Hello,
The higher tones on violin are very sharp and sometimes even screechy - espacially my e-string- and it’s quite annoying. I hope, it’s not my violin (or myself^^) and I want to ask if you know some good ‘string-brands’
( I really don’t know HOW to write that down… 
)
Thank you!
Hi Scarlett,
what strings are you using now?
It’s usually desireable not to mix types (gut, synthetic or steel) but OK to mix brands.
Severalm of us have had success with the Kaplan non-whistling E. It goes well with synthetic strings for the A D and G.
I tend to find all metal strings screechy on my main fiddle, so prefer synthetic.
Some times the screechy tones come from sympathetic (or otherwise) vibrations in the short stretch of stings behind the bridge, and and go away if you apply something to damped the vibes there.
The universe is filled with people capable of troubleshooting the set up on a violin. Any good music store in town will have someonewho can take a knowlegeable look at your instrument. If the noise persists, take it to one of them.
From personal experience I can say that it is sometimes the player. My E string sounds a little thin when I play it, but shove the fiddle into the hands of my teacher, and even with my bow she pulls a perfectly smooth, healthy tone out of that E.
So I’m the last person to be able to judge the relative merits of strings! 
Scarlett, is this a recent problem or has it been with you from the start? Are you talking about the high notes in first position (the first position E notes), or when playing in upper positions high on the neck?
Have you recently changed strings? If so, it can take a while for the rosin to build up on the string and for the string to settle down. Brand new strings can sound screechy for a while. If it has just started happening then you might have a slightly worn groove in the bridge. Is there a small piece of plastic tubing on the string where it goes over the bridge? Make sure that is correctly seated in the groove.
I went to a ‘violin maker’ and asked for help some time ago. I wanted a gold e-string, because a friend of mine, who had also problems with the sharp sound of her violin, tried these and now she’s very happy with them.
But the violin maker said ‘no, don’t use these’ and gave me THOMASTIK Dominant strings.
Well, it certainly didn’t solve the problem.
My other strings are Pisastro Tonika and they’re fairly good.
???
What is your question?
Rosin collects on strings?
I’ve seen some fiddlers not wipe rosin off their strings (and fiddle) after playing it
and have struck me a bit that its more of a cultural thing to leave the rosin on than a musical thing.
You don’t wipe off your strings after playing and occasionally clean the strings on your fiddle with alcohol?
Yes, of course it will biuld up on the strings. From time to time it has to be cleaned off. But there is a small quanity that needs to be on the string in order for the hair to grip correctly. Cleaning strings down to bare metal can, not always but can, cause sqeaks as the hair slips on the string.
A lot depends on the playing style, hair, strings, and the instrument itself, but I have seen this on both my fiddles and bowed psalteries. For many players the problem passes so quickly it is not noticed. It’s easy to fix if it happens. Simply bow the string along the two or so inches near the bridge and it goes away quickly. But if this is the first time it has happened for our friend Scarlett, it might be a concern.
Are you sure you’re not confusing having rosin on the strings with not having oil (from one’s own fingers) on the bowing area of the strings?
When touching the strings on a fiddle one has to be careful not to touch the area used when bowing least one grease up the strings and the rosin not do it’s job. That means when one chooses to pluck the strings instead of using a bow, the plucking is done over the finger board.
If oils from one’s fingers is on the strings in the bow’s playing zone the rosin on the bow tends not to grip the string properly.
No?
I would be very careful cleaning the strings with alcohol, not that it will hurt the strings, but a drop on the varnished top will soften the varnish and leave a spot.
With regard to having an E string that sounds shrill, that is a common problem, especially with lower cost fiddles. Sometimes the best that you can do is to put on one of the suggested replacement E strings and hope for the best. A violin repair person would check to see if the bridge was cut and fitted to the top correctly. She would also check the position and fitting of the sound post. Adjustments to these two variables may improve the sound of the E string. Having a violin top that is precisely graduated as the instrument is being made is important for good sound production across the range of the instrument. However, this is rarely done with inexpensive violins, and it’s pretty expensive to remove a top and regraduate it correctly. Better to find another fiddle that pleases you and trade your existing squeaker, in my opinion.
Try a wound E string. I know Dominants have a version available, as do others.
Yes, you are correct in all that, except that we are talking about two different things. One must avoid oil on the bowing area of the stings (and remove it if it happens), but when the string is completely bare of rosin, it may be prone to squeaking. It’s easier to see on an instrument like a psaltery with 30 or more strings, but it can happen on a violin as well. The condition tends to correct itself very quickly on a violin while the psaltery player struggles to get each string responding properly, but the principle is the same. Some instrument/string combinations are more prone to this, as are some player’s styles, so you may not have noticed a problem yourself. It is simply one of many things that might cause squealing for a player.
And I would echo the idea that one should be very careful using alcohol as a cleaner, as it could damage a finish. It won’t hurt the strings, but the varnish is at risk. Again though, it depends on the instrument. One of my instruments is an electric violin that is practically bullet-proof because it’s coated in polyurethane. I could probably use gasoline to clean it. 
The customary procedure for cleaning one’s strings with alcohol is to use extreme caution when doing it,
only use a tiny bit of alcohol (just enough to moisten the cloth),
and put a barrier (piece of paper or sheet of plastic) between the strings and the rest of the fiddle.
Bow hairs can get oily from fingers as well and not hold rosin properly. Its not unusual to wash bow hair when that happens. I’ve never done it but they’ve explained the process on Fiddle-L.
I’ve seen some Classical violinists employ a piece of steel wool to periodically clean their strings.
There are reviews of strings on the internet.
http://www.stringsmagazine.com/issues/Strings95/coverstory.shtml
http://www.johnsonstring.com/Choosing%20Strings.htm
are two that come to mind.
And there’s been a fair amount of discussion on Fiddle Hangout and Fiddle-L on the subject.
I’ve also seen some discussion on the internet and heard people getting advice at workshops about the adjusting the placement of the bow on the strings to avoid squeaking sounds.
Do “dead” strings squeak as easy as fresh strings?
Perhaps when one is used to playing with “dead” strings there are bad bowing habits to unlearn when getting a fresh set?
Ah! but that fresh set feels and sounds so alive!
Can we draw a distinction between a squeaky sound and a shrill sound on the E string? Although it is impossible to generalize about this, it seems to me that squeaky sounds are more often caused by the string-bow-rosin issues that have been mentioned. On the other hand, a shrill E, in addition to the type of string being used, is more apt to be caused by the violin itself, how it is made and set up. I have a beautiful old violin that has very good response on the G, D, and A strings, yet the E string is a little shrill (lacking in overtones) for my liking. I would like for the string to have more character. I have tried all kinds of strings and other adjustments but haven’t made much of an improvement. A string player in our city symphony orchestra played the violin and was impressed, especially by the volume of the G string. She didn’t seem to be too concerned abut the E string. Her main instrument is the viola, so she is a little prejudiced, thinking that a somewhat shrill E string is more characteristic of the higher-pitched violin.
Thanks for sending the link to the fiddle thread. I read all of the posts on the thread, and it is interesting to see how different people talk about and offer solutions for similar problems/perceptions on the violin. I have tried many of the things mentioned myself, but I am encouraged to go back and retry a few things again.