| Line | Peter Infeld |
| Instrument | Viola |
| Size | 4/4 |
| Gauge | medium |
| Supplied as | Set and single strings |
| Item number | ST-PI200-SET44 |
For professional violists looking for a modern, dynamically flexible concert sound, PI Viola is among the top recommendations. From orchestral work through to solo repertoire the strings bring the presence and projection the music demands.
The construction of the string (string length, tension, cross section, material properties) keeps its overtones close to the harmonic series; the higher partials lie only fractionally above the exact multiples of the fundamental. In wound strings this is achieved by the composite design of a thin, flexible core with one or more windings of metal ribbon or wire, which puts a lot of mass on the string with little bending stiffness.
A string tuned to the same pitch on the same string length carries proportionally more mass per metre (linear mass density) when it is under higher tension.
Under the bow the travelling kink of the Helmholtz motion (the string sticks to the bow hair and slips back) stays sharp on the flexible string, and the bridge receives a sawtooth force that contains every overtone of the fundamental.
Because viola body lengths today range from 38 to 40.5 cm, most often 39 cm, viola sets are also made for individual body sizes in inches.
A C string wound with tungsten (19,300 kg/m³) carries the same mass per metre on a smaller diameter than one wound with silver (10,500 kg/m³).
The PI200 set combines the A string PI21 in carbon steel with chrome, the D string PI22A with synthetic core and a chrome combination, and the G string PI23 and C string PI24 with synthetic core and silver; it suits vibrating lengths of 37.0 to 39.0 cm. At 25.6 kg Peter Infeld sits in the narrow band from 25.4 to 25.6 kg in which, among the 4/4 medium sets of the seven Thomastik viola lines we compare here, Alphayue, Dominant Pro, Dynamo, Peter Infeld and Rondo gather; only Dominant sits clearly below at 20.7 kg and Spirocore clearly above at 28.3 kg. On the viola, set tension is therefore not what sets these five lines apart; their differences lie in core and winding.
The G and C strings carry silver, whose density packs the mass the low register needs onto a slender diameter.
For us, Peter Infeld is the balanced premium set among the eight Thomastik viola lines we compare: warm and brilliant at once, many layered and finely modulated. It speaks very directly, holds warmth and brilliance in fine balance and covers a wide dynamic range. We recommend it above all to viola players with high demands who are looking for one set for everything.
If a viola needs power and projection in the hall above all, we recommend Rondo. And if what it is looking for is colour and fine modulation, then Dynamo.
The winding adds mass to the string without making it stiff. On the same string length a low note at similar tension needs a much higher linear mass density, and the metal of the winding supplies it.
From 440 Hz to 442 Hz, as many orchestras tune today, tension rises by about 0.9 per cent, and to 445 Hz by about 2.3 per cent.
At A = 440 Hz and pure fifths they are about 130.4 Hz (C), 195.6 Hz (G), 293.3 Hz (D) and 440 Hz (A).
Violas are built with very different body lengths, 38 to 40.5 cm being usual. A set that matches the instrument's vibrating length sits with its winding in the right place over nut and bridge.
The PI200 medium set in 4/4 has 25.6 kg.
For vibrating lengths from 37.0 to 39.0 cm.
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