Hello Michael, as a fellow fanatic who loves to search for the perfect set, here are my thoughts on all the strings I tried. I am a violist, not a violinist, but I strongly believe same brand of strings like Obligato, Evah pirazzi, gut strings etc behave very similar on both violin and viola sets. First, I would like to tell you about my viola. My viola is made in Cremona in 1970s. It naturally has a bright, golden sound, with great projection and articulation. In other words, with bad combination of strings, it can easily have a shrill tone with very obnoxiously loud sound (violin with Dominant E string like, if you know what I mean) Therefore, I believe my assessment of these strings will tend not be same on dark, mellow violas that usually requires more projection and articulation. I will start with whole set, and individual strings starting from C. Obligato Set, medium gauge - after many experiements on gut and synthetic core strings, I truly believe Obligatos are most similar to gut strings in both pros and cons, but improved upon. Similar mellowish tone, low tension as gut, but better projection. However, I had a major playability issue with Obligato; sound will choke while shifting or trilling (luthier adjustment didn't help) in G and D. With other strings, the problem disappeared completely. I strongly believe this problem is linked to Obligato's low tension. I liked the A string of obligato - not too loud, mellow, easy to play. Peter Infeld set medium gauge - Has somewhat dark sound while being easy to play with... screaming projection! Only while using this set, I was told multiple times to play quieter in orchestra, whether sitting in principal or back of the section. I believe that the issue is that the strings don't have a huge room of dynamic control, at least on my viola. Dominant set, medium - Many people believe Dominants offer the most medium sound of all string spectrum, and I agree them to be the most so-so string. I wouldn't want to spend money again for a so-so set, but it really let me see what my viola could improve upon in terms of the tone and projection. On other words, this set showed me how my viola "normally" sounds before other strings can improve, or worsen it. The A string didn't work at all, though. Sound choked easily. Maybe the similar issue on the violin where many people experience with Dominant E. Helicore set, medium - similar to Dominant but slightly worse in terms of projection. This set did not impress me much. Evah Pirazzi gold set medium - Unfortunately for me who spent some good amount of money for this set, nothing really stood out for me except its A string, which was screamingly bright and loud. I could not find a good difference between this one and Vision Solo strings except Evah Gold was slightly easier to play while being just a bit quieter. I do find personally strings made by Pirastro to be in lower tension than Thomastik Infeld ones. For the violin version of Evah Gold though, I heard many great testimonies. Vision normal set medium - I attended a string workshop held by Thomastik, and got a set for free, and I am thankful for that. However, my general impression on this set is basically brighter Dominants. Easy enough to play, good projection, brighter sound. Not too impressive, but good enough for any occasion. Vision Solo C, G, D medium - pretty throaty tone with good projection while being medium in playability. For my viola, Vision solo did sound pretty good. If one wishes for a med-high tension string, I would say Vision solo is a safe choice. Eudoxa-Oliv C string, gauge 19 3/4 - thickest gauge Better playability of all Gut C strings I tried. It does have a dark, nice tone while being able to take some weight for thick sound. I believe for guts, gauge has strong effect on the playability. However, it being a gut string, the projection drops by quite a lot. Eudoxa Stiff C, G, D string, thickest gauge Same dark tone as Eudoxa Oliv, but harder to play - cannot push the sound out as there is a definite max volume you can create. If I put same weight on this C string as other synthetic C string like spirocore, I would get a subharmoinc; it really shows the limited amout of weight it can take. Projection is worse than Eudoxa-Oliv C. Eudoxa regular C, thickest gauge Tone is again very dark, but even worse playability and projection than Eudoxa Stiff C. The string tension is too low to play anything with soloistic quality. If I played on this string a normal fortissimo notes I would play on Spirocore, I would easily get a subharmonic lol (Before getting into Spirocore strings - For violinists: Good majority of violists and cellists use Spirocore lower strings and it is well known to our small community. Interestingly, I've never seen a violinist using spirocore strings.) Spirocore C, Silver, thickest gauge - This string has a very dark sound like guts, low tension like guts, has pretty good projection. Interesting low tension considering its thick gauge. I believe this C string sounds remarkably similar to Eudoxa-Olive C. Spirocore