Pro Arté (D'Addario)
Displayed for educational use only, please do not reuse.
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What the manufacturer says:
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Average
Warm (Tone)
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Clean/Neutral (Complexity)
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Neutral (Projection)
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Overall
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Reviews
Shawn Boucke - site director (2/23/14)
Very Warm (Tone)
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Clean (Complexity)
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Loud (Projection)
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Pro Arté strings are fascinating. They come very close to the dark tones that only gut strings can provide, but have the clarity usually reserved for steel core strings. For their price these strings are a fantastic purchase. For most synthetic strings you would have to double your price. The big question is if this is a "Student" string or not. I would recommend these to any student looking to warm up their instrument without breaking the bank. They seem to perform best in lower positions on the G and D-strings which seems more suited for students. Although many advanced violinists look for a very complex sound, the cleanliness that these strings provided was quite refreshing and allowed for a bit more punch when playing as a soloist.
D. Rodriguez (7/14/14)
Warm (Tone)
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Clean (Complexity)
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Loud (Projection)
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Overall
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I love these string on my violas. I buy the silver D. And use the Jargar A forte. They are very responsive, easy on your hands.
Non metallic. Play like gut. Even. I recommend then as an alternative to Dominants, Vision, Tonicas, Pirazzis or Obligatos.
Non metallic. Play like gut. Even. I recommend then as an alternative to Dominants, Vision, Tonicas, Pirazzis or Obligatos.
C. First (3/27/14)
Warm (Tone)
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Neutral (Complexity)
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Neutral (Projection)
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Overall
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I have never been let down by the Pro Arte string set. I have tried them on 7 or 8 different violins, and they have always sounded very good. Some other string brands sound good on one violin, but poor on another. The Pro Artes somehow seem to be universal, in my experience so far, anyhow...
The smooth, even tone of the Pro Artes takes off a bit of the edge that often comes with a brand new instrument, but at the same time, the strings have a nice resonance. They have good response, and no strange playing quirks that I have come across.
They do not achieve that smooth sound by way of muting or subduing the sound, they just sort of even out the ride, like a Cadillac cruising down the road soaking up the bumps. The tone is full bodied and warm. They don't screech or complain unless you really try. Maybe that's why they are marketed as "student" strings? I don't know why they chose to label them as such, as I think many players may feel that the Pro Artes are "beneath" them, or look down their nose at them. Well, if so, those players are missing out.
I am not an E string aficionado, and can't discern the nuances like many who sample them like a fine wine. But, if there was a weakness to the set, if you asked me to choose one thing that didn't thrill me, it would have to be the E string. It certainly doesn't sound bad by any means, but it offers a rather "vanilla" E string sound. Middle of the road. Not a ringing, singing clear E, nor a full bodied clarion call that other E's have to offer. Just a plain Jane E. And, hey, sometimes that's all someone is looking for.
These strings are a fabulous value. They sell for half, or a third of what many of the "premium" string sets go for. Give them a try, you will be surprised!
The smooth, even tone of the Pro Artes takes off a bit of the edge that often comes with a brand new instrument, but at the same time, the strings have a nice resonance. They have good response, and no strange playing quirks that I have come across.
They do not achieve that smooth sound by way of muting or subduing the sound, they just sort of even out the ride, like a Cadillac cruising down the road soaking up the bumps. The tone is full bodied and warm. They don't screech or complain unless you really try. Maybe that's why they are marketed as "student" strings? I don't know why they chose to label them as such, as I think many players may feel that the Pro Artes are "beneath" them, or look down their nose at them. Well, if so, those players are missing out.
I am not an E string aficionado, and can't discern the nuances like many who sample them like a fine wine. But, if there was a weakness to the set, if you asked me to choose one thing that didn't thrill me, it would have to be the E string. It certainly doesn't sound bad by any means, but it offers a rather "vanilla" E string sound. Middle of the road. Not a ringing, singing clear E, nor a full bodied clarion call that other E's have to offer. Just a plain Jane E. And, hey, sometimes that's all someone is looking for.
These strings are a fabulous value. They sell for half, or a third of what many of the "premium" string sets go for. Give them a try, you will be surprised!
K. Yong (10/6/13)
Warm (Tone)
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Clean (Complexity)
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Loud (Projection)
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Overall
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I have a stainer copy full size violin that sounded loud and annoying under my ear. My left ear would ring for a long time after I practice. Any way, I read somewhere that D'addario pro-arte strings could tame a loud and very ‘bright’ violin so I decided to put a new set of D'addario pro-arte strings on my Stainer copy.
While I was changing the strings, I thought I would take the bridge off to make a template so I could fit a bridge later to see if a bridge would make a difference and I thought the bridge was on the thin side. When I attempted to take the bridge off, the strings glided on the groves and sort of “sand” off the wood. I stopped the string changing process and went ahead to fit a bridge.
