rjfiddle - Posted - 09/14/2025:  21:04:02

I'm wondering if anyone has experience tuning up to Bb F Bb F. Are any strings low enough tension to do it? I'm backing a song where the singer needs to be in Bb and I want the open sound of cross tuning. I spoke to my luthier first, who thought it shouldn't damage my (backup) instrument as long as the strings held (I had Tziganes on). Well, I immediately broke the bridge. Wondering if anyone else has pulled this off without damage, and if so, how.

ChickenMan - Posted - 09/14/2025:  21:47:07

When I first started playing bluegrass, the band I played with played in Bb a lot (still do). I initially had two fiddles for that band, one tunes up to Bb (standard intervals) that I played as if in A. No special strings, no issues.



Your bridge was probably on the verge of breaking anyway, it's not unheard of. I know someone whose bridge broke while playing. Sounded like a gunshot.

Edited by - ChickenMan on 09/14/2025 21:47:37

rjfiddle - Posted - 09/14/2025:  22:04:21

Yeah, I think there's a fairly significant difference in pressure between tuning up a half step on all strings, vs a step and a half on the two lower strings and a half step on the upper. The bridge did break while playing, about a minute after tuning up. Pretty dramatic.

JonD - Posted - 09/15/2025:  04:21:07

I've no experience trying what you described, but someone has put together a string tension guide that could be useful.

violinstringreview.com/uploads...01409.png

Glancing at it, it looks like Violino might be a good choice, and they are described as a low tension string.

The Violin Beautiful - Posted - 09/15/2025:  05:52:25

Bb puts the violin at very high tension. While it is likely that the violin can sustain it for a short period, as you’ve seen, it’s not without risks. The more you increase tension, the more you increase the risk of issues like breaking strings, warping the bridge, opening up old cracks, starting new cracks, causing arching deformation, and changing the projection.

Paganini wrote his famous “Moses Fantasy” for a violin tuned to Bb, but one should note that only the G string need be tuned that far, and it puts quite a lot of strain on the instrument. Doing it completely changes the timbre of the violin and it makes a difference in the way the piece sounds that makes it justified, but one must be cautious in doing it.

Tuning the whole instrument up that far is risky. I wouldn’t do it on a violin unless it was a fairly new and very durable instrument that would have a better chance of withstanding it. When I played the Paganini piece I always used a violin that was pristine (my regular instrument at the time had repaired cracks on the top). I’ll add that I also practiced the piece in standard tuning most of the time and only tuned the G to Bb closer to performing it. When practicing I tuned to Bb immediately before playing the piece and retuned to A440 immediately thereafter.

As far as a string recommendation, I’d go with Dominants because they’re excellent strings and they’re at the low end of the tension spectrum. Violinos are lower according to the chart JonD linked, but nobody uses them.

coryobert - Posted - 09/15/2025:  07:22:41

You might try a modified open F tuning...F Bb F Bb. Obviously it would be an octave lower and you'd have to shift your fingering but for one song it might be the easiest.

Hector - Posted - 09/15/2025:  12:58:12

Dominants are available in low tension. These are lower tension than Violino and are probably the lowest you can get.