LS Larsen Strings Tzigane 4/4 Violin String Set

Encordar un violín con excelente resultado sonoro

I’m a working fiddler – 40yrs. playing: I really like these strings – BUT – be advised that in general, the D string will never totally settle in and slowly keep stretching for the life of the string, until it breaks. Accordingly, you will go through roughly twice as many Ds as the other strings, (depending on your choice of E strings, of course).

I’ve had this old early 1900s brown violin that I could just not make sing again. I knew it was probably an old german or french model, the dark brown varnish is very specific for a time and place, and it’s been in my family from about that time. It had been used for professional playing before and during WW1, and handed down to 4 boys (my dad and siblings) to learn to play in the 1940s. Its seen better days, but was professionally setup again in recent years, with a new sound post, bridge, pegs, closed gaps in the old glue, etc. Yet, it just did not want to sing with the many strings we tried. Dominant sounded muffled, Evah were shrill, the Tonicas at least allowed the violin to vibrate loudly, but the sound was flat and unidimensional. I took a chance on these Larsen Tzigane, as a last ditch effort, after listening to countless online demos and reading about reviews — string experiments are… expensive! Behold! The perfect strings!!! Their sound is full and complex, the violin projects well and the feeling on the bow is buttery and responsive. These seem to be the answer for my thick-ribbed old violin that had only been played with gut strings before. I am ecstatic!!!

If you like Pirastro Obligatos, give these a try. I’ve found them to be *very* similar. They won’t work on every fiddle, but on a fiddle that tends to be bright, and responds well to lower tension, these strings are really fantastic and rewarding. They give my fiddle a nasal growl that I absolutely love. I don’t know yet if they last as long as Obligatos, but time will tell. I bought a second set as backups for when they need replacing. I’m sold on these strings! They don’t seem particularly loud under the ear if you’re playing with a loud group, but when I’ve caught echos coming back at us in our irish session I noticed that then I could really hear my fiddle over the rest of the din. So, in other words, they project a lot better than one might think based on the under-the-ear loudness. The response is FAST and has a lot of dynamic possibilities. They respond better to light whispy bow movements better than any other strings I’ve used, other than real gut. The G, D and A strings are all well-matched with each other and all sound great. The A, which is aluminum-wrapped, took a couple days to break in and loose its metallic edge (which was noticeable mostly under the ear, but not terrible), but the silver wrapped D and G strings were ready to go from day one.

I don’t fuss over E strings, but this is a nice enough E string. Then again, I love the two-dollar Goldbrokat E strings, so it really doesn’t matter to me what a set comes with. I couldn’t really tell the difference between the Tzigane E string and my previous Goldbrokat E, which is totally great in my book. You can lay into it, and it has plenty of oomph, and can be sweet when you want. Supposedly the Tzigane E string has a tin plating on it though, so maybe that helps with response or with how well it ages over time and resists corrosion? I have no idea.

Seems the string set wasn’t packaged in its usual plastic case, which meant the string bags came with a little wear/moisture on them. Fortunately Larsen packages everything with an air-tight plastic bag inside the string bags, so the strings didn’t suffer any wear themselves. I would definitely prefer them coming in a much more presentable state next time I order some.