Viola strings needed, but where to buy?

[carfish7]

Back to school means my daughter's viola is on my bench for a cleaning and strings, but last time I paid full retail because it was an "emergency".

Any dealers here do the band instrument thing?

Any good sources to recommend for an online purchase? I looked and quickly glazed over at all the choices - how to know if service is good vs GC-like without asking, right?

We went with D'Addario Helicores last time and had no issues beyond normal wear. Just don't wanna shell out $80+ for a set.

Thanks in advance.

Hey, anyone ever dropped a pickup in a violin/viola? I'll bet we could have some fun jacking that thing in my rig.

Z

[elduave]

Any dealers here do the band instrument thing?

We do. But if you're just looking for strings on the cheap go to GC/Best Buy or big Mom N Pops, or order from juststrings.com or something, right?

[cmatthes]

Damn! We just donated my son's Viola (with 2 sets of strings!) to the Middle School music department two weeks ago. Wish I had thought somebody here would need that stuff.

[JohnnyB]

Any dealers here do the band instrument thing?

We do. But if you're just looking for strings on the cheap go to GC/Best Buy or big Mom N Pops, or order from juststrings.com or something, right?

I'm all for starting with the HFC vendors. If Dave has what you need, go for it. But also, as Dave mentions, Juststrings has quite a selection. Some of these get quite expensive as you already know, but given how expensive their guitar strings are, I was surprised at how affordable the Pyramaid strings are. Also, the La Bella strings are pretty reasonable. I'm a bit surprised that there weren't any strings by Black Diamond. When I was a kid they were about the only brand you could get for anything with a string on it.

[edgar_allan_poe]

Snake Oil Strings....(Poe ducks and covers)

[burningyen]

Hey, anyone ever dropped a pickup in a violin/viola? I'll bet we could have some fun jacking that thing in my rig.

Back when I was a violinist a group of guys in my high school asked me to join their fusion band playing Mahavishnu tunes. I attached a piezo pickup to my violin with a rubber band and hooked it up to a POS Peavey SS amp. I remember the tone sounding like I was playing through a telephone, and I had to be extra careful about supporting the 1/4" cable so the weight of it wouldn't yank the piezo off the violin, but yeah, it was a blast. My first band. I'm sure the technology has improved since then.

Sorry I can't answer your string question.

[Cary]

Another vote for Juststrings.com. I don't know if they have viola strings or not, but they always did right on bass (guitar) strings when I used them a few years ago.

[JohnnyB]

Another vote for Juststrings.com. I don't know if they have viola strings or not, but they always did right on bass (guitar) strings when I used them a few years ago.

Juststrings offers 9 different brands of viola strings here, and some of the brands offer between 5 and 11 (Pirastro) different lines. Altogether they probably have around 70 different viola string models, including silver-wrapped silk, gut, and strings for electric viola.

[Uncle Thor's Hamer]

We tried to patronize our local violin shops but they don't carry brands that my son likes. His violin was built by a local master and I love the guy's shop, but not for strings.

We typically buy from http://www.sharmusic.com . Their prices are as good as anybody's, and they are well known in the industry so you will get good service. They are a Mom & Pop business in Michigan employing locals, so I feel good doing business with them.

As far as brands, it really does make a difference. Each instrument has it's own character so you have to find the strings that match it. For violin, a lot of people put on a different E string (highest string). Spending $70 for a set of strings is pretty normal for a moderate or better musician on a moderate or better instrument. Strings should last 6 months to a year depending on how much they are played.

You have to read a lot of string reviews and then just buy something to see if you like them. Your daughter's teacher should be able to recommend something to match her instrument and style. Also, buy a second set as a backup. If she likes the first ones, buy another set. Or, if she isn't thrilled buy something different. Then when a string breaks you don't have an emergency on hand. The other option is to keep the old strings you take off and keep them in her case as an emergency backup. Then you can buy new strings at that time. Saves on the immediate cash flow.

Don't overlook the bow. The bow should be re-haired at least once per year. That runs about $25. Even the cheap fiberglass student bows should be re-haired or just replaced. If she's a good player and has a good bow, get a better quality of hair, it does make a difference.

If your daughter is more than a beginner, consider buying a better USED bow. Used bows are every bit as good as new except no warranty. There are some excellent carbon fiber bows on the market, though not all are good, and the better ones are as good as any wood bow on the planet. Carbon fiber won't break like a wood bow: a real benefit for students! The new ones come with a lifetime warranty against breakage. Your student will notice a definite improvement in ease of playing with a better bow, and her tone will be better.

My son has two CF bows from Codabow, one mid-range and the other top of the line. They make him smile the way playing a great guitar does it for us. If it is within the budget and your student is getting fairly proficient, a good CF bow would be a great gift!

[JohnnyB]

Don't overlook the bow. The bow should be re-haired at least once per year. That runs about $25. Even the cheap fiberglass student bows should be re-haired or just replaced. If she's a good player and has a good bow, get a better quality of hair, it does make a difference.