C, Tungsten, thickest gauge - THE string. While being ultra high tension C string, it does have the strongest projection, thick (but not dark) sound, easily the biggest room for dynamic control, tone colour and etc. Everything I believe my viola C should sound like. I never looked back since. The only downside is its price and very unpredictable stretching period - I had anywhere from 2 days to 2 full weeks between I mounted the string and it reached its fullest potential. Spirocore G, D, thick gauge - similar qualities to Spirocore Tungsten C. Very strong sound while being super high tension. However, I had major issue with D, it somehow had very scratchy tone under my ears, so much it just became outright uncomfortable to play. Changing rosin didn't help. Evah Pirazzi green version G D, thick gauge - For my viola, best combination of projection, playability, and tone. Because of my experience with Evah Gold, I was reluctant to try those, but it just simply far outperforms Evah Gold. For G strings, Evah G had more refined sound than Spirocore G. For C, I would go for explosive sound of Spirocore Tungsten, but for G, personally I prefer Evah. Passione D medium- Being a gut, it had a mellow tone with not too good playability and projection. Oliv D med - To be fair, this unused Olive D was many years old. Maybe because it was old, it just sounded very very scratchy, no sound while being extremely difficult to play. Larsen A, D medium - Nononono it outright screams. I can see how on some dark violas, to bring out brightness, the A string would be perfect. But never on my viola. Good playability, but too bright tone+too loud projection. I had exactly same issue with Evah Gold A string. For D, it sounded very bright like A, but didn't scream too much. Good playability, bright tone, good projection - but the tone I really didn't like. Eudoxa Aricore A medium gauge - A string that sounds so dark and mellow, it sounds like a D string. I liked it, but I needed a string that did have some brightness of A string. Also playability wasn't as good as this is a very thick A string. Sound would easily break as soon as weight is applied - maybe this was designed as an improved version of Gut A strings? Eudoxa, Passione A medium - Very bad playability, while having almost no sound. Much worse version of Eudoxa Aricore. I understood why no contemporary soloist uses a gut A string. Pirastro Chorda A, medium - It was a pure gut A string, which surprisingly was very bright A string without the edgyness of Larsen. It didn't fit the lower 3 strings in terms of timbre and was not able to put weight, as it was a gut string. When I got it off and tried later, the string broke so longevity issue is there, typical of pure gut. I still have no idea how Primrose pulled his pyrotechnic with a gut A string. Jargar A thick gauge - As you can see above, I tried to find A string that has all of them - projection, playability, and nice mellow tone. I believe Jargar A thick gauge really offers all three. Suprising for being a thick gauge, it has better playability than medium gauge Obligato A string. So that was my experience on those strings. I have finally settled down with Jargar A, Evah normal green D G, Spirocore Tungsten C, all thick gauge. Since my viola was naturally bright, I was trying to find strings that would make it darker (most the strings above have words dark or warm in their description), but in the end, exception of Jargar A, commonly accepted as bright and loud strings of Evah and spirocore really made my viola meet its fullest potential sound. So I guess I shouldn't have been fighting against the natural tendencies of the viola, but rather, embrace and enhance it. It fills me with joy to have found a set that is reliable. I know and trust that it will always bring out the full tone, and great projection from my viola while being easy to play. Now that my instrument is 100% reliable with no fear of random whistling, cracking the sound or scratching, only I need to be a better violist to make more beautiful music 🙂 Thanks for reading this long post, and I hope it was helpful in your adventure of finding your perfect, reliable set of strings. Also thank you to Michael for posting these wonderful videos!
My mind is totally blown right now!!! Onyou, this is incredible! Everyone should bookmark this page and refer to your magnum opus for future reference. Thanks so much!
@@Fiddlershop Just a minor post compared to the wonderful work you do explaining and comparing the violin strings. I appreciate you making these videos! I myself find them somehow highly entertaining :)
@@dldhsdb1945 the amount of tests you have done is impressive, I identify with you, I am also a violist (by the way I played in the orchestra of the video that you marked as a favorite in which Gustavo Dudamel conducts Shostakovich what a surprise to know that you liked it 👍) and I have tried to try many configurations, I have saved this video and I will certainly come to check your notes for future combinations. Many thanks to you and many thanks to Michael.
