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Ok so I've had my instrument for about a year now it is a Franz Hoffman that I purchased from a reputable online site. Anyways, my G-String has been going out of tune often and when I looked in the pegbox today, I noticed that the g-string is like torn up, it's kinda hard to explain but the metal of the string is all messed up, do I need to replace the string? If so, which string would you recommend?
-NYC Violinist
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Barry said:
If the string is frazzling and coming apart by all means replace it, if the other strings are the same age I would just go ahead and change the set. In most cases the G holds up the longest.
Do you know what cause it to frazzle? And my A and D string are the same age as it but in perfect condition, my E string is about 1 month younger than the rest and also in perfect condition.
-NYC Violinist
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That is probably because it is rubbing against something in the peg-box plus you are tuning it more often. When you tune it and it rubs on something the friction will wear that part of the string. It might not be worse off than the other strings if it is only worn in the peg box, but a year is a long time. How much do you play on it? As Barry said, if they are all about a year old you would probably benefit from changing them all.
I change my E string at least every 6 weeks and the others about 8 - 12 weeks. I play hard and rough and often though. Some say 300 + hours but I say you can get a lot more time off of your strings. The important thing is what kind of sound quality you are getting from them, response time, intonation on fifths, action, etc.
Depending on what kind of strings you are using you don't have to spend a fortune on strings. What kind of strings are you using now?
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Well, I am using the strings that came with the instrument when I bought it.
These are the type : http://overturestrings.com/
I don't play rough and hard about once or twice a week I play. Everything sounds well except the G-String is falling apart. Intonation is good and everything. And i don't know why but the pegs are ridiculously hard to torn in comparison to the pegs on the instrument that I use in my school. I'm an 11th grader. This is my 6th year playing violin.
-NYC Violinist
My daughter had been using the original strings that came with her cvn 500. Even at the beginning the "thread" wound at the tailpiece end came apart. Her teacher had commented that we should change her strings because the strings might break. I did not changed them. She made another comment this week and since my daughter had used it for three months (about 100 hour use) and I had planned to change them in a month or so so I changed them (BTW it took me a lot less time to change her strings than changing mine for the first time, yeah!)
However, the thread winding on G string was about two inches long and I had added fine tuners to her violin, so the threaded part was on the bridge and would not make the right sound. I didn't know what to do with it. Luckily, I have another set of new strings so i put the G string on. But on this new G string, the thread is also fuzzy, does it mean that it is not good? I put some elmer's glue on it so the thread would stick together:P don't know what the glue would do to the string (maybe make it rust?) What else could I do?
BTW, the new strings do make her violin sounds a lot better, even though they are those came with her cecilio.
Could it be that the tailpiece is too far forward. It should in most cases come almost right to the end of the violin. You can adjust it by tightening the nuts on the tail gut, underneath the tailpiece.
can you put a picture in the post of the violin and string
NYC Violinist said:
Barry said:
If the string is frazzling and coming apart by all means replace it, if the other strings are the same age I would just go ahead and change the set. In most cases the G holds up the longest.
Do you know what cause it to frazzle? And my A and D string are the same age as it but in perfect condition, my E string is about 1 month younger than the rest and also in perfect condition.
I have found that a string can break easily if the string on the peg crosses over itself. This creates a sharp bend in the string and after tuning it a lot it will start to break right at that point. I like to cross over only the first wind and from then on I like to have the string nicely coiled toward the side of the pegbox.
Kevin M. said:
Could it be that the tailpiece is too far forward. It should in most cases come almost right to the end of the violin. You can adjust it by tightening the nuts on the tail gut, underneath the tailpiece.
Yes, the tailpiece is about 3/8 away from the end of the body. Do I have to undo all the strings to adjust it? If I do so, I will have to put the bridge back on, and would that risk the sound post falling over?
Kevin M. said:
I have found that a string can break easily if the string on the peg crosses over itself. This creates a sharp bend in the string and after tuning it a lot it will start to break right at that point. I like to cross over only the first wind and from then on I like to have the string nicely coiled toward the side of the pegbox.
I agree with you!
Pky, I don't think the soundpost will fall down, they are in there tight enough. Just loosen the strings enough to take the bridge out and then unhook the tailpiese from the endpin. torn it over with the strings still in it and you will see the adjustment for the tail gut. tighten up the little nuts turn the tailpiece back over and reconnect it to the end pin. Now start putting the bridge back in. You will more than likely have to loosen the strings quite a bit.
Good luck, Go for it. Any questions just ask.
Kevin M. said:
Pky, I don't think the soundpost will fall down, they are in there tight enough. Just loosen the strings enough to take the bridge out and then unhook the tailpiese from the endpin. torn it over with the strings still in it and you will see the adjustment for the tail gut. tighten up the little nuts turn the tailpiece back over and reconnect it to the end pin. Now start putting the bridge back in. You will more than likely have to loosen the strings quite a bit.
Good luck, Go for it. Any questions just ask.
Kevin, Thank you! I did it! I may have screwed up the strings a little, I ended up unwinding all of them to tighten them again.
The tailpiece is about 2/8 from the edge now and 1/8 to the black protection piece rather than 1/2 inch from the edge and 3/8 from the protection piece. It probably needs to be closer to the protector piece, like barely touching?
I noticed that both mine and my daughter's violins have the same problem (i will fix mine next time I change my strings) from the beginning but didn't think it was a big problem. Kevin, other than the string may not fit if the tailpiece is too far away from the edge, what exactly does the distant have to do with the overall set up?
What does the thread winding have to do on both ends of a string? My guess is the thread winding at tail piece is to keep the twist together? Is the thread for pegs really necessary?
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If the sound-post falls it is because it was too loose. Just try not to bump the instrument when the strings are off and you should be fine. Back it up as much as possible. Mine lifts before applying string tension.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Ther is still some resonance that you get on the strings between the tailpiece and the bridge. If it is too close to the bridge that resonance will basically interfere will the resonance on the string from the nut to the bridge. Like two waves crashing into each other. There is an exact lenght that is suggested 54.5 mm distance from bridge to tailpiece. The thread windind at the pegs is more important, it keeps the windings together and acts as a cushion where the string makes a sharp bend going through the peg and also where it wraps around the peg but moreso where it goes through.
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