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Hey, i just bought a new violin ( yeah !). It's sound is great and full, though i have a hard time playing for i am not used to it yet. My previous instrument had really thin strings while this one has really thick ones and i have difficulties doing vibrato. Any ideas on how i can vibrate with such thick strings?
Thanks
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my 1st Q would be… which strings do you have? are the low, medium, or high tension? Are they really strings for a violin? (dumb question but I've seen it before)
I would be hard pressed to accurately give an answer without knowing which strings you were having issues with. Perhaps a different set of strings, ones that are smaller in diameter across the board, would be a benefit.
Also, wich violin did you get? That would tell us something about the strings that were placed on it at the mfg.
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I'm not proficient with vibrato at all, but from FM tutorials, it's the fingers that rock on the strings to create vibrato no? So the string thickness would change nothing on the capacity to vibrato? You fingers are still free to rock back and forth? this is more a question then an answer sorry lol.
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string size does not matter… make a photo of your violin with what strings you have. your new violin may have a high action but that should not matter either.
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What do guitar players mean when they say high action?
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My opinion is that actually the laws of physics dictate that a thinner string will be easier to rock back and forth on (vibrato) and pick up the increase & decrease in string length thus creating the higher and lower pitch necessary for the term tremolo or vibrato to be produced. If you notice, cello players rock their fingers back and forth a lot more agressively than violn players do, and their strings are slightly thicker in cross section if I'm not mistaken and much longer as well…
A thinner string will react faster than a thick string. Also tension has a lot to do with it… a low tension string will make an easier vibrato than a high tension one, thus it moves quicker and has less resistance to bow hair grab & sticking, thus making the note.
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I've never actually heard anyone say this before. My guess is that you not only have thicker strings but perhaps a stronger tension on the string.
Many strings are sold in 3 tensions. Medium, Light and Heavy, though they can be called by different names. The tension that is designed for most violins to be perfect are the medium tension strings but if you are more comfortable with less tension and don't mind less projection, try light tension strings.
By your problem, I suspect also that you are playing more of a guitar type vibrato. Is this a possibility? Are you a guitarist?
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Sorry for not having enough time to give an answer to all your questions. I know you try to help and so, i will tell you everything :
The violin i bought has excellent sound, the string type is ''dominant'', now i know nothing about tension and no, i aint no guitar player 
. The luthier had the strings on already and they are good quality ones i believe. For the past few days iv been trying to get used to the new violin and the truth is i did vibrato for a while and my fingers were straighter, meaning that i used the kind of vibrato that required me to have really short nails. My fingers on the string are flatter now. I do this on purpose for i want my vibrato to be more full.
its just the A string that annoys me the most as it is thicker. I think it is something i have to get used to, but hey, here's a photo of my new violin. Please tell me what you think about the strings.
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That sure is a pretty violin!
I cannot offer advice on vibrato. Simply because my brain/finger combination doesn't work that way yet.
I have Zyex strings on my violin right now and the D and A always bugged me for some reason. I spent a good twenty minutes one day just staring at the strings and it finally hit me. The A string was much thicker than the D string. So I switched them. I know most pros would probably rail me for doing such a thing, but let me tell you… it worked for me. It sounded sweet. I wonder what FM would have to say about this. I shall go hide in a corner now where he can't find me! 
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Thank you
BTW ''Good idea Sherlock'' ( regarding the hiding thing, i dunno about the whole ''changing strings thing'' )
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The only thing I can say is that your luthier did not lie to you, Dr. Thomastic Dominants are good strings and often the default quality strings on lintermediate uthier instruments (taking this info from all the violin teacher reviews I read and most luthier sold violins I browsed the detailed info. Dominants were the upgrade suggested for my violin by the way). I use Zyex with silver D and A though, not Dominant. I read that Dominants start with a slight metallic sound then when played for a while, warm up and the metallic goes away and then you can appreciate them. Have you noticed that yet argy?
LOL sporksies! Maybe you mixed up the strings when you put them on your violin and now fixed them 
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That's what I had thought as well… that I had mixed them up, but the set I have is the Silver D. None of the other strings are colored like that, so I know I had it right the first time, lol.
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I dunno about metallic sound, to me it sounds perfect 
il see how it goes, thanks Noir
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http://www.lashofviolins.com/S…..gchart.htm
There is a string color chart for all the various brand's of strings.
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I think you need a better camera! 
Those crappy pictures sure don't do that thing of beauty any justice. I think you have a nice piece to play there but I'd love to see some better pics.
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