I recently baught a very cheap violin, because I unfortunately can't afford better I was curious if changing the strings to a better brand would improve the sound quality? If so, which brand would you advise?
Also, I found that the bow need to be pushed hard on the strings in order to make a sound, resin or not. Which kind of bow would be better?

Thank you for your help and happy playing!

Hello It's not necessarily a "better" brand that will make your violin sound better, granted, probably more expensive would do some difference, but as for which brand, that depends on your violin. Sometimes it takes a few trieds before you find a kind that sounds best on your violin. If you have a lower-priced violin that's not very ringy, Sensicore Perlon strings are very responsive. Good luck, and have fun!

What strings do you recommend for places with high humindity? I have heard that brands like Dominant are not very stable at high humidity. Not sure if that is true.

Just to add another query..
What is the difference in the sound produced by steel strings and synthetic core (like nylon, perlon, etc) strings? What about playabity? Are synthetic core strings more diffciult to play than steel strings? Thank you.

Hello again! I live in Utah, which is a relatively dry climate, and I recently travelled to Minneapolis which is quite humid....I have dominants on my A & D strings, and they seemed to work just fine while there (however, I was only there for one week). Synthetic strings aren't affected very much by humidity, however their sound isn't as warm as the core. On the flipside, the core strings are warmer and much easier to tune, yet their lifespan is much shorter because they get stretched out. I don't think one is easier to play than the other, although to core are more responsive, which could be good or bad.

Well, I mean real humind - like tropics. I am from South East Asia - real real humid (and hot)climate...

I think between the core and the steel, for the climate if you don't want to change your strings every 2 months then I would go with the steel. I like Eudoxa.

Thanks a lot !
I had another question, what are "dominants"? and also what about my bo (should I get a better one?)

The bow doesn't need to be pushed hard on the strings to make a sound. You probably don't have enough rosin on your bow.

Dominants are just a brand of strings, and I agree I think just using a bit more rosin would help....don't think about pushing down with the bow or squeezing, that will cause an awful sound (lol). Have fun

What matters to the sound of the violin is backwards from what most people think.

In actual order of importance:

1. Player
2. Bow
3. Strings
4. Violin

A good bow will help you get the mst out of crappy strings, but great strings will never be at their best with a crappy bow.

The fiddle holds the strings, the strings together with the bowhairs are the source of the sound; the fiddle filters and amplifies that sound. A bad fiddle can do a lot of damage to the sound of nice strings, but a gret fiddle will never overcome a crapy set of strings.

The setup of the violin does more to it than most people realize. A really awful sounding violin can be dramitically improved by improved set-up.

But there isn't any "setup" to the bow--just good hair, and appropriate rosin and appropriate hair tension.

Spend wisely:
Good bow (if you are a beginner, a good bow is fiberglass, not wood)
Good bow hair (always real horsehair, never fake)
Good rosin (not the cheaps stuff--get a "brand" it doesn't matter, as long as it isn't the cheapest stuff in the store)
Good strings: for hot humid conditions, all metal strings (no they are not all steel) will be reliable and servicable as long as they do not corrode. The synthetic core strings will outlast their good sound--they will last longer htan you should use them. This is less the case with the metal strings. Use a gut core string for the richest sound, but if you want long-lasting ability, get a "covbered" or "wound " gut such as eudoxa. It will outlast the synthetic in actual playing quality.

Wow, thanks for the enlightenment, Violasurvey! I have tried eudoxas and really enjoy them. Thanks again Have a good day, everybody!

For a really humid climate, I would not suggest Gut strings. I have not had first hand experience with it, but my teachers with gut strings always complain when it is suddenly humid out. (mMmm... New England Weather...)

I have had no trouble at all with Zyex Strings--and would suggest Synthetic cores. I mean, steel cores would work as well but the sound of the Synthetic is much better in my opinion.

I have heard good word about Piastro strings, I in particular plan to use a Zyex G, D, and A, along with an Oliv Gold Piastro E.

Its still coming in the mail, i'll let you know how it is...

I play plain gut (no winding) in New England. I find them considerably more stable than wound gut from a tuning perspective, and besides, if you can't deal with tuning your instrument, you really haven't learned much.

Strings definitely help. I'm not saying that it'll turn your violin into a Strad or anything, but it'll improve sound production. My opinion: purchase Dominants for the G-string, D, and A. For the E-string, you might want to get Larson's. They have a very bright, open quality which sounds great. And they're inexpensive. ^_^