YOU'VE GOT THE WORLD ON A STRING
Violin String Comparison Chart
Welcome to the wide world of violin string options! When it comes to improving the sound of your instrument, strings play a significant role in the tone, response, feel and projection of your instrument.
So let this graph be your trusty guide as you begin the journey of finding your perfect string. Click on any of the images below to learn more and make your purchase.



Obligato Violin String Set
Shop NowPirastro Obligato strings are based on an exclusive new core material, along with advances in manufacturing techniques, resulting in the true warmth and complex overtones of gut core strings with the stability and quick response of synthetic core strings. Obligato has also demonstrated quick break in time, exceptional projection, and unusual durability.


Fiddlerman Violin String Set
Shop NowThese Synthetic core violin strings are of medium tension, optimized for most players! Each string is individually packed and sealed to protect from corrosion.
When compared to the world's most popular strings (Thomastik Dominant), none of our professionals could tell them apart. Just like the Dominant strings, they are warm and resemble gut strings (while being way more resistant to humidity). They are soft, clear, and rich in overtones. But the best part, they're half the price of Dominants!


D'Addario Prelude Violin String Set
Shop NowPrelude violin strings are manufactured using a solid steel core. Unaffected by temperature and humidity changes, they have excellent bow response. Prelude strings have the warmest sound available in an affordable, solid steel core string design. Prelude is the educator's preferred choice for student strings due to their unique blend of warm tone, durability, and value.


Thomastik Dominant Violin String Set
Shop NowDominant series violin strings are one of the most widely-used synthetic strings. A highly flexible, multi-strand nylon core makes these comparable in sound and feel to natural gut. The E string is aluminum/steel or plain steel, ball or loop end.
Widely regarded as “the reference standard” Dominant strings, made with a highly flexible, multi-strand synthetic core, provide the tonal warmth and feel of a gut string while being impervious to changes in humidity. The sound is soft, clear with a stable intonation and they are rich in overtones. It's no wonder why they are one of the world’s most popular strings!


D'Addario Helicore Violin String Set
Shop NowHelicore violin strings are crafted with a multi-stranded steel core, resulting in optimal playability while producing a clear, warm tone. The smaller string diameter provides quick bow response. Premium quality materials combined with skilled workmanship produces strings known for excellent pitch stability and longevity.


D'Addario Pro-Arte Violin String Set
Shop NowPro-Arte synthetic core violin strings have a warm, mellow tone. They are less sensitive to humidity and temperature changes, and break in quickly. Pro-Arte strings are manufactured at a lower tension in order to maximize bow response, tonal blend and playability. The perfect choice for players seeking a warm, dark tone.


Warchal Amber Violin String Set
Shop NowThe Amber string set has been developed with the aim of achieving the sound quality of the best gut strings without any tuning instabilities. The set features W-Core®, a completely new core material developed by Warchal's research & development team.
The sound is rich and warm, powerful and clean but still with a pleasing texture. The strings also feature a distinctive high quality silking design.

D'Addario Zyex Violin String Set
Shop NowZyex synthetic core strings produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Zyex strings are made from a new generation of synthetic material, creating strings that are incredibly stable under drastic climatic conditions. Within a matter of hours, Zyex settles in on the instrument with a sound that is warmer than most other synthetic core strings. Zyex is also an excellent choice for use on bright sounding instruments.


Thomastik Vision Violin String Set
Shop NowDesigned to fulfill the needs of advanced violinists, yet suitable for students of all levels. These are one of shop favorites, as we set our higher level Fiddlerman, Ming Jiang Zhu, and Holstein instruments up with Vision strings.
Wound on an advanced synthetic core, while their highly polished surface allows for effortless left-hand technique. All are designed to settle in quickly, can achieve a stable tuning within a very short time and are exceptionally easy to play. Their durability is unsurpassed compared to other synthetic core strings. Select from strings designed for orchestral, chamber and solo playing.


Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Violin String Set
Shop NowA newer synthetic string that has become very popular for its brilliant and powerful tonal qualities. The modern synthetic core remains stable during changes in temperature and humidity and offers a focused tone with an easy response and wide dynamic range.


Pirastro Tonica Violin String Set
Shop NowTonica strings have a core made from nylon. They produce a lively well-rounded sound, perfectly balanced across all four strings. Responding instantly to any bowing style, they reward both player and listener with an open and direct sound. With substantially reduced background 'hiss', players can sustain a more even tone helping to achieve smoother string crossings. With a highly responsive left hand feel, these strings remain very easy to play all the way up to the highest positions.


