D'Addario Helicore Octave Violin String

These are not a "quick easy" installation; the nut and bridge must both be re-grooved, and the back of the peg-box may need relieving to accommodate the thicker strings. Then, wax all the grooves, and bring the strings up to pitch slowly. Give them a bit to stretch and settle before final tuning, as they can break if brought to full tension all in one shot.That said, once installed and tuned, these strings gave me a "chin cello" that is great fun to play. They are adequately responsive (for what they are) and while the volume is modest, they are loud enough for acoustic performing within some obvious limitations. The tone is dark and these are best suited for an instrument that is screaming bright.They add an extra dimension for playing traditional music, especially for backup, and a nice rich texture to open up and enhance the sound of your ensemble. The Bach cello suites are very entertaining with these.

I hate the high price. I am thankful I went ahead with the purchase even though the high price nearly caused me to pass on them. I hope they never stop making these because they work great and give me the sound I was hoping for on an electric violin. I don't know how long they last, but they remind me of the LaBella flatwound strings I have on my Bass VI, and I've had D'adarrio chromes flatwould guitar strings on a Gretsch for over 3 years and they hild tune and intination great and they sound is dead, but mellow and it suits the instrument well. So I'm hoping the similar qualities of these strings also includes the longevity.

I'm gonna rate these a 5/5 because I'm addicted to the sound they make. Turns your violin into a cello. They stay in tune well, they don't change pitch because you bow faster like some other strings do, and they just work well.Just know that there's not practical professional application for them at the moment. But who knows! Hopefully there will be people experimenting with them.

I'm having a blast with these octave strings. I had a luthier alter the nut and the bridge so the thick strings fit in my electric, and got a really cheap cello bow. I've been making arrangements of duets with my regular violin and the octave one and it sounds so nice- like I'm playing with a cello. Definitely needs amplification, and would be a little difficult for beginners. I broke one when putting it on and am definitely bummed at how expensive they are to replace though.

I bought these strings to replace my old ones right before a weekend gig. As I was changing out the strings, the brand new G string suddenly gave way and stretched out at the end where it is wrapped. I had barely started to gently tighten it when it snapped. I had to just put the old G string back on my instrument. Not great as we had a show the next day! Very disappointed!

Brings a whole new dimension of soundFeels like a cello soundRich tonesThe harmonics are fantastic

They are great fun! I sometimes play with my someone else on the regular violin and can do fun duets with this sound. I put four stars because the vibaration of the G string allready starts sounding a bit off.

I pur these strings on a half size violin. The g string broke but they replaced it right away which was awesome because I love how they sound and the strings are staying tuned.