When I got my 17-inch viola, I was greatly dismayed that it was actually harder to find good extra-long-scale viola strings than it was to find the viola! After months of looking and sticker-shock ($55+ for a set of all metal strings?!?!?), I finally found a reasonably-priced set of perlon strings, which I am now offering to other players for less than the price of all-metal ELS viola strings. That’s mainly because in order to get a decent piece price, I bought a boatload of them. I am hoping that I’m not the only person with a 17-inch viola looking for decent strings at a reasonable price!

Extra-Long-Scale (17″) Perlon Viola Strings only $34.95/set

Here’s a shot of the packaging, and another of the ball-end. Each of the strings has the little metal ball in the loop for easy mounting with or without a fine-tuner.

Extra Long Scale Perlon Viola Strings for 17-inch Viola

Ball end for easy mounting

As you can see, they are made in China. I was initially a little leery of this, so I got some samples of the same brand for my violin, and I was quite pleased with them. I would classify them as very nearly as good as the Dominant brand, at less than half the cost. Since I like to change strings about every 6 to 9 months, these strings put a much smaller dent in the pocketbook. Plus, a fresh set of Huayin strings definitely sounds better than a stale set of Dominants! So I went ahead and placed the big order. I was not disappointed. They have a very full and rich tone, with excellent response (I found that I had to initially work to get a good coat of rosin on the C string, but then it responded just as well as the others).

I like these strings a LOT better than the all-metal strings I started out with, because they are mellower. They are also lower-tension, so they don’t make my fingertips sore after a long practice session.

As I mentioned, I’ve got a large quantity of these strings, so I would like sell off all but about a half-dozen sets (which I will keep for my own use — about 3 years’ worth). I haven’t decided yet to carry these on a regular basis, so for now, they are first come, first served, and when they are gone, that’s it!

Item Description: Set of 4 (C,G,D,A) medium-tension Perlon-core Extra-Long Scale (17″) viola strings. Perlon (a trade name for Nylon-6) is a soft yet strong synthetic fiber which gives the string the rich and mellow sound of gut, but with much better durability and less sensitivity to changes in humidity.

These strings will fit up to a 17.5-inch viola. They are $34.95 a set, with $2.00 shipping regardless of how many sets you order (limit 10 sets per customer — but if you order more than 5, the shipping will be refunded).

Extra-Long-Scale (17″) Perlon Viola Strings only $34.95/set