When the bridge is done, I continued the string changing process. All of a sudden, I heard the sound post fell over and began to roll in the body again. So I started to cut a new sound post – a plan that I had postponed. So now my Stainer copy has a new set of strings, a new bridge that I intentionally make it thicker than the old one, and a new sound post.
When I played on it, I immediately noticed a big difference on the sound and love it! It’s still loud but much less ear piercing that my ear could take it! I tuned and played and played. However, I cannot tell for sure, which change make the difference, the strings, the bridge, or the sound post, or any combination of the three, or all of them. Any way, I am glad that I made the changes and that I love the new sound.
I should have recorded the original sound before I started all these so I could compare the sound before and after changes. Well, too late now for that. I probably could put the old bridge back to see if there's a difference, but would rather wait till one day I have to change all the strings at once.
I have pro-arte strings on for 2.5 months now (zyex lasts for about six months and dominant last longer and I play 30 minutes or more daily on average). the down side of it is I noticed that in less than two months, the E strings was wearing out, and now it's barely 2.5 months my A strings is wearing out, too. I haven't changed them out but they do sound bad enough that I wanted to change them.
I like the way D and G strings sound, A sounds great, too. E strings sound a little screechy when I play on higher register like six or seventh position. But it could be because my E string is "dead," my skill is not there yet, or my violin simply doesn't sound nice at higher register.
While I was changing the strings, I thought I would take the bridge off to make a template so I could fit a bridge later to see if a bridge would make a difference and I thought the bridge was on the thin side. When I attempted to take the bridge off, the strings glided on the groves and sort of “sand” off the wood. I stopped the string changing process and went ahead to fit a bridge.
When the bridge is done, I continued the string changing process. All of a sudden, I heard the sound post fell over and began to roll in the body again. So I started to cut a new sound post – a plan that I had postponed. So now my Stainer copy has a new set of strings, a new bridge that I intentionally make it thicker than the old one, and a new sound post.
When I played on it, I immediately noticed a big difference on the sound and love it! It’s still loud but much less ear piercing that my ear could take it! I tuned and played and played. However, I cannot tell for sure, which change make the difference, the strings, the bridge, or the sound post, or any combination of the three, or all of them. Any way, I am glad that I made the changes and that I love the new sound.
I should have recorded the original sound before I started all these so I could compare the sound before and after changes. Well, too late now for that. I probably could put the old bridge back to see if there's a difference, but would rather wait till one day I have to change all the strings at once.
I have pro-arte strings on for 2.5 months now (zyex lasts for about six months and dominant last longer and I play 30 minutes or more daily on average). the down side of it is I noticed that in less than two months, the E strings was wearing out, and now it's barely 2.5 months my A strings is wearing out, too. I haven't changed them out but they do sound bad enough that I wanted to change them.
I like the way D and G strings sound, A sounds great, too. E strings sound a little screechy when I play on higher register like six or seventh position. But it could be because my E string is "dead," my skill is not there yet, or my violin simply doesn't sound nice at higher register.
S. Welling (10/6/13)
Warm (Tone)
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Clean (Complexity)
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Quiet (Projection)
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Overall
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Pro Arté strings have done exactly what they claim to do. I have a student model Chinese violin. It is pretty bright sounding. It came with helicore strings which worked well, but did not help with the tone. I use this instrument for outdoor gigs. The last wedding I performed at I was quite disappointed at the shrill sound coming from my violin. I immediately bought a set of Pro Arté strings.
It took about a week to fully settle in. They have calmed down the violin quite a lot and are true to that statement. The E string is light, but blends very well with the rest of the set. The only issue I have with them is that the tone is not very clear in the upper register. It might be because of the quality of the instrument. I plan to put a set on my fine violin later this year. Since I will be playing mainly in the lower register during gigs I am not too worried. I would highly recommend these strings to beginning students who would like a darker sound.
It took about a week to fully settle in. They have calmed down the violin quite a lot and are true to that statement. The E string is light, but blends very well with the rest of the set. The only issue I have with them is that the tone is not very clear in the upper register. It might be because of the quality of the instrument. I plan to put a set on my fine violin later this year. Since I will be playing mainly in the lower register during gigs I am not too worried. I would highly recommend these strings to beginning students who would like a darker sound.
L. DeSalvo (4/28/13)
Warm (Tone)
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Clean (Complexity)
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Neutral (Projection)
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Overall
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The Pro Arte Violin set has made my playing better! I like the best, the sound quality and the warmness of the strings
J. Laureta (4/17/13)
Warm (Tone)
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Rich (Complexity)
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Neutral (Projection)
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Overall
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On my violin, Pro Artes are warm, balanced, and generally are "nice" strings. While they lack the sheer power of Evah Pirazzis or the complexity of Olivs, they provide a great base from which to start building up a good tone, a definite step above Preludes or (shudder) Red Labels, with which they compete against in many school orchestras. Marketed as they are, they're most comparable to Dominants, although sweeter and softer. Unfortunately, the E string is rather flimsy - not a cheese-cutter, but if you're looking for something with more bite, trade it out for one of the specialized E strings.