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You may know I have an illegitimate violin/viola. This is a 15" viola with 3 original strings and a violin E all tuned as a violin. But the A was making a racket. Call it "nasal". I could only find a Crystal A (violin) to mess with. Not much help. Sounds "weich".
So I ordered and received 2 new, viola, A strings but now I'm not sure what to do first?
Dominant viola A, Aluminum wound.
OR
Obligato viola A, mittel.
And the winner is ??????
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Obligato will probably be more powerful in case that helps. How is the balance between the A and the other strings?
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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I had Dominant strings on this fiddle for about 2 months and then decided I'd give the Obligatos a try. (E strings aside, since I have a Kaplan wound E string) To tell you the truth I couldn't tell all that much difference. Listening to the same piece under the ear and recorded with both Dominant and Obligato, it was not as big a difference as I expected. The Obligatos had a bit more ring, but then they were brand new as opposed to the Dominants which probably had 40-60 hours of playing time on them. I think I put out a bit more volume with the Obligato strings, but tone-wise they really didn't seem that different, except that I think I may like the Obligato G string bit better.
They are both great sounding strings though and I wouldn't think you'll be disappointed with either of them. You'll have to decide for yourself which one sounds better, because they'll sound different on every fiddle you put them on.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright
I put on the Dominant first just last night. Will check today. I do not remember an "A" that that really matched a set. Always a little more "rowdy".
(Why is a tourte mute played on the "A"?)
I liked Obligatos on my violin.
Pirastro tech told me it takes longer for a violin to settle with a new string than it takes for the string(s) to stop stretching.
