Harmonics and age of strings

January 11, 2026, 5:24 AM · This is quite a simple question really but I'd like the variety of opinion that this site offers. Do aging strings fail to produce strong harmonics?

I have Warchal Amber strings on two violins and last week I noticed that both were giving weak responses to harmonics on E. These are the E strings that come with the spring/coil that offers reduced 'whistling', and I haven't noticed weak harmonics before - prior to Christmas I was getting a good harmonic I needed on G. Is the E string issue a sign that it's time to change? I am one of those amateurs that lingers on a set of strings for ages: I keep them clean but don't record when they were changed.

Replies (6)

Steve Jones

Edited: January 11, 2026, 6:54 AM · Not in my experience, also frequently with well-aged strings (Dominant or Tonica). When harmonics don't seem to speak I usually find I'm bowing too hard or too far from the bridge.

Andrew Fryer

January 11, 2026, 7:02 AM · Interesting to wonder if the designers of spiral strings considered harmonics.

Stephen Symchych

January 11, 2026, 8:17 AM · Perhaps an adjustment issue? If the bridge is slightly out of kilter, you will have problems and it doesn't take much.

Don Noon

Edited: January 11, 2026, 9:03 AM · I know that on wound strings, they go "dead" due to finger oils and crud getting into the windings. That adds damping, which primarily affects overtones. On guitars, I used to take off the strings and boil them to restore the overtones. On a non-wound string, I don't immediately see why they would change over time, except for surface contamination or corrosion.

Having 2 violins lose harmonics at the same time could be due to a change in weather.