Mr. Michael, Not sure if you play gut strings often (no problem if you do not), but just wanted to add a few comments. Yes, they do last longer than synthetics, whether it is Obligato, Evah Pirazzi, Pi, or Dominant. With the following proviso-if you wipe rosin off them too vigorously, you may break the windings. The A is particularly vulnerable. If the windings last, the string will last for an absurd long time. Whereas an Obligato after 3 months or earlier may sound very dull and "dead." (People that have very acidic sweat may find they last "for too little for the price", but this is by no fault of the Oliv strings.) The lighter gauges are "fast", but even those medium are quick enough for the Sibelius you played (this is where I thought you don't use them often.) That "slow" attack are a feature of the string, and not meant to be seen as a problem. The "gut attack" is particularly interesting and "musical". I have used the heavy Gold Aluminum "stiff" D, and that one is slow. Currently using a gauge below your medium (non-stiff) and they are very responsive, clear, and fast. Not usomg the stiff I usually use (I often use stiff g and silver d for Oliv), as I am testing this gauge for the regular G&D for the first time. Thanks for not mentioning the "instability" of gut strings. If you play and stretch them through normal play, only at the beginning of your practice or performance session they may waver a bit. Also, if you play "normally", they do stretch pretty fast, believe it or not (not as fast as Obligato, but within a few days to at most a week.) The Eudoxa are a bit intimate, but they also project well. The Oliv are slightly edgier and more "brilliant". Both are richer than even Obligato, and clearer on the highest positions. Synthetics tend to sound a bit dull for me on high sul GDA passages. Obligato tends to be "too dark" up there. I do use gut, and would highly recommend Tricolore, Eudoxa, Oliv, and even Gold Label strings. All of those are very practical for the "modern" musician, sheep notwithstanding. They sound different, but are all distinctly "gutty". The Passione/Passione Solo are not my first recommendation, though they are less prone to being affected by temperature changes. They serve their purpose, but I rather play Oliv if I am going to spend that much. (Bowing also requires particular attention and care, as a very pressed sound won't fare too well, eapecially with Eudoxa and Gold Label strings. I know you lnow this, but I mention it to help out anyone who is getting into them for the first time.) Thanks for publishing this video, as few people know it is "a thing" for modern players to still use gut strings for any repertoire. Hopefully some will try it before judging them. Be well, and best wishes.
Adel Explains it AAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 But seriously, thanks. Great insight, and yeah I don't play gut strings that often, so I appreciate your insight.
Adel Explains it AAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 But seriously, thanks. Great insight, and yeah I don't play gut strings that often, so I appreciate your insight.
Wow, I thought Obligatos were fairly warm and rich until I heard them directly compared with the Olivs!!! I used to run Obligatos and loved them other than the response and the cost. Plus the string life, ugh. I was out of violin a few years and just got a new one from you guys that came with Dominants. I used to pretty much dislike Dominants, but not having heard or played anything else for years, these are ok lol. I loved trying different strings back in the day, and did try a set of gut strings once. I cannot remember which ones, but wow, I loved the sound!! The response and stability, not so much, and the play in time, wow. IIRC I also found that if tension was removed from the strings they shrunk back up and took a lot of time to settle in again.
Like that spider graph! Very helpful in comparing strings. You might consider adding “complexity” to your dimensions, but it’s fine as it is. Keep up your fine work!
One aspect that many neglect about gut strings is the difference in sound between the different gauges available. The best choice varies a lot from violin to violin.
It is very "unusual" to see fine tuners used with the gut core strings (A,D,G). But I do appreciate that you are using the exact same set up with every string you review. Oh and also Michael, your playing has really improved over the years. :-)
In the 20th Century the bottom 3 Strings are Wound Gut & the highest is Steel. This was in the Transition period from Gut Strings to Steel or Synthetic Strings.
1:08 I'm sorry to all of our Vegetarians out there, this is how Strings for Bowed instruments used to all be made they were all Gut Strings. They were all Plain Gut Strings they weren't wound in various Metal Wrap Wires until 1660.
The results you get with the Olivs on this violin pretty much mirror the ones I get with them on a Frederich Wyss. There are a lot of different textures hiding in there, but yes, they do tend towards the "dark and fuzzy"--certainly more so than the PIs I had on this violin previously, which are definitely louder and (to my ears anyway) clearer. I'm intrigued by gut strings in general and seriously tempted to put a try a set of Eudoxas on my GCV Cannone.
0:33 The High E String is Steel & the other 3 Strings are Gut wound in Metal. At 0:52 you can see right away that the core of the Wound Strings is Gut.
Many connoisseurs regard Oliv G and D rigid/stiff as the best sounding strings available. They’re not easy to find and very expensive. I’m still trying to decide whether to try them. I love the sound of gut strings. Just wish they weren’t so expensive 😂
I've heard all the complex overtones from the Gut Strings, did you hear it? In the day when stringed instruments were first made they used Sheep Gut Strings which have that sound. They're rather delicate so D'addario Helicore Strings might work due to their stranded steel core. D'addario Zyex Strings also sound the same.
Replacing Helicore with Olivs was a great success. They don’t have any of the very-high-pitch metallic “ringing” that Helicores do, kinda like “throw a wrench into the toolbox” metal clanging and ringing. Surprisingly, Olivs sound is very close to Helicores otherwise - bright and shiny, nothing like a rubber band “bzzz” that I imagined a gut string may sound like.
