Russian Style violin 'A'

- I am generally known as being a supporter of synthetic core strings. So the question that arose was why did we spend so much time and effort developing a violin metal core A string?

- There is a bit of an issue with making violin string sets. The E string cannot be synthetic, and so a plain or wound metal wire E is commonly used. There is always a bit of a problem with the compatibility of the metal soprano range E string with the alto range (G, D and A strings). String makers obviously aim to achieve a seamless change between the soprano and alto ranges, however a slight difference is always heard.

- I was particularly influenced by the Soviet and Russian school and playing style during my studies, and used a metal core 'A' during that time. Many of my Russian violinist friends preferred to have the soprano-alto 'break' between the A and the D strings instead of between the E and the A strings.

- Later I switched to using gut and synthetic A strings, but learned that some instruments just wouldn't work well with any kind of gut or synthetic core A string. Some instruments always had a problem with their response and playability if a synthetic or gut 'A' was fitted.

- This is why I always wanted to make a metal core A string which had a trouble-free response, but which had the tonal character of a synthetic or gut string. I aimed to create a metal A which would sound warm even under maximum bow pressure. Developing our new metal A string took longer than I expected, but we have now successfully created a string which gives an unmatched response with a warm tone.

- The Russian Style violin A string gives you a seamless and mellow switch between the alto and soprano registers, excellent response and incredible durability. I believe that you will enjoy it.