Violin strings review: Evah Pirazzi Gold / Dominant / Lakatos Pizzicato / Jargar Forte E

0:00 Pirastro - Evah Pirazzi Gold
0:28 Thomastik-Infeld Dominant + Jargar Forte E
0:54 Thomastik-Infeld Lakatos Pizzicato + Jargar Forte E

I needed to change my strings anyway, so I decided to make a video record to compare how they all sounded! This is a 280-yo German violin by Sebastian Kloz. I personally think it's fairly dark in tone, but the projection is quite significant. My goals are always to keep the tone warm and round, but enhance clarity in the instrument's lower range and sweetness in the upper registers.

I am a long-time Thomastik-Infeld string user (mainly Dominant strings, so that is my bar for "neutral" tone), but I won the Evah Pirazzi Gold strings in a raffle last year due to the generosity of Pirastro and Thomas Metzler Violin Shop. So, this set was about a year old at the time this video was made. I was honestly unimpressed when I first installed them: they seemed to be not very rich or loud, but nor were they harsh. So they weren't bad, but I felt like they did not coax the best tone out of my violin. Within a few months of near-daily playing, however, I think they really started to bloom and sounded much better (warmer, rounder, sweeter), and I think my violin was the best it's ever sounded with these on--including during recording sessions, so it appears to sound better at a distance than under my ear. I know a lot of people say that Evah Pirazzi strings wear out quickly, but for me, they truly only seemed to get better with age. I wouldn't have changed them even after a year if the silk windings at the tailpiece hadn't started to get a bit frayed. So, I videoed these first as they were for reference, and then removed them.

Thomastik-Infeld Dominant strings were the next set I put on. These are the most commonly used synthetic core string. I have used Dominants on this particular violin for years in the past. In my experience, Dominants always take a few days to break in--and before they do, they sound tinny and harsh. If you can make it through these first few days, then they suddenly become warmer and rounder. It is well known that the Dominant E string is the weakest of the set due to some weird whistling characteristics, so for this test, I decided to try a Jargar E string in the Forte (strong) gauge. Even with the Dominant strings fresh out of the box and sounding a bit harsh, I think the Jargar E, which is loud, clear, and brilliant, but does not quite have the sweetness or sparkle that the Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Gold E has, does match quite well with the Dominants. However, I noticed that even within the first few minutes of the test, the E string had already started to cut halfway through the string tube/sleeve that is used to protect the bridge from the steel E string. This has never happened to me before, so I assume that it is occurring because the Forte gauge exerts higher tension on the bridge. Again, this is a very old violin, so perhaps the tension on the bridge is too much. By the third test (below), which took place less than 15 minutes later, the string had completely cut through the tubing and I had to take it off. This makes me nervous for the safety of my bridge and also having the string suddenly break and snap back into my eye, so even though I am quite happy with the sound and feel of the Jargar Forte E, I am most likely going to change this to a string with lower tension.

Thomastik themselves convinced me to try their new Lakatos-Pizzicato strings at NAMM, and also generously offered me a free set. So I put on the G, D, and A strings with the Jargar Forte E from the previous test. As you will hear, I think the Lakatos Pizzicato strings sound way better (mellower, richer) straight out of the box than Dominants, so they seem to have a shorter break-in time. However, the Lakatos Pizzicato A string is quite loud--louder than the rest of the set--and also has a colorless quality. That's when I investigated further, and realized the A string actually has a steel core, whereas the D and G are synthetic core! That's probably why the A string comes equipped with a string sleeve just like steel E strings do, which I do have fitted for this video. Off camera, I tried the string without the sleeve, and it was just too harsh without it, so I definitely recommend using the sleeve. In the few days that have elapsed since I filmed this video, the A has lost some of its loudness and it matches the other strings a bit better now, but I would still say that I'm not as happy with the Lakatos Pizzicato A as I am with the G and D strings.

In conclusion, I'd like to try the Lakatos Pizzicato G and D with the Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Gold A and E strings. I also would like to try a Pirastro Gold label E (which I have on a different violin at the moment) and compare it directly with the Evah Pirazzi Gold E string. I'll also try to include a Larsen Tzigane set comparison, as I've heard wonderful things about those strings, as well. So, the search for my perfect set continues.

[popitoto]

What do you think?In my ears sound better with Lakatos than Dominant and Pirazzi gold(the g was silver..?)

[FoursideAssetManagement]

lovely sound and violin - as for the strings, all of them are a bit bright in my opinion. I prefer Larsen Virtuoso. Really appreciate this video however, take care!

[popitoto]

I watched again now, the same think I find, Lakatos are better, and cheaper!

[dyliu]

nonsense without taking the violin into consideration.