06:50 "bog down in our cave of tone", Never! I had to comment with no stupid spelling. It is very easy to comprehend the values. I wood (could knot resist =/) compare attempting to describe sound as you do so definitively to, an artist trying to list all the colors! As ever another fine string review.
Hi Michael, I think that much more so than with other strings, success with gut strings (or lack of) depends on the instrument, and that in general, that they tend to sound and respond much better on older instruments.
Thanks Michael :) My question is about settling time of new strings... so they need to be under tension (tuned) or also playing them is equally important to settle?
I have been playing with Oliv strings for the past year or so. The E is nice but some of them squeal/whistle. The D&G are wonderful. I have been through a bunch of A strings... the first one exploded just a week or two after light practice. The next one wore through, the winding in short order. My 3rd one is doing the same... I found your video while looking for an alternate as I can't seem to keep the A string in once piece. I love the sound of it, but my experience does not match with yours on longevity. Any alternative suggestions that would match with my other Oliv's?
An update... my D-string exploded a couple days ago during a wave of humidity. It was at night and I woke up to another dead oliv string. That will be the last I purchase unfortunately.
@@jordanharkness Gut Strings are rather sensative to the Humidity so use D'addario Helicore Strings instead. Helicore strings come from the word Helix meaning spiral. The Core of those strings is Multiple strands of steel twisted together & then wound in another type of Metal, very much like the Wound Gut strings so Helicore strings are kinda a Steel-Gut core String. The stranded steel core makes those strings sound like Gut Strings but they last longer, they're resistant to humidity & temperature changes, plus they take a fraction of the time to break in.
Yes, as much as it sounds like they're creating new metals, it's usually a description of the layers of metals, Gold plated on top of steel, or chrome layer on top of steel core.
@@Fiddlershop I think Baroque Players would love these Gut Core String sets cause they're easier to install plus the High E String has a little tube to protect it, very clever.
Michael, a technical Q. When a string is open tuned and later played, the act of bowing will place stress and slightly stretch such sting maybe making the whole string temporarily turn a bit sharp. Is this correct? And is it advisable to open tune the string a bit flat just to compensate? Mayne I am over thinking here... perplexed.
Usually, strings stretch and get flatter. Sometimes you'll even see violinists tune their instruments, and if a string is just a little too sharp, they'll stretch it (as if to play pizzicato). Or if the string is too low, push the string behind the nut into the pegbox to make it sharper.
Gut strings are typically most durable of all strings, however with all cases, your mileage may vary based on amount played per day, aggressiveness of playing, weather conditions like humidity, hand moisture etc. But we'd expect you could get 6 months to a year on average before you'd want to replace them.
How long did you wait for doing the strings review after installing them? They need like around one week to settle and acquire their real behaviour. As well you should have tried to play something of bach. Everything makes sense when you play bach with strings. Not only romantic or potent repertory. As well, the bow attacks must be technically adapted to create different sillables. Not only fffff fffff. When you control this the you discover the instrument starts speaking. Yes! You can make it sing insteaf of making it sound.
Man no comparison to synthetic strings. The gut are crazy more complex and interesting! I love gut strings on my violin
Hello Michael, as a fellow fanatic who loves to search for the perfect set, here are my thoughts on all the strings I tried. I am a violist, not a violinist, but I strongly believe same brand of strings like Obligato, Evah pirazzi, gut strings etc behave very similar on both violin and viola sets.
First, I would like to tell you about my viola. My viola is made in Cremona in 1970s. It naturally has a bright, golden sound, with great projection and articulation. In other words, with bad combination of strings, it can easily have a shrill tone with very obnoxiously loud sound (violin with Dominant E string like, if you know what I mean)
Therefore, I believe my assessment of these strings will tend not be same on dark, mellow violas that usually requires more projection and articulation.
I will start with whole set, and individual strings starting from C.
Obligato Set, medium gauge - after many experiements on gut and synthetic core strings, I truly believe Obligatos are most similar to gut strings in both pros and cons, but improved upon. Similar mellowish tone, low tension as gut, but better projection. However, I had a major playability issue with Obligato; sound will choke while shifting or trilling (luthier adjustment didn't help) in G and D. With other strings, the problem disappeared completely. I strongly believe this problem is linked to Obligato's low tension. I liked the A string of obligato - not too loud, mellow, easy to play.
