Customer Reviews

D'Addario Pro Arte 4/4 Violin String Set Medium Gauge

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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 an low-budget student violin, and started out using Red Label strings because they are inexpensive and indestructible. Red Label strings sound OK, but on my fiddle the D and G strings sounded harsh. After reading some reviews that said the D'Addario Pro Arte strings improve a harsh-sounding instrument I ordered a set of mediums, and I am very pleased. They sound markedly better than the Red label. The E is strong and clear without being shrieky, A is rich and solid, D sounds smooth and nice, and even the G string is much improved. G is still a tad harsh, but I think getting any more improvement means getting a better violin, and this is plenty fine for now. The Pro Arte strings are also more responsive than the Red Label, it's like I gained some dexterity. For $25 they are a bargain.

When I got my used violin, the luthier who set it up said it had D'addario Pro Arte strings on it. I had no idea how long the strings had been on there for the previous owner. I had no experience with other strings, and since he seemed to think they were a good choice, I intended to buy the same ones when my violin needed new strings.

Seven months later, the strings did not show signs of wear even though I practiced at least an hour a day, at least five days per week (sometimes up to 3 hours per day).

I had my first recital in December, and being nervous, I wanted to do everything I could to get the best sound possible. I ordered Pro Arte strings (from Shar, an excellent company, btw), and after watching tutorials and reading about how to change strings, I changed them myself one night. There was immediate difference in sound. Vast improvement. It was beautiful, and I realized that even if the strings still look fine, I want to change them at least every six months for that nice, warm tone.

I'm sure I will experiment with other brands now and then, but Pro Arte will probably be on my violin more often than not, because I know they sound good and last a long time. The price is good too.

I had been using the same Red Label strings for the better part of 15 years now, mainly because I found them to be extremely stable, requiring very little tuning and keeping in tune for months at a time. However I decided to go with another brand after the D string finally gave out.

After poring over the reviews of several different string types here, I chose the Pro Arte and so far have been very pleased.

Pros: Rich tone, full sound and seem to need very little tuning.

Cons: The thread wrapped on the ball end is bulky, and as my fine tuners are of the dual-prong variety I had to pry the prongs apart so that the ball end would fit between them (See custom photos for details)

Overall a great string, and I would highly recommend them to anyone.

After reading the reviews on here I decided to give the Pro Arte strings a go round. Typically I use Heliocores on my fiddle, but I was looking to experiment.
It only took the strings about a day to fully set in and not need tuning before playing which is very nice. The feel of these strings is very nice also, easy to slide. They are very responsive to bowing and I find more responsive in fingering positions. I like the sound of them, not overpowering. I find the natural sound of my fiddle is loud and I wanted a string that could bring out the lower end without being brash or harsh, I also wanted a sweeter warmer sound overall. These strings definitely do the trick, the only con I found so far is they can be a bit "scratchy", BUT that may be the case for a while until they have been played enough. I will update in a few weeks if that is the case.
Overall, I would say that it was money well spent on these strings!