Warchal Amber strings.

August 23, 2023, 5:36 PM · Greetings,
I guess I have never been a big fan of messing around with various string combinations too much, mostly because i don’t have the money for it. Most of th latter part of my life I have simply used dominants as my go to and (with the exception of the awful e strings) found them sounding good, reliable, long lasting and reasonably cheap. I have just had a little challenge as to how long I could stay with the same set and after one and half years I have to quit as the center of the notes could not be identified.
I had been meaning to try Warchal for a while and although say they have a new super string which really tempted me, the description of the Amber Warchal seemed to be what I was looking for so I stuck a set on my violin.
Comments:
1) Settle in very fast. I don’t think it will take three days.
2).Cured the rather unfocused, soggy g string sound that my violin has been plagued with.
3) Sound is just gorgeous! My ideal violin sound. Not too bright but clear and ringing enough. But, especially a very creamy and complex sound. Absolutely perfect!
I am one very happy camper.
Any other Warchalites out there?
Cheers,
Buri

Replies (16)

Paul Carlson

August 23, 2023, 5:58 PM · Yes, I love Warchals! Bohdan is onto something, I've been using them for years starting with the Brilliants. The Ambers are quite nice, I like them on my electric for the richness of the tone. Really pretty sounding strings.

For my acoustic fiddles, I like Timbres. I go back and forth between the steel A and the synthetic A.

Andrew Victor

Edited: August 24, 2023, 11:15 AM · I've got Warchal strings on 3 violins and one viola. Ambers on the viola and one violin. Timbres on the other 2 violins. The 4th violin did not please me with either Amber or Timbre; it has been strung with EP Gold for years.

Stephen Symchych

August 23, 2023, 7:05 PM · Most of my playing these days I've switched over to Passione, but I have tried Timbre with much success. More so than with Amber and some of the other standard-issue Warchals. Might have been a setup adjustment error, but somehow those others never seemed to get results as good.

Lydia Leong

August 23, 2023, 7:16 PM · I've been a big fan of the Amber E for years. The Timbres are decent but not phenomenal on my violin, but Brilliant Vintage is very good for me. Similar sound to Evah Pirazzi Gold, at a fraction of the cost but with much, much greater longevity so a far better value.

Lyndon Taylor

August 23, 2023, 7:22 PM · Anbers sound thin not warm, Tonicas sound better to me at half the price

Stephen Brivati

August 23, 2023, 7:33 PM · Fortunately I am a violinist so I know what I am talking about.

joel quivey

August 23, 2023, 7:48 PM · I use Warchal Amber on my 192_ Roth violin. The only thing that sounds better is real gut. And they are less expensive. My other three violins are "fiddles" used for other things, they use Helicore steel.

Christian Lesniak

Edited: August 23, 2023, 7:50 PM · If someone wants my almost unused Amber A, they can have it. My fiddle did not approve.

Alexander Saldarriaga

Edited: August 25, 2023, 8:45 AM · I too used Dominants for many years and switched to Amber several years ago. They are excellent strings and highly recommend them. I'm currently using Brilliant and am very happy with them. The longevity of these strings is amazing! I may try the Brilliant Vintage to see what they are like in comparison to the regular, higher-tension Brilliant strings. I do have a new set of Timbres that I bought on sale recently. Will try them someday too.

Katarina B.

August 23, 2023, 11:46 PM · I tried Tonicas, Dominants and Obligatos before I switched to Warchal Amber several years ago, and I love them.

Susan Agrawal

August 24, 2023, 6:26 AM · Does anybody have opinions on these for viola?

Parker Duchemin

Edited: August 24, 2023, 10:00 AM · I have been using Ambers on my 2011 Guy Harrison violin (Guarneri model), for about four years, and I couldn't be happier with the warmth and subtlety of the tone. They certainly don't sound thin. The other thing is that they last considerably longer than say, VTS, EP Gold, or Obligato. And the sound is much closer to gut.

They also worked well on my 1880s German workshop fiddle-- although I have Brilliant Vintage on it now -- warmish, strong projection, but a less complex tone. A friend has persuaded me to try out Larsen Tzigane on this instrument for the next round, which he thinks will give it a richer sound.

paul smith

August 24, 2023, 11:21 AM · Another vote for Warchal Ambers...Whenever people come on here looking for a good string to try, I have always recommended Ambers. I started with the intriguing "e," and then one time the site where I buy strings sent me a whole set by mistake and told me to keep them, so... what the heck, I gave 'em a try. Never looked back. I can't explain Lyndon's "thin" experience, above, as my experience is the complete opposite. They sound fabulous, break in quickly, inexpensive... what's not to love?!

Andrew Victor

August 24, 2023, 11:25 AM · Susan A, as I wrote above I do have Amber strings on one viola, my #1 that I have had for 28 years. It took many years to find a string combination that worked for me (the way I wanted) and that was Pirastro Permanent (steel core) D and G strings and Dominant Weich A and C. After about 8 years of those I installed the Amber set about one year ago and I am satisfied with all 4 strings of the set although the sound of the D and G are not as rich (to my player's ears) as the Permanents had been.

My #2 viola that I have owned for 50 years has been the successful recipient of rejects from #1 and all strings I installed during the previous 22 years. As a player I found its sound a little weaker to my ears than #1 but players who have borrowed it liked it.

Louise Redgate

August 24, 2023, 1:52 PM · Susan, I love the Amber strings on my viola; they have a big, warm sound, even though it's not a particularly large viola (15.5 inch). Like Paul, my first experience was with the Amber E string on my violin, which is excellent. I have yet to try the full Amber set on my violin, but I intend to do so!

John Alexander

August 24, 2023, 9:42 PM · I like Amber and Timbres on my viola. The low, even tension agrees with my instrument. I particularly like the Timbre synthetic A.

Warchal Amber strings.

Replies (16)

Laurie's Books

Subscribe