I just bought a cheap fiddle and I’ve never played before. It was recommended that I get some better strings for it as that will improve the sound. Helicores were what was suggested as good strings that aren’t too terribly expensive. So I wandered over to a site to see about ordering some and discovered they come in a bunch of different types! They have sets in heavy, medium and light…and then all three with a wound E string. Any suggestions on what a newbie with completley uncalloused fingers should get?
I’m surprised the store you wanted to order from weren’t more helpful. Perhaps they weren’t very knowledgable. Try another store that has fiddles/violins in stock, or who sell to students. Most trad fiddlers use steel strings. Martin makes some very cheap “bluegrass” strings, but they don’t last very long. Other common brands are Thomastik, Spirocore and Dominant. Leave the Pirelli’s for the pros.
If you’re looking for a good tutor book, you won’t go wrong with Matt Cranitch’s Irish Fiddle book and CDs.
I’d recommend Dominant strings over Helicore, for G D and A, and an Evah Pirazzi E string. I tried Helicores and found them very loud on my instrument. Whatever you get, go for medium gauge, and ball ends.
The non-name factory strings the instrument comes with are indeed not good, and anything will be an improvement.
If you have more questions, Fiddle forum is a great place to ask:
Thank you to both of you! The helicores were recommended to me by my ex, a really great Irish fiddler..since we’re barely on speaking terms (haven’t talked in two months and he just posted in response to my fiddle stuff on my livejournal), I thought I’d ask about the types here. I didn’t call anyone to order them, just went to look for them on a website. I think I might go with the helicore suggestion since I do love the way he sounds (as if I’ll sound ANYTHING like he does…lol) and try the medium for now.
Thanks also for the link to the fiddle forum…I’ll go bother them with my clueless fiddle questions. I’m sure they’ll be THRILLED. lol
Call it an adopted nickname…I came online and started to use it instead of my real name about 5 years or so ago. Since then, I’ve met some people in real life who I first met on a message board and they STILL call me “Crys” (pronounced like Chris). I’m so used to it sometimes I forget it’s not my real name!
At any rate…I got it from a series of fantasy novels called “DragonLance” (a wonderful series of books!). My favourite character was Raistlin and Crysania was the woman who was in love with him. When I had to pick a name for a board I decided on that one and now it’s almost “me.” I like it much better than my boring real name.
Probably too late here, but I liked the Helicore heavy tension best. The lighter tensions just aren’t worth the $$. Dominants are nice while they last, but the A string is notorious for self destructing where your first finger goes down long before it should. It’s good to note that strings that sound good on one fiddle can sound like cat-shit on another. It’s best to shop around & see what you like.
Ahhh! That’s what I thought, that’s why I asked. The evil mage needed a cleric of good to enter the Abyss, and there was Crysania. She could not see, until she became blind.
I spent my highschool reading most DragonLance books, at least those written by Margareth Weis and Tracy Hickman, and Raistlin was my favorite character, too. The marketing sentence behind the Legends books was about the fact that it was a quest to save a soul, it was very interesting to find out it wasnt Raistlin’ soul they were talking about (which was already lost anyway), but his brother’s.
Did you read the most recent DL series, Dragons of Falling Stars, etc? I think it was awesome.
After this set is broken in a bit, it sounds and feels great:
Dominant strings, weich gauge, wound E, loop/ball end E (depends on your tuners; if they have 2 prongs, use ball, but if it’s just 1 prong, use loop.)
I find http://www.sharmusic.com to be even cheaper than my local music shop.
Over the years, I have played any number of different strings ranging from the outrageously priced gut to the absolute basement priced ‘el cheapos’. One brand of string of that pleasantly surprised me were the relatively inexpensive ‘Red Label’ violin strings manufactured by the ‘Super Sensitive Musical String Co.’
I find them to be very responsive to bow pressure, in addition to producing a nice tone. Often it is the case, sometimes more so with violin strings, that one gets what they paid for. but with these strings, IMHO, this is not true. Of course, how well the violin is made and maintained, bridge size and shape, and cleaning the fingerboard after playing also contributes to string tone and performance.
