Thomastik Dominant Pro Violin String Set Medium 4/4
Immediately after stringing, the string set sounds bell-like and fills the room. In the first three to five hours of playing, the strings feel a touch softer and sound a little warmer than they do for the rest of their lifespan. Then the strings open up, sound more brilliant and open, and feel a little tighter beneath the fingers. The bell-like sound that fills the room decreases slightly in the last third of the strings’ life and they sound more direct – from this point on, the tonal character of the strings barely changes.
+ Exceptionally powerful
+ Good balance of brilliance and warmth
+ Broad range of sound colors
+ Supports the radiance of the instrument in the long term
+ Reacts immediately with a focused sound core
+ A sound that fills the room
+ Bell-like tonal character
+ High resistance to bow pressure
+ Suitable for soloists
+ Very high level of dynamics (can be played very quietly and very loudly)
The plain DOMINANT PRO E-string NO.DP01 [diameter 0.265 mm, 8.0 kg, removable ball end] with a core of carbon steel is tin-plated. A protective layer of nickel is placed between the outer coating of tin and the steel core in order to increase the corrosion resistance compared with conventional tin-plated strings. However, the corrosion resistance is lower than that of plain stainless steel strings (NO.129) as well as the stainless steel strings with gold and platinum plating (e.g.: NO.DP01AU, NO.DP01PT).
The string has a very good response, barely whistles, and is well-balanced in its brilliance and warmth. It supports the equilibrium with the A-string and promotes its capacity to carry sound. For musicians who prefer a high resistance to bow pressure, strings have to be extremely resilient. To ensure this, manufacturers often set store by a high string tension, among other things. As a general rule: the greater the diameter of a plain, unwound steel string, the higher the string tension. However, from a diameter of 0.273 mm onward, the string tension is usually so high that the strings can put excessive strain on the instrument, resulting in a loss of sound color.
Thanks to a specially developed wire treatment, however, we have succeeded in creating E-strings like the DOMINANT PRO NO.DP01, which offers a high level of resistance to bow pressure already at 0.265 mm with no loss of color or strain on the instrument. This wire treatment makes the sound soft enough that it does not have a screeching effect, and brilliant enough that it offers sufficient radiance, projection and resistance to bow pressure. As a result, the string sounds broad and brilliant even without applying much pressure.
The DOMINANT PRO A-string NO.DP02 [5.5 kg] with aluminum winding was designed to have more tonal core and energy in the keynote. Its metallic component is slightly lower, but it still projects sound beautifully and also responds very well in pianopianissimo ppp with a consistently high capacity for modulation.
The string is very colorful, possesses a good balance between brilliance and warmth, an excellent response as well as good resistance to bow pressure. When combined with the E-string NO.DP01, it sounds even broader and more richly colored.
The D-string is the violin’s leading string. Accordingly, it has a very strong influence on the remaining strings in all aspects of play. The tonal lifespan of the entire violin string set is chiefly dependent upon this string. With the help of a novel silver alloy, we were able to combine the advantages of a silver string with those of an aluminum string in the DOMINANT PRO NO.DP03A [4.5 kg], while also eliminating their drawbacks.
What this means is that the DOMINANT PRO D-string offers a very refined bow noise, brilliance and pronounced sound color with a good deal of modulation capacity. This combination guarantees an ideal ability to sustain sound and projection in halls. Unlike conventional silver D-strings, it has a more direct bow response and does a better job of suppressing wolf tones in combination with the new G-string. The diameter is somewhat smaller than that of a synthetic A-string. This makes the string pleasant to play and means that it feels at once both supple and resilient beneath the left and right hand.
The DOMINANT PRO G-string NO.DP04 [4.6 kg] has a very low metallic component, less bow noise, and a more direct response. It is a good fit for the majority of new and old instruments and is ideally suited for soloists, chamber musicians, and use in orchestras. Due to the slightly increased string tension (compare this with DOMINANT NO.133 at 4.5 kg), it also offers increased resistance to bow pressure without putting too much strain on the instrument. The new string feels soft beneath the fingers, but stands out with its high resistance to bow pressure with an extreme capacity to sustain sound and outstanding radiance.