Peter Infeld set medium gauge - Has somewhat dark sound while being easy to play with... screaming projection! Only while using this set, I was told multiple times to play quieter in orchestra, whether sitting in principal or back of the section. I believe that the issue is that the strings don't have a huge room of dynamic control, at least on my viola.
Dominant set, medium - Many people believe Dominants offer the most medium sound of all string spectrum, and I agree them to be the most so-so string. I wouldn't want to spend money again for a so-so set, but it really let me see what my viola could improve upon in terms of the tone and projection. On other words, this set showed me how my viola "normally" sounds before other strings can improve, or worsen it. The A string didn't work at all, though. Sound choked easily. Maybe the similar issue on the violin where many people experience with Dominant E.
Helicore set, medium - similar to Dominant but slightly worse in terms of projection. This set did not impress me much.
Evah Pirazzi gold set medium - Unfortunately for me who spent some good amount of money for this set, nothing really stood out for me except its A string, which was screamingly bright and loud. I could not find a good difference between this one and Vision Solo strings except Evah Gold was slightly easier to play while being just a bit quieter. I do find personally strings made by Pirastro to be in lower tension than Thomastik Infeld ones. For the violin version of Evah Gold though, I heard many great testimonies.
Vision normal set medium - I attended a string workshop held by Thomastik, and got a set for free, and I am thankful for that. However, my general impression on this set is basically brighter Dominants. Easy enough to play, good projection, brighter sound. Not too impressive, but good enough for any occasion.
Vision Solo C, G, D medium - pretty throaty tone with good projection while being medium in playability. For my viola, Vision solo did sound pretty good. If one wishes for a med-high tension string, I would say Vision solo is a safe choice.
Eudoxa-Oliv C string, gauge 19 3/4 - thickest gauge
Better playability of all Gut C strings I tried. It does have a dark, nice tone while being able to take some weight for thick sound. I believe for guts, gauge has strong effect on the playability. However, it being a gut string, the projection drops by quite a lot.
Eudoxa Stiff C, G, D string, thickest gauge
Same dark tone as Eudoxa Oliv, but harder to play - cannot push the sound out as there is a definite max volume you can create. If I put same weight on this C string as other synthetic C string like spirocore, I would get a subharmoinc; it really shows the limited amout of weight it can take. Projection is worse than Eudoxa-Oliv C.
Eudoxa regular C, thickest gauge
Tone is again very dark, but even worse playability and projection than Eudoxa Stiff C. The string tension is too low to play anything with soloistic quality. If I played on this string a normal fortissimo notes I would play on Spirocore, I would easily get a subharmonic lol
(Before getting into Spirocore strings - For violinists: Good majority of violists and cellists use Spirocore lower strings and it is well known to our small community. Interestingly, I've never seen a violinist using spirocore strings.)
Spirocore C, Silver, thickest gauge - This string has a very dark sound like guts, low tension like guts, has pretty good projection. Interesting low tension considering its thick gauge. I believe this C string sounds remarkably similar to Eudoxa-Olive C.
Spirocore C, Tungsten, thickest gauge - THE string. While being ultra high tension C string, it does have the strongest projection, thick (but not dark) sound, easily the biggest room for dynamic control, tone colour and etc. Everything I believe my viola C should sound like. I never looked back since. The only downside is its price and very unpredictable stretching period - I had anywhere from 2 days to 2 full weeks between I mounted the string and it reached its fullest potential.
Spirocore G, D, thick gauge - similar qualities to Spirocore Tungsten C. Very strong sound while being super high tension. However, I had major issue with D, it somehow had very scratchy tone under my ears, so much it just became outright uncomfortable to play. Changing rosin didn't help.
Evah Pirazzi green version G D, thick gauge - For my viola, best combination of projection, playability, and tone. Because of my experience with Evah Gold, I was reluctant to try those, but it just simply far outperforms Evah Gold. For G strings, Evah G had more refined sound than Spirocore G. For C, I would go for explosive sound of Spirocore Tungsten, but for G, personally I prefer Evah.
Passione D medium- Being a gut, it had a mellow tone with not too good playability and projection.
Oliv D med - To be fair, this unused Olive D was many years old. Maybe because it was old, it just sounded very very scratchy, no sound while being extremely difficult to play.
Larsen A, D medium - Nononono it outright screams. I can see how on some dark violas, to bring out brightness, the A string would be perfect. But never on my viola. Good playability, but too bright tone+too loud projection. I had exactly same issue with Evah Gold A string. For D, it sounded very bright like A, but didn't scream too much. Good playability, bright tone, good projection - but the tone I really didn't like.
