there's no problem at all... many times someone will change strings several times before they find the perfect combination of sound and tone they like or for a particular fashion or style of music they choose to play. Most players will play a "set" of strings and others will mix and match their selection to get a particular sound from their instrument. Some instruments don't respond well to a particular string in a particular position so changing it will often times enhance that series of notes played to match the other strings abilities to produce equal quality sound.

Thin strings tend to be from the 'steel core' variety and the thicker ones are often the 'synthetic core' versions, not always but majority of the time. If you were to install a set of 'gut' strings, they are available in a multitude of diameters or sizes and depending on the type of music you'd be playing, they'd sound totally different as well and the cost is significantly higher and their useful life span is considerably shorter in general. Todays technology has a very high quality synthetic core string that is very economical in price and has a long life span.

At FM's fiddlershop.com site, he has a lot of different strings at very attractive prices so you would be able to economically change strings to find a set to suit your playing preferences.

If your violin sounds harsh and has a tin or metallic sound, changing to the syn core strings will soften it and if you have a 'quiet' instrument then using a heli-core will brighten it up. It's a lot of test and tune time but the result will be what you want the sound to be. good luck. Look forward to seeing the pics.

Also, a thought... regarding high tension strings.

If your instrument is the least bit fragile or 'old' and possibly of questionable stability then the high tension strings will only aggravate the possible demise of your violin. High tension strings put a lot of stress on all the glue joints of the body. I'm not saying they don't work, may times they do and do it perfectly. But keep in mind the average and normal force exerted down on the body thru the bridge is in the neighborhood of 40-50 lbs of force and it's trasmitted thru the bridge to the body, and then partly thru the soundpost to the back. Add high tension strings and the number jumps up about 10lbs.

Not all violins have the bridge close to the post and this may possibly warp the top earlier vs a low or medium tension string set. Some violins just sound better with the post more under the treble foot of the violin bridge, some don't like it so close and this is where the force creates a bending moment right next to the post location and thus may contibute to the splitting or causing of a "soundpost crack" you may gave heard of, and there's probably more cracks produced from high tension strings than low or medium tension strings. I have no link to any hard data to prove that but the logic points me in that direction.

I'm no expert but I do a little basic work on viloins at a shop and I see this on occassion. It isn't seen on a lot but I've been told this by a man of 25 yrs service to the business of keeping violins alive and well.