D'Addario Kaplan Amo Violin String Set
Shop NowKaplan violin strings offer professional-level players an unprecedented combination of beauty and power in two options, Kaplan Amo and Kaplan Vivo. Kaplan Amo provides warmth, richness, and flexibility for brighter instruments, while Kaplan Vivo delivers brilliance, clarity, and a robust feel for darker instruments. Both sets settle quickly, exhibiting a rich tonal color palette and superb bow response.


D'addario Ascenté Violin String Set
Shop NowAscenté violin strings were specifically designed to help players advance their craft with elegance and consistency. With a wider tonal range, excellent pitch stability and longevity, plus superior durability, this synthetic core string delivers a more sophisticated palette that elevates playing to the next level.


Prim Violin String Set
Shop NowPrim violin strings are a quality steel core string that offer solid performance at a very reasonable price. Prim Violin Strings are used by a wide range of musicians. Long-lasting, with quick response and a bright powerful sound they are for example used by students at all levels, in Blue Grass, folk music and many other fields.


Pirastro Chromcor Violin String Set
Shop NowChromcor strings have a single filament steel core wound with chrome steel.


Corelli Crystal Violin String Set
Shop NowCorelli Crystal strings are wound on a unique stabilon core, a synthetic material that offers a rich, warm sound with immediate playability. These strings can be mixed with steel, gut or synthetic strings; an advantage which adds many possibilities for balancing the sound of an instrument.


Thomastik Alphayue Violin String Set
Shop NowCombining an unbeatable price with Thomastik-Infeld quality means you no longer have to settle for solid-steel strings to assure durability. You will love their instant response, supple playability and colorful tone. Alphayue strings also improve the sound of even the most basic student instrument and make music-making a treat! For tomorrow's soloists!


Larsen Il Cannone Violin String Set
Shop NowThe Il Cannone celebrates Paganini’s legacy with what we believe to be a truly revolutionary sound. In the design and development process, Larsen aims to produce the exceptional but it is only during the testing and trial process with hands-on musicians that we can truly know for certain. And we would seem to have succeeded. The feedback from musicians has confirmed that playability and feel on the fingerboard is excellent with a good resistance to the bow.


Pirastro Oliv Violin String Set
Shop NowThe Brilliant Gut String. finely wound and polished, handmade gut strings; brilliant and complex sound; big tone; easy response.
The sheep gut core of the Oliv strings is manufactured, wound and polished in the traditional way, by hand. Musicians such as Ilya Gringolts use Oliv strings as they offer the possibility "to explore the remotest corners of sound.


Thomastik Peter Infeld Violin Set
Shop NowThe Peter Infeld (PI) violin strings from Thomastik-Infeld are designed for discerning players who take pleasure from the strings distinguished ability to produce complex tones, power and elegance as well as a high dynamic range.
PI strings produce a rich spectrum of sound colors, the perfect blend of power and elegance, and a wide dynamic range. The strings deliver instant bow response as well as superior tuning ability. The soft left hand feeling brings out the best in you and your.


Thomastik Vision Titanium Solo Violin String Set
Shop NowVision Titanium Solo™ strings are wound on an advanced synthetic core, while their highly polished surface allows for effortless left-hand technique. They offer incredible focus on the upper strings and clarity that is perfect for soloists, orchestral, and chamber group settings. These strings settle in very quickly and offer unparalleled tuning stability. They are more durable than most synthetic core strings and respond quickly.


Pirastro Violino Violin String Set
Shop NowViolino violin strings have a core made from a modern multifilament fiber. They are low-tension strings that remain stable regardless of variations in temperature and humidity. They offer a warm, smooth, round sound with excellent tuning stability.


Warchal Karneol Violin String Set
Shop NowWARCHAL STRINGS establishes the ideal tension for each string and manufactures only that gauge. In short, WARCHAL makes the right decision for you every time. And nowhere is this out-of-the-package optimization more evident than in their KARNEOL violin strings. KARNEOL strings are forgiving, offering maximum warmth and balance, not to mention what some players have called velvet-like overtones and bell-like resonance.
If you need less projection but still want a complex, balanced sound, we highly recommend trying WARCHAL KARNEOL


Red Label Violin String Set
Shop NowRecommended by a wide range of studio teachers and orchestras. This Red Label Violin String Set has a full round solid steel core string with flat nickel winding. Provides excellent tonal quality with a high degree of tuning.