Eudoxa Aricore A medium gauge - A string that sounds so dark and mellow, it sounds like a D string. I liked it, but I needed a string that did have some brightness of A string. Also playability wasn't as good as this is a very thick A string. Sound would easily break as soon as weight is applied - maybe this was designed as an improved version of Gut A strings?
Eudoxa, Passione A medium - Very bad playability, while having almost no sound. Much worse version of Eudoxa Aricore. I understood why no contemporary soloist uses a gut A string.
Pirastro Chorda A, medium - It was a pure gut A string, which surprisingly was very bright A string without the edgyness of Larsen. It didn't fit the lower 3 strings in terms of timbre and was not able to put weight, as it was a gut string. When I got it off and tried later, the string broke so longevity issue is there, typical of pure gut. I still have no idea how Primrose pulled his pyrotechnic with a gut A string.
Jargar A thick gauge - As you can see above, I tried to find A string that has all of them - projection, playability, and nice mellow tone. I believe Jargar A thick gauge really offers all three. Suprising for being a thick gauge, it has better playability than medium gauge Obligato A string.
So that was my experience on those strings. I have finally settled down with Jargar A, Evah normal green D G, Spirocore Tungsten C, all thick gauge. Since my viola was naturally bright, I was trying to find strings that would make it darker (most the strings above have words dark or warm in their description), but in the end, exception of Jargar A, commonly accepted as bright and loud strings of Evah and spirocore really made my viola meet its fullest potential sound. So I guess I shouldn't have been fighting against the natural tendencies of the viola, but rather, embrace and enhance it.
It fills me with joy to have found a set that is reliable. I know and trust that it will always bring out the full tone, and great projection from my viola while being easy to play. Now that my instrument is 100% reliable with no fear of random whistling, cracking the sound or scratching, only I need to be a better violist to make more beautiful music 🙂
Thanks for reading this long post, and I hope it was helpful in your adventure of finding your perfect, reliable set of strings. Also thank you to Michael for posting these wonderful videos!
My mind is totally blown right now!!! Onyou, this is incredible! Everyone should bookmark this page and refer to your magnum opus for future reference. Thanks so much!
@@Fiddlershop Just a minor post compared to the wonderful work you do explaining and comparing the violin strings. I appreciate you making these videos! I myself find them somehow highly entertaining :)
Thanks for sharing Onyou Lee !
@@dldhsdb1945 the amount of tests you have done is impressive, I identify with you, I am also a violist (by the way I played in the orchestra of the video that you marked as a favorite in which Gustavo Dudamel conducts Shostakovich what a surprise to know that you liked it 👍) and I have tried to try many configurations, I have saved this video and I will certainly come to check your notes for future combinations. Many thanks to you and many thanks to Michael.
Helicore Strings might work better plus they respond faster
Mr. Michael,
Not sure if you play gut strings often (no problem if you do not), but just wanted to add a few comments.
Yes, they do last longer than synthetics, whether it is Obligato, Evah Pirazzi, Pi, or Dominant. With the following proviso-if you wipe rosin off them too vigorously, you may break the windings. The A is particularly vulnerable. If the windings last, the string will last for an absurd long time. Whereas an Obligato after 3 months or earlier may sound very dull and "dead." (People that have very acidic sweat may find they last "for too little for the price", but this is by no fault of the Oliv strings.)
The lighter gauges are "fast", but even those medium are quick enough for the Sibelius you played (this is where I thought you don't use them often.) That "slow" attack are a feature of the string, and not meant to be seen as a problem. The "gut attack" is particularly interesting and "musical". I have used the heavy Gold Aluminum "stiff" D, and that one is slow. Currently using a gauge below your medium (non-stiff) and they are very responsive, clear, and fast. Not usomg the stiff I usually use (I often use stiff g and silver d for Oliv), as I am testing this gauge for the regular G&D for the first time.
Thanks for not mentioning the "instability" of gut strings. If you play and stretch them through normal play, only at the beginning of your practice or performance session they may waver a bit. Also, if you play "normally", they do stretch pretty fast, believe it or not (not as fast as Obligato, but within a few days to at most a week.)
The Eudoxa are a bit intimate, but they also project well. The Oliv are slightly edgier and more "brilliant". Both are richer than even Obligato, and clearer on the highest positions. Synthetics tend to sound a bit dull for me on high sul GDA passages. Obligato tends to be "too dark" up there.
I do use gut, and would highly recommend Tricolore, Eudoxa, Oliv, and even Gold Label strings. All of those are very practical for the "modern" musician, sheep notwithstanding. They sound different, but are all distinctly "gutty". The Passione/Passione Solo are not my first recommendation, though they are less prone to being affected by temperature changes. They serve their purpose, but I rather play Oliv if I am going to spend that much.
