| Core | A/D/G synthetic |
| Set tension 4/4 medium | 23,4 kg |
| Line | Peter Infeld |
| Instrument | Violin |
| Size | 4/4 |
| Gauge | medium |
| Supplied as | Set and single strings |
| Item number | ST-PI100-SET44 |
A unique feature of the PI series is the fine differentiation of the E-string. It is available in three platings; tin, gold and platinum; allowing players to tailor the sound precisely to instrument and playing style. The tin version delivers a clear, direct tone, the gold adds warmth, the platinum provides a precise brilliance with particular reach.
The D-string is also offered in two variants: aluminium-wound for more brilliance or silver-wound for a warmer midrange. The result is a set that can be matched exactly to the acoustic personality of the instrument and the demands of the repertoire.
Tonally, PI strings deliver a rich, expressive core with a wide dynamic range. A first choice for demanding solo projects and large concert halls.
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.
The violin is tuned in fifths; at A = 440 Hz and pure fifths the open strings G, D, A and E sound at about 195.6 Hz, 293.3 Hz, 440 Hz and 660 Hz.
The E string is usually steel today, because gut would be loaded to the limit of its breaking strength in this position. Steel stretches far less than gut when tuned, which is why a steel E is tuned most finely with a fine tuner in the tailpiece. The low G string sounds rounder and fuller than the higher strings; composers therefore ask for whole passages on it (sul G).
With the Thomastik synthetic sets we carry, the longitudinal pull lies between 21.2 kg (Dominant 135) and 23.5 kg (Rondo); angled over the bridge (string angle about 157°), about 8.5 to 9.5 kg of it press the bridge onto the top. Towards the G string the strings sit higher above the fingerboard, because their amplitude grows towards the low strings; the bridge is cut asymmetrically to match.
The PI100 set combines the platinum plated E string PI01PT, the A string PI02 with synthetic core and aluminium, and the D string PI03A and G string PI04 with synthetic core and silver. The line's E string is made gold plated, platinum plated and tin plated, the D string with aluminium or with silver. At 23.4 kg the set sits 2.2 kg above Dominant 135 and 0.1 kg below Rondo RO100.
The silver winding of D and G (10,500 kg/m³ against 2,700 kg/m³ for the aluminium of the A string) carries the mass of the low strings on a smaller diameter. The polyamide synthetic core (1,130 to 1,150 kg/m³, modulus of elasticity as a measure of material stiffness 2,500 to 3,500 MPa) reacts far less to humidity than gut and settles in faster than gut, though not as fast as steel.
For us, Peter Infeld is the set of great balance: warm and brilliant at once, many layered and finely modulated in every position. It speaks very directly, carries far and stands firm under the bow. After about five hours of playing it has settled in.
If you are still getting to know your instrument and want to hear how it sounds on its own, Dominant is very good advice. And if what you are looking for is warmth and soft roundness above all, Vision Solo offers it in an even more pronounced form.
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.
No, our fine tuners are made for loop end strings. For a ball end string you choose a tailpiece or fine tuner that takes a ball, or a string with a removable ball.
In the PI100 the platinum plated PI01PT; the line's E string is also made gold plated and tin plated.
The PI100 medium set in 4/4 has 23.4 kg.
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