Posted my review on Amazon last week. I ended up putting the strings on an old "spare" violin I don't play much any more - am not adept enough at string changing that I was inclined to remove the Obligato Pirastro strings that came with my new violin, and the old violin was due for a string change. So the old violin went from mid-grade steel strings to the Fiddlerman synthetic core strings, and there was a huge difference in sound. The tone is much warmer and more pleasant, even on the E string.