(Bowing also requires particular attention and care, as a very pressed sound won't fare too well, eapecially with Eudoxa and Gold Label strings. I know you lnow this, but I mention it to help out anyone who is getting into them for the first time.)
Thanks for publishing this video, as few people know it is "a thing" for modern players to still use gut strings for any repertoire. Hopefully some will try it before judging them.
Be well, and best wishes.
Adel Explains it AAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 But seriously, thanks. Great insight, and yeah I don't play gut strings that often, so I appreciate your insight.
Adel Explains it AAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 But seriously, thanks. Great insight, and yeah I don't play gut strings that often, so I appreciate your insight.
Wow, I thought Obligatos were fairly warm and rich until I heard them directly compared with the Olivs!!!
I used to run Obligatos and loved them other than the response and the cost. Plus the string life, ugh. I was out of violin a few years and just got a new one from you guys that came with Dominants. I used to pretty much dislike Dominants, but not having heard or played anything else for years, these are ok lol.
I loved trying different strings back in the day, and did try a set of gut strings once. I cannot remember which ones, but wow, I loved the sound!! The response and stability, not so much, and the play in time, wow. IIRC I also found that if tension was removed from the strings they shrunk back up and took a lot of time to settle in again.
Thanks for watching!
Like that spider graph! Very helpful in comparing strings. You might consider adding “complexity” to your dimensions, but it’s fine as it is. Keep up your fine work!
One aspect that many neglect about gut strings is the difference in sound between the different gauges available. The best choice varies a lot from violin to violin.
Thanks for watching!
It is very "unusual" to see fine tuners used with the gut core strings (A,D,G). But I do appreciate that you are using the exact same set up with every string you review. Oh and also Michael, your playing has really improved over the years. :-)
In the 20th Century the bottom 3 Strings are Wound Gut & the highest is Steel. This was in the Transition period from Gut Strings to Steel or Synthetic Strings.
1:08 I'm sorry to all of our Vegetarians out there, this is how Strings for Bowed instruments used to all be made they were all Gut Strings. They were all Plain Gut Strings they weren't wound in various Metal Wrap Wires until 1660.
You won't believe the tone you got out of these strings?
The Pirastro Oliv strings definitely improve and refines the sound quality of the Artist violin - but at $133.99! Great strings though.
Yes, we also wish they were less expensive. We hear you, Marty!
Thank you so much for the effort!! All these videos help a LOT!
Kind of you, Izan! :)
The results you get with the Olivs on this violin pretty much mirror the ones I get with them on a Frederich Wyss. There are a lot of different textures hiding in there, but yes, they do tend towards the "dark and fuzzy"--certainly more so than the PIs I had on this violin previously, which are definitely louder and (to my ears anyway) clearer. I'm intrigued by gut strings in general and seriously tempted to put a try a set of Eudoxas on my GCV Cannone.
What do you think about Passione or Eudoxa? I’d love to see a review or comparison between Oliv and Passione. Thanks!!
That would be very interesting!!
0:33 The High E String is Steel & the other 3 Strings are Gut wound in Metal. At 0:52 you can see right away that the core of the Wound Strings is Gut.
Many connoisseurs regard Oliv G and D rigid/stiff as the best sounding strings available. They’re not easy to find and very expensive. I’m still trying to decide whether to try them. I love the sound of gut strings. Just wish they weren’t so expensive 😂
Beautiful !
Thank you!! :)
I've heard all the complex overtones from the Gut Strings, did you hear it? In the day when stringed instruments were first made they used Sheep Gut Strings which have that sound. They're rather delicate so D'addario Helicore Strings might work due to their stranded steel core. D'addario Zyex Strings also sound the same.
Could you review the Tricolore set please? 🙏
You are playing the standard Oliv and not the Rigid here, correct? Should try the Rigid!
So with Gut Strings all of the really old repertoire from Bach's Days is still there.
Replacing Helicore with Olivs was a great success. They don’t have any of the very-high-pitch metallic “ringing” that Helicores do, kinda like “throw a wrench into the toolbox” metal clanging and ringing. Surprisingly, Olivs sound is very close to Helicores otherwise - bright and shiny, nothing like a rubber band “bzzz” that I imagined a gut string may sound like.
Good stuff, yes Olivs are very nice, just a bit pricey.
06:50 "bog down in our cave of tone", Never! I had to comment with no stupid spelling. It is very easy to comprehend the values. I wood (could knot resist =/) compare attempting to describe sound as you do so definitively to, an artist trying to list all the colors! As ever another fine string review.
