I am a viola student ... the owner of two Simeon 16.5 inch violas ... one to practice on at home and one for work on lunch breaks. The instruments are similar sounding, though one is a little livelier. (I'll elaborate on the instruments at the end).
I play at about level 1 (at the moment) so my comments apply to first position. But I've noodled on guitar on bass for many years, so I think I have a good ear for tone.
Relative to guitar or bass guitar strings ... I think the strings on classical instruments can make a much bigger difference in sound. And comparative information about viola strings is particularly hard to find. So, here are my impressions of various strings.
My current preferred set up, after some experimentation is, after changing violas to Wittner fine-tuning tailpieces, is Spirocore tungsten C, Spirocore G, Spirocore D and Kaplan A.
Viola String Impressions
Dominant Viola Strings: ($80ish) A clear, direct without being plain, great reference sound. Moderate price and stable when settled in. Viola A came with Dominants so I can say how long it took to settle in. I switched them after many years because they'd finally deteriorated some.
Zyex Viola Strings: ($50ish) They settle in quickly. High tension and hard ... but warm. Also lively. I had both violas set up properly, keeping traditional tailpieces, with good bridges and reworked fingerboards (from JR Judd in Williamsport) and the Zyex went from sounding lively to just sounding harsh and unrefined.
So I switched to:
Obligato Viola Strings: With traditional tailpieces. Great. Warm and clear without being harsh. Spendy at $110ish a set. The D string, in particular, had no element of a nasal sound that you can find traces of in violas. I liked the A string as well. Blended well without being strident and harsh.
Then the C peg got sticky so in frustration and impatience (tuning and retuning the C in sticky spring weather took away from practice time), I changed to Wittner fine tuning tailpieces. The soundposts fell, so I had it reset by a luthier in Syracause because we were traveling through.
With the fine tuning tailpieces, the Obligatos went from hero to zero ,.. really awful. It sounded like the guts had been taken from the sound of the instruments and something really unpleasant had been emphasized.
Viola B got:
Spirocore Viola Strings with a Kaplan A. The Spirocores, at $80ish, are a thick string, and the tension highish. But the thickness feels good under the fingers. The response seems a tad slower than the Obligatos. But there's depth and power and just a little edge to give it presence. I really like this combination. If I were to be super critical, I'd say the D string has a slight reedy quality.
Viola A initially got:
Correli New Crystal Viola Strings, which despite the name, were supposed to be a warm string. They are a relatively inexpensive $50ish, set and they are warm. But nothing really exceptional. And after about a week, still losing a semitone of pitch every day. I decided to go with metal core on that one too.
So Viola A next got:
Jargar Viola Strings with a Kaplan A. The Jargar A is a very bright string and often used in mixed sets. At my level now, I prefer my A to be darker and blend in with the other strings. The rest of the Jargar set, also relatively inexpensive at $50ish, is very warm and very smooth. Perhaps a little muted as well ... particularly compared to the Spirocores. I'll give this combination more time and update this entry. One area where the Jargar may be better than the Spirocore would be the D string, which is very smooth without any nasal quality. But my feeling now is the Spirocores are better.
For a really shrill viola with poor pegs, a Wittner tailpiece and Jargars on the lower strings would probably help the sound (overall convenience of tuning) a lot.
Helicores. I've used Helicore Viola Strings on other violas, but neither Simeon. Inexpensive at $50ish. They are very neutral, clear and bright, tune and settle in very quickly ... like other metal core strings. The tension is lower than Spirocores and they're thin. I recall them responding quickly and being easy to play. The thicker Spirocore strings take a bit more effort and time to get moving ... but there's a richness of sound that makes it worth it to me.
Information about the specific instruments.
Viola A is the one I originally purchased for about $500 about five years ago. From the start, it had a really nice sound. I was discouraged from playing for several years (too high an initial investment to get even OK I thought) and it sat unused. I restarted lessons because my daughter was interested in cello and my teacher Kelli Bertenshaw, really inspired me.
Viola B I purchased for about $450 about a year ago. It formerly belonged to a high school orchestra student in Florida. Has a fair amount of dings (real-life antiquing), but a livelier sound. FWIW, the soundpost is about a post's width farther back than Viola A, which is tighter sounding. I play Viola B more.
Both came with Dominants (Viola B's were literally falling apart). On the first Viola, the Dominants sounded very good with a standard tailpiece and one fine tuner.
--------------------------------
Update (spring 2018)
Both violas got their soundposts adjusted by JR Judd in Williamsport Pa. That improved both. I played A mostly with Spirocore strings and a Jagar A. And they were good. The violas natural tendency is to be punchy and forward. When it came time to change strings. I put Helicores on viola. The settled in almost immediately. Tuning is super stable. The strings are very clear, very soft, low tension and neutral. Neither bright nor dull. Mr. Judd prefers these on violas and I can hear why. Super economical at less than $50 a set and American made. And they suit violas in particular.
