Have received a beautiful BAM "Cabine" violin case, which will vastly reduce my stress while flying! I've had a couple of recent situations where I've had to argue my way onto planes with a regular case -- never had any trouble until recently, but the airlines are getting tighter. . .
Anyway, many thanks to the Concord team for their excellent advice and help with this!

I purchased Versum Solo strings from Concord for my Jay-Haide cello. The service was outstanding as usual and the new strings are rich, powerful and easy on the left hand. Great experience overall.

These strings sound well on my cello...they are bright with a good core sound, warm and responsive. More important, I find them very easy on the left hand. The lower strings need one week plus to settle down and played in.

The Olive rigid is the best viola G string that there is. It's quite pricey with its gold content, but the sound and response is SO worth it! I have made occasional short-lived forays over the years to try other brands of strings and ALWAYS come back to the Olive G. My viola needs a Eudoxa-Olive C string to sound blended, as the Olive C has sounded false and unfocused from the start each of the three times that I have tried it. I had used the rigid Olive D with Eudoxa-Olive C and Olive rigid G strings for years, but always with very slight speaking problems on the D string in fast strokes. The Olive silver D was not an option for me, as it sounded too bright. But a few months ago, after a detailed analysis of potential candidates for a synthetic D string that might blend, I discovered the Larsen Virtuoso D (non-Soloist), which blends with the two above and a Larsen A as though they were all made for each other. No more speaking problems, my viola sounds rich, brilliant and resonant with an enormous color palate and dynamic range, and the ease of playing is tremendous as never before with the ability to hear myself clearly when the orchestra is very loud and I have in earplugs! I think part of the D string issue may be that the Olive rigid D medium gauge (17) is an unusually high tension string, whereas the Larsen Virtuoso D is a somewhat lower tension string than usual. My viola loves it!

I have received my set of Evah Pirazzi viola strings. I always use the synthetic core, medium strings. I'm so pleased with the tone and color I can produce with my viola. And, I wonder why I waited to put new strings on, immediate satisfaction.

I love the sound quality and power

My stringed instrument maintenance/tune-up guy uses this Pirazzi Gold on the bottom, paired with a stark (non-Pirazzi) A string, to frame a really excellent setup on my viola. These Pirazzis (especially from Concord) are consistently of high quality and almost invariably true.

Dominant strings are the best for my violin, producing a warm and clear sound. I always recommend to my students as well.

I have owned a Wiesmeyer leather mute for several years and like it a lot. This newer version with synthetic material has a slightly brighter and more resonate tone than the leather one. I like them both equally and choose the one that fits the needs of the moment the best.

I have ordered from Concord Musical Supplies regularly since the late 1980s and they have always provided excellent service, reasonable prices and a wide variety of string supplies. This time I ordered Vision Solo strings, my go-to brand. As a professional orchestra violinist, these strings are even and rich in tone; they are powerful enough to play a concerto, but flexible enough to blend in during quiet orchestral passages; they are reliable and don't take long to break in.

The prior reviewer is exactly right. Better sound, easier tuning, no risk of damage to the instrument. Also, it looks good! I, too, installed the Mberg tuner on my violin and viola, and I'm recommending it to my students. It's also interesting the the German superstar luthier Martin Schleske, who is extremely picky with his accessories, uses Mberg tuners on his instruments.

I am very happy with my new Eudoxa-Olive viola C-string. I am both a violist and a violin/viola maker. The viola I play on I made in 2016. Its body length is 16 5/8” with a string length of 368mm. I modeled it on a 17 1/2” Gaspar da Salo instrument. The current setup requires a very low tension G-string, for which I use Eudoxa Stiff. The C-string tension needs to be higher than the Eudoxa Stiff C, however. The Evah Pirazzi Gold C works fine, but mixing gut and synthetic core strings gave me intonation problems. The Eudoxa-Olive C has a similar tension to the Evah Gold C, and I am very happy that it works on my instrument. It responds differently than the Evah Gold C, and I had to get used to the difference. At first I thought the response was slower, but now that it is played in, I think that is not the case. Also, the string diameter is thicker than the Evah Gold C, so it feels different under my fingers. The sound is darker, but not as dark as the Oliv C, which made my viola sound like a cello. The response is very good, and I can play closer to the bridge and with more volume now than I ever could on this instrument, as well as very softly yet still distictly clear over the fingerboard.
A note about string tension: You can find the tension numbers on Pirastro’s web page. Some instruments are more sensitive to having just the right string tension and combinations of string tensions among the four strings. I have found that a string that has too much tension for the instrument will not speak properly; my bow feels like it has butter on the hair instead of rosin. On the other hand, if the string has too little tension, it feels like a rubber band when I play on it and won’t let me “dig in” at all. Also, an A-string with too much tension may play fine, but cause the C-string to be dull and unresponsive.

I purchased two of these cases; my wife and I have been performing and teaching on the road a lot and were getting tired of lugging our heavier cases around.

