Not video, just audio.

I went ahead and also put on the .014 as an A string and the .010 as an E string.  I think the sound is a little bright on the high strings, but it may mellow out over the next few days as they break in a bit. 

feature=youtu.be

Good experiments come to a conclusion, so I decided to dig this up and finish it off with what I learned from it.

These strings did work, and actually sounded pretty good, for the most part. I had them on my violin for about 3 months, and they got daily play.  So far as I can tell, in that time they did no damage to the violin or the bow.

Not only did they not break, but cleaning them up and examining them after 3 months of play, I can't see any sign of wear on them at all.  Even the silver plating is still bright and shows no signs of wearing off.  The windings are still good and tight, and they still have a good bit of bounce to the metal.  They haven't become limp or stiff.  So they are a looooong way from actually being "dead". 

They held tune very well, and the tone was very stable after they had settled in for a few days. 

They were by far the strongest and brightest sounding set of strings I've played on to date.  Lots of volume, plenty of high end harmonic content.  A lot of "edge" or "cut" that would work well if one wants to be able stand out when playing in a group with other musicians.  You can use your playing dynamics when you want soft, but there is a lot of strength here when you reach for it.

At the price (looking on amazon at the moment of this writing, and they can be found for under 8$ *with* free shipping) these are just insane. LOL

Possibly my personal favourite acoustic violin string, to date.

I've changed strings now (currently using Pro Artes, which are also very nice), not because these were really "done", but because it was a reasonable amount of time to try them and it was time to try something else.  I feel that especially in the first couple years of playing an instrument, it is good to change string brands and typed regularly, to learn by firsthand experience what works for *you*.

A mistake that I think a lot of beginners make is that they don't change things like strings near often enough.  It is hard enough being a noob, without playing on strings that have slowly gone "dead" on you, just because they haven't broken yet.  Strings have a lifespan.  Over time, they become more dull and their sound becomes weaker and less rich/complex.  That makes it even harder to learn to sound good, since you are trying for that sound/tone that you hear good players getting on recordings or videos, and the strings you are using have just lost the ability to give it to you.  But you will usually assume it is your playing technique that is making your music come out sounding kind of dull and just lacking.

Professional/advanced players change their strings fairly often.  I think I recall seeing Pierre mention that he changes strings about once a month.  He doesn't do that just for his health, he does it because he knows that's what he needs to get the absolute best sound out of his instruments.  Sure, maybe he plays more than you do.  That *can* wear out strings quicker, of course.  But even when they are not being played, being on the instrument, they are under tension and the metal or synthetic fibre of the core will over time stretch out too much and lose it's ability to flex and bounce back.  A beginner may not need to change as often as Pierre, but still needs to change every few months to be getting the best sound possible.

How good the instrument can sound is always a limiting factor on how good *you* can sound.  Part of getting beyond being a beginner is learning what more advanced players do and understanding why, and then modifying what you do accordingly so you can progress to being more able to do the things they do.  That applies to gear and maintenance of the gear as much as it does to intonation and bowing.

The only way to actually gain experience is by trying things yourself.

Well, with the resonance, I think some of it is because the Martin guitar strings don't have the silk wrap most violin strings do at the tail end.  So they ring more.  Maybe more than some folks would like.  Kevin mentioned a "hollow" sound, and that may have been what it was, since with the way the strings ring and the natural resonances of the instrument, most notes sounded like there was a slight reverb running, even though there wasn't.  I liked that, but probably not everyone would.

To be honest, I am trying to give the Pro Artes a fair try.  But so far I don't like them as well as I liked the Martins. 

The Martins had more power.  They were probably about 30% louder when pushed hard.  I don't usually consider louder as necessarily better (hand grenades are pretty loud, but not what we usually want for music), but I miss that extra bit of dynamic range to work in.

The Martins were more responsive.  Notes could be strong from the first instant they were played.  The Pro Artes feel a bit more.. hesitant.  They sort of take a brief instant to actually come up to power on a note.  So far they do not seem to have the ability to be as "explosive" as the Martins could be.

The sound of the Martins was a bit more focussed.  The timbre of the notes was not as diffused as the Pro Artes seem in comparison.  That softer sound can be good for some things, but the guitar strings were almost as soft after one learned to play with more control on one's bowing.

At the risk of getting rotten tomatoes or possibly even rocks thrown.. I don't think I like the Pro Artes near as well as I liked the Martin guitar strings.

The Pro Artes aren't all bad.  I like the G quite a lot.  And I can tell they are a well made decent quality set of strings.  Definitely not junk.

Maybe on a higher quality instrument or for a player with more evolved technique, the Pro Artes might be clearly a better sounding choice.  It may just be a freak that my inexpensive violin happens to maybe sound better when strung with this particular brand of guitar strings.  I don't know.

Here's a recording of the Pro Artes, made with the same gear, same settings, same distance from the mic, and when the strings were less than a week old, like the recording of the experimental strings above.  Same bow, same rosin, etc.  Different bit of music, and the Pro Arte recording has less background noise, since we don't have fans running this time of year, but everything is about as close as two recordings made some months apart will ever be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....&hd=1

I don't feel they sound *bad*.. Just lacking some of what I was getting from the Martins.  It is possible that as a 2nd year noob, I just don't know what violins are supposed to sound like.  But the experimental Martin guitar strings had more of what I like.

Not that the Pro Artes sound awful, it could be a good sound for some music. 

So far, people who hear me play in person every day or fairly regularly do not like the Pro Artes as well.  Even the friend who bought me the Pro Artes has suggested I switch back.