Octave strings – ¿experience?

Hello,

some weeks I bought three sets of octave strings: Violin octave strings and Viola octave strings by Supersensitive / Sensicore and Violin octave strings by Thomastik / Superflexible.

The Viola strings (tuning like cello!) I needed for a school project for which we couldn't find a cello player. The Supersensitive sales guy Gary Wolk promised repeatedly that the strings have magnetic properties. I asked twice. When they arrived, I saw the viola octave strings don't have any magnetic properties at all! So I can't use them with the electromagnetic REBO system. I have to use the old Barcus-Berry piezo bridge with these octave strings on my viola, which feedbacks at higher volumes – which is a problem for my pupils in the surfrock project for electric strings and drums, which I've started at my school.
The G- D- and E- strings of the Supersensitive Violin octave set have magnetic properties, the A- string not. I might string a normal Dominant Violin G-string and tune it to A, but this changes the playing-feel / response.

The Supersensitive sales guy doesn't react to mails. – I have paid about 150 EUR for both sets! Stupid *******s these sales people: they are not even capable of asking the R&D people of their small shed of a Florida company!

The Thomastik Violin octave strings have fine magnetic properties: they have a core of fine twisted metal (steel) threads.

But now aside all these problems! The sets sound like I wanted it (apart from the bad piezo sound on the viola). I have the feeling that all sets are not really "oktavrein" / "quintrein" - that means when the open strings are tuned correctly, some doublestops - especially fifths - are almost impossible to play in tune. Has anyone had similar experiences? You have to adapt your bowing technique a lot - the deep strings: G & C need all your arm weight and a straight not too quick bowing speed to start humming at full frequency width.

Now I'm able to play the whole frequency range of a string quartet - quite a luxory one theatre composer already had having me in the recording studio with my newly strung instruments.

Please tell your experiences with octave strings!

Octave strings – ¿experience?

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