The violin maker (notice I didn’t say fiddle) I bought my daughter’s from only recommends Dominant. I don’t know if they are good for folk though but they sound good for classical.
I asked about this, too. The violin shop where I buy mine told me that only a really good player can bring out the difference in the higher end strings, so you’re better off buying from the popular brands in the middle of the pack. If it sounds good for classical it usually sounds good for fiddle, but some fiddlers want a much brighter sound. A brighter sound is easily accomplished by playing a bit closer to the bridge.
I’ve become rather attached to Obligato strings, I find I can manipulate their character better than other strings. It depends on the character of the instrument, too, though, as to what is the best type of string. If the fiddle tends to have a quieter or darker tone, it’s often good to get brighter sounding strings to balance the overall tone. To find the right strings for me, I ordered several different brands of strings and tried them all. I used to use regular Dominants, then switched to the Infeld Blues, never tried the Red. I also tried Corellis somewhere along the line. Then I tried the Evah Pirazzi vs. the Obligato and fell in love with the Obligatos. I took classical violin lessons for years and one teacher said my violin had a naturally dark tone and needed bright strings, and then I switched teachers and the other said the exact opposite about the same instrument. They were both excellent teachers, too, ones that respected each other’s opinions. So blah blah, anyway, my point is, I think you have really just got to try for yourself and figure out what you like. But I have really found that for me, anyway, it is worthwhile to pay a little more for the better strings.
The different types of winding that come on violin strings (aluminum, chrome, silver, tungsten, etc.) can add to a varitey of tones–above and beyond the type of core. I used Thomastik-Infeld Spirocore and Dominants for years, but switched to the D’Addario Heliocores on the recommendation of a great fiddler.
During his concert, I noticed that he was sliding up and down on the A and E strings quite a bit. I could never do this w/o causing the winding on the A (notorious 3rd position) and E strings to come undone after a couple months. He said he changed strings about once a year and never had a problem with Heliocores coming unwound.
I’ve been using Heliocores now for about 3 years and have had no problems. I use the medium gage, and no winding on the E. Heavies might sound better but that’s because they put more tension on the violin top…which can be good or bad, depending on the quality of your violin.
I haven’t yet…I stopped reading when they started that 5th age no real magic schtick…it just lost my interest. But I keep hearing it’s come back and that that particular series is really good. When I get some time I’ll have to check it out! Thanks…
Thanks everyone for your string suggestions! I’ve decided I’m going to keep a list of them…and just try them one by one and see which I like the best. Right now, I suppose it won’t matter much since I won’t sound great even if I had the best of strings.
Though, actually, it’s only been a week and I’m pleased with my progress! I’ve been practicing playing G and D major scales (one octave) and have them both pretty in tune and it’s starting to feel natural where to put my fingers…the bow thing is still tricky. I can get a decent sound on the G and D strings…and an ok sound on the E string…but that A string…I just can’t figure out why it perpetually sounds scratchy, but the E string sounds ok. Just more practice I’m sure!
but that A string…I just can’t figure out why it perpetually sounds scratchy
Pressure and tension. Too much pressure of the bow on the string and/or too much tension in your bow hand will make it go scratchy sounding. Soft hands and smooth bowing action are tough to learn, but they make all the difference in the sound produced. You are right, though, more practise will cure everything in time. Enjoy!
Thanks djm…I thought maybe I wasn’t being solid enough with the bow…sounds like the problem is the exact opposite…I’ll try lightening up the bow some the next time I practice and just keep working on it!
This was the toughest for me to learn on fiddle. The bow would bounce up and down on the strings with every stroke - too much tension in the bow hand. Also, I had to unlearn the guitar grip on the string hand. If my first teacher had started me out with the concept of “soft hands” in the first place I think I might have progressed a lot faster (then again, probably not ).
I’m sure they’ll be THRILLED. lol
