PirastroObligato up to 16.5" Viola String Set - Medium Gauge

Wow...these strings enabled my viola to sing. They have an astounding tone. I was having some work done on my viola, and the luthier said, "...it sounds terrific! Are those strings new?" They weren't even broken in yet.I had been playing on my violin much more than my viola, recently. But since putting these strings on my viola, I can't put it down! I LOVE their depth and resonance.

Initially I was sent the wrong strings, but a call to Amazon got the right ones sent out that very day, so I was very happy with the service.I purchased the Obligato's for my 16.5 inch viola. Before I had been using the Picastro Tonica's, but decided to try a higher quality string and got a much higher quality sound. I can't recommend trying these strings enough. The price did sting a little, so I'll be purchasing one new string a month to get a set ready for replacement.Update: The winding on the D string was bad and unraveled. Amazon had me contact the seller, I called the seller "New Satarr". Dealing with a seller can be iffy and is usually a bad experience, when I called and got voicemail I was hearing the alarms going off. They got back to me in less than 10 minutes and got a new string out that very day. More important to me than price is customer service, and this 10 out of a 5 star service. They showed that they stand behind their product, if you are looking at buying these strings (and I highly recommend you do) check the seller, and it it's New Satarr, know that you are dealing with great company. They have a dedicated customer here and I will be sharing their name with everyone I know who needs strings. And for the record, I don't know them, I haven't been paid by them or received ANYTHING for this review. But when these strings need replacing, and they will, I will be ordering from them again.

Ordered a full set of these viola strings and only received ONE string (C). Other reviews have mentioned the same problem. I’d normally buy strings directly from Shar, but these were slightly cheaper and had a faster shipping time. Lesson learned: don’t take shortcuts when it comes to valuable/high quality things you need.

Takes a month to sweeten

I love these strings! I’ve been using them over a month and love their sound. My viola is a pretty bright instrument and adding these strings gives me the great middle ground between bright and warm I’ve been looking for. The only downside I’ve seen is their ability to stay in tune, the first 2-3 weeks I was using them would go out quite a bit. But now it’s less frequent maybe 2-3 times a week. Their sound is staying and has even gotten stronger since the first week I put them on. Overall great strings for university to professional players.

Excellent strings. They're one of my personal favorites as a violist of 8 years. Very warm tone. They project a lot. They also have a wonderful mellow side to them. They ring especially well when they're new. I think the only limitation is that the A string maybe isn't as clear and quick responding as some other strings like Evah Pirazzi Gold.

I’m a high school violist playing at symphony level, so I practice up to 2 hours on a school day and maybe up to 6 on a weekend. I love how these strings have such a mellow timbre to them and assists in bringing out the lower voices of the viola. Was this worth the money? Most definitely!! I even got the rosin that was made specifically for this model of strings and it works EXCELLENTLY. I am thoroughly impressed.

I was only sent a C string, not the whole set