to be noticably cheaper.
www.violinstringreview.com has a good rundown on a variety of strings.
I found most strings I tried, including Dominants, sounded harsher than I liked. For several years now I have been using Warchal Ametyst strings which give a prettier sound on my violin.
I LOVE Ametysts!
Very sweet, clear sound.
And VERY affordable!
I second Ametyst, I really like them. Although, I am nearly done experimenting to find cheapest longest lasting strings that give me tolerable sound. So far, I need to try Ametyst again(for my current violin), and Tonica to find a main-stay.
@ Adrian : I already tested gut strings and I was satisfied about the sound (no metallic sound) but I really didn't like the pitch instability so I want to switch to other strings but I'm afraid about the metallic sound...
Amine, all the strings I mentioned have synthetic cores.
I use Tonicas (nylon) now, on both violin and viola, but I keep sets of Obligatos in reserve if I need more "punch". My instruments are fairly warm-toned.
Sometimes the metallic/overly bright sound could be the tension being too high on your violin, try lower tension strings.
Passione are not that unstable (just expensive.) In any case, generally the much publicized gut instability is a bit of marketing hype, to push the alternatives. Gut is fine once stretched, and any small deviation in pitch won't kill a performance (you can play in tune whether you use steel, gut, or synthetics.)
That said, MOST strings, INCLUDING Evah Pirazzi, do not sound metallic to me. The Dominant metallic edge goes away quick enough, and the remaining edge is actually nice. I would be wary of purchasing overly "smooth" strings that "do not sound metallic" but fail to project well, just to please one's ear-some harshness/edge under the ear isn't necessarily bad, even for gut strings.
I guess some violins can more easily sound metallic, but sometimes it's all in the ear of the listener and his/her tonal expectations.
All about what you like and your violin. My old violin only liked dominant, my current violin is only tolerable with obligato, my new violin coming has evah golds. They all sound metallic to me when they are first strung up, maybe because we are talking about metal;) The thing to discuss would be how long until they settle? Passione is going to put me in my grave before they mellow. I try a new set every 6-8 weeks, when the old ones go flat, and learn from trial and error. Sometimes I wished I played a guitar! $$$$
Allen suggested lower tension - the Warchal Ametyst strings are lower tension than other strings I have used. As soon as I put them on the first time I could tell that I needed both less left-hand finger pressure and less right-hand bow pressure. And as Craig said, Ametyst strings are more affordable than many of the better-known brands.
@ Adrian : can you help me with some sample? to see the difference between Tonica and other strings you mentionned in the same viola or violin of course :)
Amine, that will rather disturb my instruments!
I find Tonica brighter than Aricore, but both have a lovely gut-like texture and similar tension.
With my ageing ears (loss of higher overtones)I found that with Aricores I could not hear myself so well in ensembles, and I would play too loud. With Tonicas, the tone is brighter but not harsh, and folks seem to like it!
I have often recommended Aricores to students with strident violins. I find them velvety but not dull. The Aricores, that is..
This discussion has been archived and is no longer accepting responses.
Violinist.com is made possible by...
Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases
Johnson String Instrument/Carriage House Violins
Subscribe
Laurie's Books
Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine
December 12, 2016 at 08:38 PM · Very often stings will sound metallic in the 3-5 days, and then they'll settle in. So if you've been trying set after set hoping for something that's not metallic, you might just not have waited long enough. Very metallic (initially) in my experience are Larsens. Less metallic (initially) are Dominants or Visions. They all settle in to good tone.