NEW vs OLD Violin Strings: can you hear the difference of 4 months? | Violin Lounge TV #392
How do you know if you should change your violin strings?
In this video I show you the difference between new strings and 4 month old strings
Can you hear the difference between new and old violin strings?
I know it’s time to change my violin strings when the intonation starts to waddle and they don’t sound as good anymore.
I never wait until they break. That can be dangerous and it would mean I play on bad strings for a long time.
The violin strings I use:
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Never replaced your strings?
Here’s a video tutorial on how to change your violin strings yourself.
Learn more about different kinds of violin strings:
- Top 3 warm sounding violin strings
- Gut vs Synthetic strings
- My recommendation for cheap, but good quality, violin strings
Guide to buying violin strings
If you’d like to read a lot more about violin strings, what they’re made of and see a lot more string reviews, check out this violin string buying guide.
Leave a comment if you could hear the difference:
14 Comments
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- How to Replace your Violin Strings (close up and detailed) | Violin Lounge TV #419 - Violin Lounge - […] Old vs new violin strings. Can you hear the difference? […]
Yes! Major difference between the old and new strings! You play beautifully, so are able to “mask” weaknesses of the old strings very well. It is more of a ringing/singing that is noticeable. The old strings seem muffled or constrained, whereas the new strings vibrate more freely and seem more alive.
I change mine out about every 6-8 months, and that is as long as I can stand! I am only an intermediate player, so I can’t justify the expense of changing them out as often as I would like. I play every day, for about 1-2 hours per day.
Great video!
Glad you like it!
Ok, let me order new strings now. Mine are exactly one year old……
Great! What strings will you order?
There is a distinct difference to my ear. The new make an alive, clear and brighter tone. Old strings require more effort to play well and never measure up in responsiveness.
My current strings are becoming tired, especially the D and G strings. I journal my practice and have about 300 hours on them, so it’s time to change them.
I played my new violin (and strings) near 500 hours and was becoming distracted and disappointed with my violin or my technique. It dawned on me as a young violinist that I probably should get new strings. I was shocked in the difference new strings made! It was as though I had a new violin and practicing was a real pleasure again.
Thank you for this video. It reinforces attention to detail.
Enjoy your new strings 🙂
I have played an hour a day for 7 months now on a student violin with steel strings. I hate steel strings, they are sounding harsh on the E string now. I feel ready to upgrade. Very helpful video! What gauge is recommended for beginner strings?
Here are some recommendations on strings. Synthetics will sound a lot warmer. Depending on the type I would start with medium and change from there what your want.
Wow. Great video. I am an amateur playing 2 or 3 times a week for fun. And quickly frustrated because I just started again and used te play much better.
My question is: Do get strings worse, not playing? How often should one replace strings when not playing much?
It all depends on the strings and also the humidity in the air. Even ‘unplayed’ strings wear down. Just judge based on the sound quality if you need new ones. Or replace just one strings and see if it makes a difference. E strings are especially cheap to experiment with.
What an eye opening video! The difference is so noticeable. The old strings are dull and lifeless and I could tell that you were working hard to make the old strings vibrate. The new strings are very much alive and very responsive. As you said, “the new strings ring.” Mine are over a year old and are sounding very dull plus I have to tune after every two songs. I work very hard to get the strings to do what I want. With this video it certainly shows that I need new strings, so I don’t have work so hard and not have to tune every couple of songs.
Thank you..
Glad it’s helpful, Robert!
Unfortunately I am not able to play the video. The video goes dark when I move the mouse over it, but nothing happens when I press the play button.
Hmm, seems to work here. Maybe try the direct YouTube link right here.