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| | | Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/23/2007 6:45 PM
Posts: 2, Visits: 5 |
| I just obtained a 16" five-string viola, and I have found that regular violin E strings are too short. Does anyone have a suggestion for what string to use? I suppose that I could have gotten a 5-string violin instead, but I just love the sound of the deep C string played on the larger body of the viola. But, Oops, no one seems to make long E strings.
Can I use a viola A string tuned up a 5th? Would that put too much tension on the string or on the neck? Maybe a very very stretchy violin E string? Are there E strings made for viola d'amores? I would have to cut such a string down to size, I suppose. How is that achieved without unwinding the wrapping by mistake? Can I make my own string?
I think that my 5-string viola was made by young creative Chinese luthier students who may not have considered the E string problem.
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| | | Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/23/2007 10:04 PM
Posts: 3, Visits: 4 |
| | I'm having the same problem... I took my viola to a lady who fixes the school instruments in my town and she cut a guitar high E-string in half and put that on my viola. It took a looong time for that to stretch out and sound decent and I'm only using it temporarily until I can find a string that's actually made for a viola, but it works. It's taking a toll on my bridge, though. Take it to a nearby, knowledgeable luthier and see what they can do for you. Also, as I found with my "experimental" viola, it wasn't quite set up properly, so you might want to take it to a luthier anyway and have them make sure its set up properly. You wouldn't want to find a miracle E-string and then have it break because the pegs aren't sanded properly or anything. Have fun experimenting!  P.S. If you find this "miracle string" please e-mail me and tell me where you found it.
Soli Deo Gloria |
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