Over the years I have tried a variety of fiddle strings for traditional fiddle music. I was a big fan of Helicores and though the Thomastik Superflexibles were good too.
Due to the volume of my fiddles (or a heavy bow hand) I considered synthetic strings for a warmer sound.
Some of the synthetics were okay, but not really what I was looking for. My experience with Dominants and Zyex was not good at all. The Dominant E is a poor option.
I saw where the Kaplan non-whistling E is often paired with Helicores. After trying that set I really liked the Kaplan E.
I had been recommended to try the Pirastro Tonicas as an alternative to the Helicores. And they took a little getting used to, but are a great string- their E is quite good.
I now pair the Kaplan non-whistling E with Tonicas and have been very pleased with the results. They give me the warmth I have been looking for, but can get loud when I need them too. I think the Tonicas are the most underrated synthetic out there. Do any of you use them or the Kaplan/ Tonica combination?
We tried Dominants on one fiddle, but other than that, Tonicas are the only synthetic string I've used (and only on one pretty good quality 19th century German instrument). I think they're good value for the money. I mostly use Prim, although I've tried both Helicore and Superflexibles and liked them too.
The Kaplan E is often used with Helicores partly because they’re both D’Addario strings. There have been a few Kaplan sets for violin, but they haven’t really taken off very well with players.
I really don’t like wound E strings, and while the Kaplan E does its job of eliminating whistles, I think it cuts out far too much of the other desirable qualities that you get from a single strand E. I’ve never played a wound E that didn’t sound muddy and flat to me. If whistling is a problem on your violin, take it to a shop to see if setup can fix it. Warchal also makes a non-whistling E. It works and sounds a lot nicer to my ears. I just use the medium gauge Goldbrokat E on setups, though. It works with everything (including Tonicas). I agree that there isn’t a good Dominant E; despite developing the G, D, and A strings by which all other strings in the world are measured, Thomastik has never been able to perfect the E despite many attempts. It’s been standard practice to use a different E string with the set for decades (typically the Gold Label or Goldbrokat).
I like Tonicas and always keep a set in stock. I think they’re slightly brighter than Dominants but are otherwise fairly similar. They were developed as Pirastro’s direct response to the phenomenon of Dominants. There’s an old joke that they should have been named sub-Dominants.