For less than half the price of the competition, GEWA has delivered a superior quality case that has nearly everything a violinist would want. The adjustable neck block is wonderful, especially for those of us with non-standard-sized fiddles, and the backpack straps are very comfortable. The finish of these cases is what makes them stand out--the texture is resistant to stains and scratches, and the polycarbonate is much tougher than the fragile shells offered by other similar shaped cases. The handle is beautifully designed/shaped, the weather-resistant valence is a big plus, and the subway strap is serviceable. The only reservations I have are that the space is so compact that fitting any larger shoulder rests is not possible (we were able to fit a VLM with folding feet in without a problem), and the soft material covering the metal hardware for the shoulder straps will likely wear away quite quickly.

Time will tell how these cases handle with age, but at this price point, the GEWA Pure is *the* shaped case to purchase.

The last few sets of strings I had used were Warchal Brilliant with the Prototype A which I liked very much and they were relatively inexpensive. I was finding that the G and C were losing clarity in the upper register. I had put them on about a year ago. I had read favorable reviews and had seen online demos of the Versum/Spirocore Tungsten combo and so I decided to try them to see if they made a difference. I noticed immediately that the Spirocore G&C had more core but still ring and didn't get fuzzy in the higher register. The G&C are more responsive and feel a bit thinner than the Warchals so for me they feel more comfortable. I used medium tension strings for both brands. The Versum A string feels like it is a little thicker than the Prototype A but produces excellent sound, giving a ring but with more core than the Prototype A, with similar characteristics to the Spirocore and still comfortable to play. If you can afford these I recommend them.

This set is a great combo. These really helped tame the wolf I had on the F# on D/G/C. I'm not a scientist, but I think the more focused tone of this set has less frequencies from overtones competing within the body of the cello and allows the fundamental tone to escape unimpeded. On top of that, the sound is powerful, but still has warmth. I'm impressed.

I installed the G and C two
weeks ago. They took that long to break in, but are now rich, loud and glorious. They are as powerful but slightly more colorful than Spirocores.

The Dominant (light weight) Strings were available and delivered quickly. This light gauge string provides the flexibility and feel of a gut string with the pitch stability of a synthetic string. The mass of these strings are ample to provide sufficient projection on a standard violin without high string tensions.

Service was great. Recieved the strings sooner than expected. Site was easy to navigate. Thank you.

I first heard Larsen’s Magnacore Strings on a colleagues cello and was very impressed. I had been quite happy with Evan Pirazzi Strings on my cello but decided to give the Magnacore Strings a try just to see what difference it would make. After some research to determine if I should try the medium or Arioso tension, I went with the Arioso. My cello already projects well and has a bright, direct sound on the upper strings. I am so happy with the richer sound and the ability to get different tonal colors. I wanted to play for hours.

Tune quickly, stay tuned good tone

Can’t beat the price, but still gives nice tone—strong, without being too strident.

Satisfied!

The Spiracore tungsten C and G seem to be the most reliable strings out there regarding consistency and durability. You can really play into them but they also speak easily in the softer passages. It might have to do equally as much with the cello adjustment than the strings but these are safe bet if you can afford them.
Concord makes them as affordable as they get with their Combo cello sets pricing.

I have enjoyed the warm, projecting sound of the Evah Pirazzi Gold strings on my viola for some time. They seem more stable and long-lived than the "regular" Evah Pirazzi strings, and they share some positive tonal characteristics which the Passione strings displayed on my instrument (unfortunately the Passione strings were not suitable to changing climates). I had used the Larsen A before during a previous period of string experimentation, and I find that it blends well with the Golds so far. The viola is due for a check-up/adjustment, it will be interesting to see what the maximum effect of this combination will be.

Wonderful string, took me years to find this string, I used mix D string of Solo Vision along with the rest of dominants, but now found perfect combination!

Great string! My colleague and friend actually recommended me couple years ago and couple weeks ago finally I ordered them! Sounds really good and you just can't beat the price!

I have been playing the cello for 48 years, 38 years a full time professional cellist. I occasionally try new brands of strings but always come back to Jargar Superior. They are by far the best strings out there, warm rich tonel, big projection, and they are very responsive and easy to play on. They are the best for my almost 300 year old Italian cello.

I have to compliment the staff at Concord for there help and expertise with this product. I had trouble figuring out the installation process and they talked me through it on the phone and with pictures sent to my email. Tremendous customer service!

Lovely, dark and rich, like the best chocolate. I occasionally try other strings, but doing so just reminds me that these are the best -- for me, anyway.

I decided to try the Evah Gold strings upon the recommendation of a professional colleague.
I’m very glad I did!
In the past, I used Obligato strings (also Pirastro) and was perfectly happy with them. However, the Evah Gold set is better. Not only does it capture the sound quality of the Obligatos, but requires far less effort to produce a full sound.
I recommend using the full set.

I have a drawer full of shoulder rest that would only stay on my instrument with rubber bands. The Pedi is the first that absolutely stays on with hours of practice. I'm so totally shocked that for the first time ever I now have a great shoulder rest and it's also very light. I've said it all - you need to try one you'll love it instantly.

The cello string set of Solo Versum on top and Tungsten Spirocore on the bottom is ideal for my cello. The Versum have power and warmth and blend well with the Spirocores. The service from Concord was impeccable! I ordered them at 10:30 am on a Monday and they went out the same day and I got them Wednesday. Keep up the great work!