The quality of the violin makes a huge difference also. So you test them on a Holstein Bench made violin.
I do these all on the Fiddlerman Artist Violin. I wanted to compare them all on a pretty affordable instrument.
@@Fiddlershop Very good, nice.
Thanks for that information
Thanks, Henry!! :)
Synthetic & Steel Strings tend to last alot longer because they're resistant to temperature changes.
Hi Michael, I think that much more so than with other strings, success with gut strings (or lack of) depends on the instrument, and that in general, that they tend to sound and respond much better on older instruments.
Back for refresher info. 01:07 Priceless! Ewe half know he-quill, know body dose butter videos.
Thanks Michael :) My question is about settling time of new strings... so they need to be under tension (tuned) or also playing them is equally important to settle?
Hi and thanks! No, the strings should always be perfectly tuned. So just keep playing and fine tuning, until they settle. :)
would you like to do pirastro chorda review?
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll add it to the queue!
@@Fiddlershop love it!!!
awesome string pirastro oliv..pls watch my violin playing too im using pirastro tonica and karlhofner violin from germany
I have been playing with Oliv strings for the past year or so. The E is nice but some of them squeal/whistle.
The D&G are wonderful. I have been through a bunch of A strings... the first one exploded just a week or two after light practice. The next one wore through, the winding in short order. My 3rd one is doing the same... I found your video while looking for an alternate as I can't seem to keep the A string in once piece. I love the sound of it, but my experience does not match with yours on longevity.
Any alternative suggestions that would match with my other Oliv's?
I think they work best w/ synthetic rosin since there's no metal particles.
An update... my D-string exploded a couple days ago during a wave of humidity. It was at night and I woke up to another dead oliv string.
That will be the last I purchase unfortunately.
@@jordanharkness Use Warchal Amber Strings instead.
@@jordanharkness Gut Strings are rather sensative to the Humidity so use D'addario Helicore Strings instead. Helicore strings come from the word Helix meaning spiral. The Core of those strings is Multiple strands of steel twisted together & then wound in another type of Metal, very much like the Wound Gut strings so Helicore strings are kinda a Steel-Gut core String. The stranded steel core makes those strings sound like Gut Strings but they last longer, they're resistant to humidity & temperature changes, plus they take a fraction of the time to break in.
My Oliv A's don't last as long as the others either.
What does Gold Steel Mean? Chrome Plated steel?
Yes, as much as it sounds like they're creating new metals, it's usually a description of the layers of metals, Gold plated on top of steel, or chrome layer on top of steel core.
@@Fiddlershop I think Baroque Players would love these Gut Core String sets cause they're easier to install plus the High E String has a little tube to protect it, very clever.
@UCytTZDaLZaplTKMnTHh-hTQ
I wish they made Synthetic Core Versions of these stings cause gut strings tend to break easily.
Can someone help me? What's meaning of 3/4 or 1/2 or 1/4 at gut strings. Also G 15, G 16 meaning is thickness of the string?
Michael, a technical Q. When a string is open tuned and later played, the act of bowing will place stress and slightly stretch such sting maybe making the whole string temporarily turn a bit sharp. Is this correct? And is it advisable to open tune the string a bit flat just to compensate? Mayne I am over thinking here... perplexed.
Usually, strings stretch and get flatter. Sometimes you'll even see violinists tune their instruments, and if a string is just a little too sharp, they'll stretch it (as if to play pizzicato). Or if the string is too low, push the string behind the nut into the pegbox to make it sharper.
@@Fiddlershop thanks
Elas perdem muito a afinação,ou são estáveis????
Thanks for watching!
The best violin strings. I only use guts strings
Thanks for sharing, Mateus!
Have same impression replacing Helicores with Olivs - simply better strings.
What is the average durability for these strings ?
Gut strings are typically most durable of all strings, however with all cases, your mileage may vary based on amount played per day, aggressiveness of playing, weather conditions like humidity, hand moisture etc. But we'd expect you could get 6 months to a year on average before you'd want to replace them.
I love your videos Michael but we need a new tune
How long did you wait for doing the strings review after installing them? They need like around one week to settle and acquire their real behaviour. As well you should have tried to play something of bach. Everything makes sense when you play bach with strings. Not only romantic or potent repertory. As well, the bow attacks must be technically adapted to create different sillables. Not only fffff fffff. When you control this the you discover the instrument starts speaking. Yes! You can make it sing insteaf of making it sound.
Come, if you like, perfect.
They sound great. But with my luck they might go baa baa...