If your daughter is more than a beginner, consider buying a better USED bow. Used bows are every bit as good as new except no warranty. There are some excellent carbon fiber bows on the market, though not all are good, and the better ones are as good as any wood bow on the planet. Carbon fiber won't break like a wood bow: a real benefit for students! The new ones come with a lifetime warranty against breakage. Your student will notice a definite improvement in ease of playing with a better bow, and her tone will be better.

My son has two CF bows from Codabow, one mid-range and the other top of the line. They make him smile the way playing a great guitar does it for us. If it is within the budget and your student is getting fairly proficient, a good CF bow would be a great gift!

Absolutely right on the bow! My brother has been playing cello for 48 of his 60 years. Every once in awhile we shoot the shit about instruments and tone. Once when I was talking about the expensive antique Italian instruments, he mentioned that--instead of paying $100K+ for one of those, you can get the same level of tone and expression from a $20K instrument plus a $5K bow (or thereabouts). He doesn't have one yet, but he's a big fan of the better carbon fiber bows too. I'm trying to talk him into getting a CF cello. I have a friend who has one of these in a custom 5-string. I heard her play it a couple weeks ago. Sounds fantastic.

[carfish7]

Thanks for all the great advice guys - just what I was looking for and one of the best aspects of the HFC!

As it turns out, we found a set of strings locally at a mom and pop shop and also had her try out some better instruments as she was growing out of her first (a converted violin anyway). Seriously helpful staff laid a large number of instruments before us and got her sized, and we spent 2 hours trying different brands and bows and versions of the same model looking for "the one" (she wants a Codabow BAD!) resulting in a bad case of V.A.S. for her ( must be genetic). As is usually the case, one instrument jumped out and demonstrated that it was simply vastly superior and really spoke to both of us, but I couldn't bring myself to indulge the urge without further research. Didn't want to set a "bad example". I had to tell her that it was not in the cards right now but we could look around and find a better deal and come up with a way to make it happen. Then we went home.

Shortly after arrival......

Daughter says "can I take the old strings off"?

Distracted by football, I say, "sure - go for it"!

She comes back a bit later frowning. "I took them all off and the bridge fell off"!

"Don't worry, I can fix it - later after this game" says I.

10 minutes later, she comes back in tears; "I was putting it in the case, and the soundpost thingy fell out - my instrument is ruined"!

Uh -oh. I am an amateur luthier, but I saw where this was going. No way was I gonna get the back off and back on again with enough time for her to arrive at orchestra practice with a functional piece the following week, so I knew what the universe was telling me. After consoling her and letting her cry it out, I had to tell her that we would go and get the viola that she had fallen in love with as soon as the store opened on monday. She dedicates herself to practice, has shown a pretty deep gift, and she was crushed at the thought of not having anything to play. What could I do??

I had ignored the gut reaction, something I try never to do, and wound up having to honor it anyway. Long story short, we got spare strings AND a vastly superior instrument out of the deal. I just have to sell a couple Hamers to get back in the black in the musical instrument category. The new viola sounds so much better, I now feel bad that she had to endure a crappy one for so long. Beautiful flame maple back and sides, and a pretty sweet hunk of spruce for the top as well. It is really a different galaxy tone-wise, and you should see how this kid beams when she plays it! It's hard to tell who got more out of it - me or her.

I did have to ask the obvious question, however.

"How did you get that soundpost loose, anyway?"

The tinfoil hat is ALWAYS on!

Thanks again, gents. Major happy ending here. Now buy my Phantom!

Z

[JohnnyB]

I did have to ask the obvious question, however.

"How did you get that soundpost loose, anyway?"

The soundpost coming loose is no big deal. It's not glued into place; it's held by pressure of the strings on the bridge. And you certainly don't have to take the back off to put the soundpost back into place. A luthier would just use a long skinny pair of forceps (the type that fit into f-holes to fix things inside without pulling the back) to put the post back into place under the bridge post, and would then tighten the strings to pitch to keep it in place.

So you won't have to spend a lot of money to get the old viola back into shape to sell. Even for all that, it's very cool that your daughter moved up into a playable instrument. I remember when my parents "went for it" and moved my brother up to a carved arch solid wood cello when he entered the 9th grade in 1964. Even with the discounts and trade-in for his laminated cello, it cost the equivalent of $3250 out-of-pocket for my parents. That cello took him through high school and conservatory (he has a cello performance degree from the College-Conservatory at Cincinnati), and on through his professional life until 1998. 34 years is a pretty good run for an instrument he got in late jr. high.

[burningyen]

Exactly right, the soundpost is supposed to be movable. You can change the tone of the instrument (from congested to open) by moving the soundpost around, and you're supposed to go for an adjustment if you move or go for a long trip to an area with very different humidity. If you move to a place with much lower humidity the soundpost could poke through or crack the top.

[carfish7]

That's good news! I had hoped that it was repairable because it seemed a shame to toss it in the fire pit over such a small little piece of wood jumpimg loose. I think I'll get it fixed and either strip it and paint it Desert Sun Yellow with flames and add a pickup (my daughter's idea - honestly), or donate it to the school for someone to start out on.

Thanks again for the insight. I love this place.

Z