D'Addario Kaplan Vivo Violin String Set
Shop NowKaplan violin strings offer professional-level players an unprecedented combination of beauty and power in two options, Kaplan Amo and Kaplan Vivo. Kaplan Amo provides warmth, richness, and flexibility for brighter instruments, while Kaplan Vivo delivers brilliance, clarity, and a robust feel for darker instruments. Both sets settle quickly, exhibiting a rich tonal color palette and superb bow response.


Pirastro Eudoxa Violin Gut String Set
Shop NowPirastro's Eudoxa gut strings are the standard of gut strings. They are the the world's most popular gut strings. This classical violin string has an excellent warm sound which offers a high ability of modulation and is a perfect string for all range. Sound deliverance is projectory while warm and soft. Excellent in tonal quality, response time and durability.


Larsen Tzigane Violin String Set
Shop NowLarsen Tzigane violin strings, without exaggerated tension, are built on a newly developed composite fibre bundle core. Tension creates volume rather than carrying power. The unique combination of overtones makes for a quality sound not unlike that of a great singer - a sound that carries while, at the same time, is pleasant to the ear of the player. Tzigane strings offer a sound and response similar to gut strings, providing a broad range of tonal colors. A complex, rich tone with good focus and projection.


Larsen Virtuoso Violin String Set
Shop NowIf you enjoy a string with great power, brilliance, and projection but want to avoid high tension, the new Larsen Virtuoso may be the string you’ve been looking for. Manufactured at a medium level of tension, the Larsen Virtuoso will allow your violin’s tone to blossom and open up its natural range of sonority, yet allow you to fill the concert hall with sound all the way to the back chairs. Soft feel under the fingers, yet extremely articulate and responsive. Synthetic core with fast settle-in time. Medium tension.


Larsen Virtuoso Violin String Set
Shop NowIf you enjoy a string with great power, brilliance, and projection but want to avoid high tension, the new Larsen Virtuoso may be the string you’ve been looking for. Manufactured at a medium level of tension, the Larsen Virtuoso will allow your violin’s tone to blossom and open up its natural range of sonority, yet allow you to fill the concert hall with sound all the way to the back chairs. Soft feel under the fingers, yet extremely articulate and responsive. Synthetic core with fast settle-in time. Medium tension.


Thomastik Infeld Red String Set
Shop NowWound on an advanced synthetic core, the Infeld Red strings give violinists the warmth and depth and projection of a world class string. State of the art synthetic core strings with perfectly matched tensions enable customization of sound covering the entire tonal spectrum. By using Infeld violin strings, players can achieve their tonal preferences in a single string brand. Many players mix and match the Red and Blue sets to correct or adjust the sound of their instrument.


Pirastro Gold Label Violin String Set
Shop NowPirastro Gold Label gut strings are an excellent choice for professionals and students who want to experience the beauty of true gut strings. They possess high volume and a full, rich and warm sound. A lower tension gives them a pliable feel.


Thomastik Precision Violin String Set
Shop NowPrecision strings are produced with a solid core made of steel. They are robust and powerful in tone and feel and lend the sound brilliance as well as enhancing the player's confidence in the instrument.
The quality of Precision strings have been consistently high since their creation in 1920 yet have been constantly updated using the latest technical findings and Thomastik Infeld's wealth of musical experience.


Pirastro Flexocor Perm Violin Set
Shop NowPirstro’s Flexocore Permanent strings are known for their large and warm sound, wide range of volume, while being soft and lively. The have quick response and excellent pitch stability. They are balanced sound from bottom to top. Ideal for both arco and pizzicato.


Pirastro Passione Violin String Set
Shop NowThe core sound is full, round and warm and has a complex overtone spectrum causing brilliance and clarity and a great power of projection. Passione strings possess a fascinating diversity of sounds, which allows musicians to alter their tone as desired. The sheep gut core of the Passione strings is manufactured, wound and polished in the traditional way, by hand.


Thomastik Vision Solo Violin String Set
Shop NowVision Solo strings feature a technically advanced formulation designed to produce a blend of exceptional playing and performance characteristics desired by soloists. Capable of a wide range of expression and nuance, these strings are extremely versatile and useful in a variety of performance styles and applications.


Larsen Original Violin String Set
Shop NowLarsen Original for Violin delivers a warm yet direct and unhesitating feel with rapidly achieved tuning stability and consistency of sound. Original, reliable, robust projection, ideal for the brighter to neutral sounding instrument in need of some complementary warmth.


