When a student brings in a violin “from Grandpa’s attic” or loaned by a friend, we always check the condition of the strings first, right? Now that I’ve learned a bit more about string qualities (see Part 2 of this discussion), I also look at the winding colors right away and try to I.D. what kind of strings are already on it. If that thing hasn’t been played in 5-50 years, it’s going to need new strings anyway… time to decide if it’s got the best possible strings for its tonal potential. Here’s where I go first to find out what kind of string we’re starting with.
String Identification Charts
Lashof Violins — A comprehensive chart of pro-grade strings, but a little hard to use. When you scroll down to find your string brand, you lose the column headings to tell you which string has which color of windings. But this page is still usually my first stop. If I can’t find the strings here, I move on to:
Violin-Strings.com — This is a PDF document with an almost-3D illustration of many of the most popular string brands, including student-grade brands like Overture (Shar). The illustrations look like the ones on Violin String Review (below), but a little larger and also printable since it’s a PDF.
ViolinStringReview.com — Their graphic display is in two columns on my desktop monitor, making it easier to browse all string color combinations without so much scrolling. Bonus: This site has a string tension guide too, which is helpful if you’re trying to match the tensions from one brand to another (for example, to mix-and-match strings from different sets).
So now that we’ve confirmed this dusty instrument has worn-out Dominants on it… Shall we put on a new set of the same, or perhaps try moving in a different tonal direction? Does the tone need greater clarity, projection, or warmth? Does the A sound just fine but the G is muddy? Maybe we’ll be mixing and matching! Continue to Part 2….