I play at about level 1 (at the moment) so my comments apply to first position. But I've noodled on guitar on bass for many years, so I think I have a good ear for tone.
Relative to guitar or bass guitar strings ... I think the strings on classical instruments can make a much bigger difference in sound. And comparative information about viola strings is particularly hard to find. So, here are my impressions of various strings.
My current preferred set up, after some experimentation is, after changing violas to Wittner fine-tuning tailpieces, is Spirocore tungsten C, Spirocore G, Spirocore D and Kaplan A.
Viola String Impressions
Dominant Viola Strings: ($80ish) A clear, direct without being plain, great reference sound. Moderate price and stable when settled in. Viola A came with Dominants so I can say how long it took to settle in. I switched them after many years because they'd finally deteriorated some.
Zyex Viola Strings: ($50ish) They settle in quickly. High tension and hard ... but warm. Also lively. I had both violas set up properly, keeping traditional tailpieces, with good bridges and reworked fingerboards (from JR Judd in Williamsport) and the Zyex went from sounding lively to just sounding harsh and unrefined.
So I switched to:
Obligato Viola Strings: With traditional tailpieces. Great. Warm and clear without being harsh. Spendy at $110ish a set. The D string, in particular, had no element of a nasal sound that you can find traces of in violas. I liked the A string as well. Blended well without being strident and harsh.
Then the C peg got sticky so in frustration and impatience (tuning and retuning the C in sticky spring weather took away from practice time), I changed to Wittner fine tuning tailpieces. The soundposts fell, so I had it reset by a luthier in Syracause because we were traveling through.
With the fine tuning tailpieces, the Obligatos went from hero to zero ,.. really awful. It sounded like the guts had been taken from the sound of the instruments and something really unpleasant had been emphasized.
Viola B got:
Spirocore Viola Strings with a Kaplan A. The Spirocores, at $80ish, are a thick string, and the tension highish. But the thickness feels good under the fingers. The response seems a tad slower than the Obligatos. But there's depth and power and just a little edge to give it presence. I really like this combination. If I were to be super critical, I'd say the D string has a slight reedy quality.
Viola A initially got:
Correli New Crystal Viola Strings, which despite the name, were supposed to be a warm string. They are a relatively inexpensive $50ish, set and they are warm. But nothing really exceptional. And after about a week, still losing a semitone of pitch every day. I decided to go with metal core on that one too.
So Viola A next got:
Jargar Viola Strings with a Kaplan A. The Jargar A is a very bright string and often used in mixed sets. At my level now, I prefer my A to be darker and blend in with the other strings. The rest of the Jargar set, also relatively inexpensive at $50ish, is very warm and very smooth. Perhaps a little muted as well ... particularly compared to the Spirocores. I'll give this combination more time and update this entry. One area where the Jargar may be better than the Spirocore would be the D string, which is very smooth without any nasal quality. But my feeling now is the Spirocores are better.
For a really shrill viola with poor pegs, a Wittner tailpiece and Jargars on the lower strings would probably help the sound (overall convenience of tuning) a lot.
Helicores. I've used Helicore Viola Strings on other violas, but neither Simeon. Inexpensive at $50ish. They are very neutral, clear and bright, tune and settle in very quickly ... like other metal core strings. The tension is lower than Spirocores and they're thin. I recall them responding quickly and being easy to play. The thicker Spirocore strings take a bit more effort and time to get moving ... but there's a richness of sound that makes it worth it to me.
Information about the specific instruments.
Viola A is the one I originally purchased for about $500 about five years ago. From the start, it had a really nice sound. I was discouraged from playing for several years (too high an initial investment to get even OK I thought) and it sat unused. I restarted lessons because my daughter was interested in cello and my teacher Kelli Bertenshaw, really inspired me.
Viola B I purchased for about $450 about a year ago. It formerly belonged to a high school orchestra student in Florida. Has a fair amount of dings (real-life antiquing), but a livelier sound. FWIW, the soundpost is about a post's width farther back than Viola A, which is tighter sounding. I play Viola B more.
Both came with Dominants (Viola B's were literally falling apart). On the first Viola, the Dominants sounded very good with a standard tailpiece and one fine tuner.
--------------------------------
Update (spring 2018)
Both violas got their soundposts adjusted by JR Judd in Williamsport Pa. That improved both. I played A mostly with Spirocore strings and a Jagar A. And they were good. The violas natural tendency is to be punchy and forward. When it came time to change strings. I put Helicores on viola. The settled in almost immediately. Tuning is super stable. The strings are very clear, very soft, low tension and neutral. Neither bright nor dull. Mr. Judd prefers these on violas and I can hear why. Super economical at less than $50 a set and American made. And they suit violas in particular.
