Storage for violin strings

June 24, 2023, 2:37 PM ·

I use a nice wood box that was originally made and carved in India. My wife subtly colorized it artistically and gave it to me decades ago. It has a neat appearance, and it sits on my violin table where I place my violin case while practicing.

Edited: June 25, 2023, 9:26 AM · All violin (and viola) envelopes I have experienced are square in cross section but there is a range of edge lengths from about 3.75 to 4.25 inches. So a box of square 4.5 inch square cross section would probably suffice and whatever height (or length, depending on how many strings we are talking about).

Depending on how many string envelopes you want to store, a large KLEENEX box has sufficient cross section to hold many, many sets of strings - and if you want fancier you can use the box as a starting inside mould for making a more durable one out of any material.

Because I have had strings for violins, violas and cellos (for more than 70 years) I have a larger box: the central drawer in a 3-drawer plastic chest (10wx12dx7h, inches). (The other two drawers are filled with other string-playing paraphernalia.) I have always saved my "gently used" strings, but fortunately just as the string drawer was getting too full last year a young man in New Jersey posted here on violinist.com soliciting used strings for donation to youth ensembles (worldwide) and I sent him the strings I probably would never again find use for. My violin string envelopes still fill the full depth of one side of the drawer; the other side now has plenty of room for more viola and cello strings that it will probably never see.