Pro-Arte Violin Single A String, 3/4 Scale, Medium Tension

I discovered these strings by accident a couple of years ago when I broke a violin string and had no spares. A local music store had Pro Arte medium tension strings in stock and they were inexpensive, so I figured that I would buy a set as a stopgap until I could get a set of my preferred strings online. I noticed right away that the strings come packaged in sealed pouches, which is a nice touch, and that the ends of the strings are nicely finished. The sound is very sweet. A darker sound than many classical players prefer. I read another review that said that the reviewer hated the Pro Arte strings because they were dull. The reviewer was going back to Dominant strings. I find Dominant stings very loud, for sure, but it is a bright, glaring sound that I find that I am always trying to sweeten. I find Evah Pirazzi strings even louder and more glaring. If you, like me, find some of these more popular strings to be loud but overly glaring, you should try a set of the Pro Arte strings. The price is so good that trying them won't break the bank. I am hooked on these strings now and am glad to be saving so much money with each set. I will try the Pro Arte heavy tension strings next. Side remark: On their website, D'Addario publishes wonderfully clear tables showing the tensions (in pounds) of its various strings. So refreshing. Pirastro's site describes tensions only as soft, medium or thick. I prefer to know the actual tension. Another remark: My most recent set of Pro Arte strings was too wide to fit through the slots in my violin tailpiece. This was a big disappointment at first. But I learned from my violin shop that this is a common problem these days and is no big deal: One can simply have the slots in the tailpiece filed a bit wider to accommodate contemporary strings.

I have been playing the violin for over 15 years and I have finally found the perfect strings, D'Addario Pro-Arte violin strings in medium tension for my violin. I do not think I will ever use anything but these on my current violin. This strings provide a beautiful rich tone, perfect for my violin, which has a rich but bright tone. I especially like the G, D, and A. The steel E is the only one that seems a bit generic in sound. If I preformed more, I might look into an E string that would sing a little more. Compared to other synthetic core strings, these settle in fairly quickly. I play every day for an hour or so and they were settled in about two days. They are very stable in helping the instrument stay in tune and do not slip often. These strings are a very good value for the money--violin strings are rather expensive compared to guitar strings. I use D'Addario Kaplan Artcraft Rosin in Light, which I think works well with my bow and these strings. Edit: For some reason the last set of these strings the G was sound very thick and would not fit in my tailpiece slot (I do not have fine tuners). This was upsetting as I do not want to alter my wood tailpiece. Thankfully, I was able to return the string and got one that fit correctly. The E in that package wasn't wound all the way down and I returned that one as well to avoid the steel string from cutting into my tailpiece and damaging it.

I found these strings to be true to its promise. It has given my lower priced violin that sounds too bright a much darker and more mellow sound. Well worth the price.

I love these strings! They were pretty easy to get on, though did have to open up the receivers on my Wittner tailpiece a bit for the G and D strings. The have settled in pretty quickly (I also do some intentional stretching during the time up process). And they sound BEAUTIFUL!! I’m not a fan of bright super projecting sounds in my personal violin playing. These fit my preference perfectly. They are on the dark side, particularly the wound E. My last set of strings, old as it was, had a really harsh whistle on the E string , but the Pro Arte E sounds like just an extension of the A string. Will post a video soon, after they settle into their tuning better. For now, these are amazing. Also worth it to note, I somehow got these for just over $13 a set. Not sure if I got lucky if found a loophole or what, but I bought 3 sets for virtually the price of 1.

These strings are great for entry and mid-level instruments where the extra cost and high performance of premium synthetic core strings is not practical. I put these my electric violin and on my back-up acoustic. They're not Thomastic-Dominants, and I don't expect them to be. These are student level synthetic core strings, and that is how they perform. They have a softer feel and warmer, more complex tone than steelcore strings but will sound bright next to Dominants. They're brilliant enough to hold up well on my electric, but feel soft under my fingers. I really don't like steel strings, so these are a great alternative on my electric. On my second acoustic instrument, which is a chinese made intermediate model, the pro-arte strings add complexity and depth to the otherwise straight-forward sound of that instrument. (update: after several weeks of playing, I have noticed that while these strings are very good "under ear", the best qualities of these strings don't carry very far. This might be problematic for advancing students who are working on auditioning for orchestra seating or playing solo pieces) The wound E string is both more powerful and less shrill than the straight E. I think its also better than the Thomastic E but that doesn't take much. It is not, however, better than the Pirastro goldlabel E. It doesn't sound as sweet on my instrument, but it is a good E string. These are the best synthetic core strings you can get at this price point. (Updated to add that Fiddlerman.com has released it's own line of synthetic core strings, which I think are a step-up from these in performance but cost the same as the Pro Arte set with the wound E. The Fiddlerman set is worth a try if you need more projection)

These strings have a rich sound. They are easy to tune and produce a great sound, while maintaining a great durability. They are easy to play and feel great under the bow. Function as described.

They are okay strings. . . better than nothing. But. Several things need to be said about them. First, the manufacturer says they settle in quickly, however I find that not to be the case. I am still dealing with stretch issues a week out. Second, the lower strings are quite unresponsive. They take quite a lot of bow pressure before they lose that airy sound. Don't expect to ever play pp...maybe not even mf. The G string and sometimes the D demand enough bow pressure/speed to get you to f or ff. Quite honestly, the best string in the set is the E string and that is due to it having a steel core. If you are a beginner, pass on these strings. They are going to make you think that you suck as a violinist. You don't need that.

These have, I think, become my favorite strings. Are they as good as, say, Dominants? I'm not going to go so far as to say that as an objective fact. But after hearing them on a range of instruments, from a craptastic $60 Mendini to more quality Cremona and Stentor student rigs, and up to a custom instructor violin, I found these to offer a certain...something...that I just can't quantify. If you have a student rig that sounds harsh with steel core, these strings will smooth it out nicely and give you a good warm sound. I fully realize that strings like these make up a sizeable percentage of the cost of a student instrument, but here...I think it's worth it. It really does help student instruments sound their best. That said, it does take a more professional level violin to truly unlock the potential of these strings. That's where they really shine, I think. Very good results, results that I frankly tend to prefer over Dominants if i'm being honest. Blasphemy, I know. And while I'm not sure where I first heard of these for the violin (I know the Pro Arte line from my guitar playing), I'm glad I know of them now. They are very good.