Thomastik Infeld Blue String Set
Shop NowA new, synthetic composite core gives these strings a full sound and a longer life span than other synthetic strings, and are responsive to different playing techniques. "Using INFELD violin strings, players can achieve tonal preferences in a single string brand without the headaches of uneven tensions."


Thomastik Vision Titanium Orchestra Violin String Set
Shop NowVision Titanium Orchestra™ strings were developed to replace gut strings and are perfect for orchestra and chamber music players. They can be mixed and matched with both synthetic core strings and pure gut strings. Using advanced synthetic core technology they settle in very quickly, offer unparalleled tuning stability and respond quickly.


Warchal Brilliant Violin String Set
Shop NowThe Brilliant advanced synthetic core set is intended for players who seek the most projecting sound. It also offers quick tuning stability. Synthetic core strings need about three to four days to settle in before achieving full tone quality. Two D strings are available. D - hydronalium which provides a projecting sound with plenty of attack when needed. D - silver which provides a warmer and mellower sound.


Warchal Brilliant Violin String Set
Shop NowThe Brilliant advanced synthetic core set is intended for players who seek the most projecting sound. It also offers quick tuning stability. Synthetic core strings need about three to four days to settle in before achieving full tone quality. Two D strings are available. D - hydronalium which provides a projecting sound with plenty of attack when needed. D - silver which provides a warmer and mellower sound.


For-Tune Charm Violin String Set
Shop NowCharm violin strings combine the gut string rich sound with the synthetic string playing comfort. With Charm strings you obtain a light and colorful sound quality responding with high sensitivity to every nuance.


Pirastro Perpetual Violin String Set
Shop NowThe Perpetual violin strings react in an ideal way to the finest nuances in bow speed and pressure; this enables the musician to play with an extreme range of dynamics and expression. The innovative core material allows a comfortable smoothness during legato, shifting, string crossings, double stops and chords. The extended reverberation of the Perpetual brings forth an exuberant lustre.


Opal Titan Violin String Set
Shop NowOpal Titan Violin strings are handmade synthetic core strings designed in Switzerland. They are manufactured using cutting-edge technology and the finest materials. Opal Titan Violin strings’ technical quality and precision grant a rich powerful sound, with a wide colour spectrum, brilliant and mellow at the same time. These strings allow the most sensitive players to reach the instrument’s full potential and offer the perfect balance between art and technology and provide optimum harmony between player and instrument.


Thomastik Dominant Pro Violin String Set
Shop NowWe're delighted to introduce Thomastik Dominant Pro Violin Strings, a new and improved version of the original classic, designed for the modern professional performer.
- Exceptionally powerful compared to classic Dominant
- Good balance of brilliance & warmth
- Broad range of sound colors
- Warmer and broader than PIs with less tension
- Supports the radiance of the instrument
- Reacts immediately with a focused sound core
- A sound that fills the room


Thomastik Dynamo Violin String Set
Shop NowThe DYNAMO set NO.DY100 combines qualities you usually can’t find in one set. Thomastik have developed this set of DYNAMO violin strings with lots of passion and patience. And the outcome is something that is even better than we dreamed of.
- They offer a broad sound and an excellent response.
- They have a wide dynamic range and you can modulate sound colors all along to their full extent.
- They sound great on most old and most new instruments.
- Their sound will blow away the musician and the audience
Violin String Sound Explained
While it’s difficult to explain these different sounds in words, “broad” sounds like shining a flashlight of sound out of the instrument-wide, open, but perhaps cloudy. “Focused” is more like a laser beam of sound-narrow, quick, and powerful.
The change from “warm” to “brilliant” might be best illustrated by singing the vowel “Oooh” and changing to “Eeeh” (without changing pitch). “Warm” violin strings are also described as deep, dark, but sometimes muddy. “Brilliant” violin strings are also described as clean, crisp, but sometimes shrill.
A WIDE SELECTION OF VIOLIN STRINGS
Finding the best violin strings for your violin can be a journey of experimentation and trial and error. It can be overwhelming because there are so many violin string options, and new strings are introduced every year. Here at Fiddlershop, we've done all the research for you! For beginners, we recommend starting with Thomastik Dominant, D'addario Prelude, or the Fiddlerman violin strings for a point of reference. For a brighter, more powerful sound, try Pirastro's Evah Pirazzi, Vision, or Peter Infeld. For a darker, warmer sound, try Obligato, Kaplan Amo, or Oliv.
We are here to help you select the best violin strings for your desired sound, instrument size, and string tension.