Thomastik THDP-01 Dominant Pro violin string E-1 4/4 medium, carbon steel, tin plated

DOMINANT PRO
- exceptionally powerful
- good balance of brilliance and warmth
- broad range of sound colors
- supports the radiance of the instrument in the long term
- reacts immediately with a focused sound core
- a sound that fills the room
- bell-like tonal character
- high resistance to bow pressure
- suitable for soloists
- very high level of dynamics (can be played very quietly and very loudly)

THE SOUND DEVELOPMENT OF DOMINANT PRO
Immediately after stringing, the string set sounds bell-like and fills the room. In the first three to five hours of playing, the strings feel a touch softer and sound a little warmer than they do for the rest of their lifespan. Then the strings open up, sound more brilliant and open, and feel a little tighter beneath the fingers. The bell-like sound that fills the room decreases slightly in the last third of the strings’ life and they sound more direct – from this point on, the tonal character of the strings barely changes.

The plain DOMINANT PRO E-string NO.DP01 [diameter 0.265 mm, 8.0 kg, removable ball end] with a core of carbon steel is tin-plated. A protective layer of nickel is placed between the outer coating of tin and the steel core in order to increase the corrosion resistance compared with conventional tin-plated strings. However, the corrosion resistance is lower than that of plain stainless steel strings (NO.129) as well as the stainless steel strings with gold and platinum plating (e.g.: NO.DP01AU, NO.DP01PT).

The string has a very good response, barely whistles, and is well-balanced in its brilliance and warmth. It supports the equilibrium with the A-string and promotes its capacity to carry sound. For musicians who prefer a high resistance to bow pressure, strings have to be extremely resilient. To ensure this, manufacturers often set store by a high string tension, among other things. As a general rule: the greater the diameter of a plain, unwound steel string, the higher the string tension. However, from a diameter of 0.273 mm onward, the string tension is usually so high that the strings can put excessive strain on the instrument, resulting in a loss of sound color.

Thanks to a specially developed wire treatment, however, we have succeeded in creating E-strings like the DOMINANT PRO NO.DP01, which offers a high level of resistance to bow pressure already at 0.265 mm with no loss of color or strain on the instrument. This wire treatment makes the sound soft enough that it does not have a screeching effect, and brilliant enough that it offers sufficient radiance, projection and resistance to bow pressure. As a result, the string sounds broad and brilliant even without applying much pressure.