Viola String Guide
Which strings are on your viola?
Match the coloured silk at the tailpiece and in the pegbox to find possible string makes and ranges. This chart covers 29 viola string ranges, with patterns, colour names and notes to help you distinguish similar strings.
Showing all 29 ranges.
No matching ranges. Try clearing a colour filter or checking whether the winding has a spiral or an extra band. Some strings and variants are outside this chart.
| Maker & range | A string | D string | G string | C string | Variants & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CorelliAlliance | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxblack | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxpink | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxbrown | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxpurple | Historical code Older viola chart; shares the listed silk scheme with Crystal. View source for Corelli Alliance |
| CorelliCrystal | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxblack | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxpink | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxbrown | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxpurple | Historical code Older viola chart; colour alone does not separate this from Alliance. View source for Corelli Crystal |
| D’AddarioHelicore | Tailpieceblue/yellow spiral Pegboxblack | Tailpieceblue/yellow spiral Pegboxred | Tailpieceblue/yellow spiral Pegboxpurple | Tailpieceblue/yellow spiral Pegboxbrown | Manufacturer chart Current manufacturer codes. Light tension adds yellow; heavy adds orange; medium has no additional tension marker. Older charts may differ. View source for D’Addario Helicore |
| D’AddarioPrelude | Tailpiecered Pegboxblack | Tailpiecered Pegboxred | Tailpiecered Pegboxpurple | Tailpiecered Pegboxbrown | Manufacturer chart Current manufacturer codes. Light tension adds yellow; heavy adds orange; medium has no additional tension marker. Older charts may differ. View source for D’Addario Prelude |
| D’AddarioPro-Arté | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxblack | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxred | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxpurple | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxbrown | Manufacturer chart Current manufacturer codes. Light tension adds yellow; heavy adds orange; medium has no additional tension marker. Older charts may differ. View source for D’Addario Pro-Arté |
| D’AddarioZyex | Tailpiecesilver-grey Pegboxblack | Tailpiecesilver-grey Pegboxred | Tailpiecesilver-grey Pegboxpurple | Tailpiecesilver-grey Pegboxbrown | Manufacturer chart Current manufacturer codes. Light tension adds yellow; heavy adds orange; medium has no additional tension marker. Older charts may differ. View source for D’Addario Zyex |
| JargarClassic — medium | Tailpiecelight blue Pegboxlight blue | Tailpiecelight blue Pegboxlight blue | Tailpiecelight blue Pegboxlight blue | Tailpiecelight blue Pegboxlight blue | Historical code Older reference: medium light blue; dolce green; forte red. Check both ends and packaging. View source for Jargar Classic — medium |
| LarsenAurora | Tailpieceyellow-orange Pegboxyellow-orange | Tailpiecered Pegboxyellow-orange | Tailpiecemagenta Pegboxyellow-orange | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxyellow-orange | Manufacturer chart Medium full-size shown; fractional pegbox colours: 3/4 red, 1/2 violet, 1/4 purple, 1/8 yellow-orange. All balls gold/brass. View source for Larsen Aurora |
| LarsenOriginal | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxred | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxred | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxred | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxred | Manufacturer chart Medium shown. Strong: yellow pegbox silk; soft A: blue. Ball colours A gold/brass, D silver/chrome, G copper, C black. View source for Larsen Original |
| LarsenVirtuoso — Soloist | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxyellow | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxcream + black band + 2 black bands | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxcream + black band + 3 black bands | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxcream + black band + 4 black bands | Manufacturer chart A uses Original A strong. Soloist D/G/C have an additional thick black band before the numbered thin bands. Band drawings are schematic. View source for Larsen Virtuoso — Soloist |
| LarsenVirtuoso — medium | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxred | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxcream + 2 black bands | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxcream + 3 black bands | Tailpieceyellow/blue spiral Pegboxcream + 4 black bands | Manufacturer chart A uses Original A. Count the thin black bands on D, G and C. Extra-long 420 mm D/G/C add a wide black band after the numbered bands. View source for Larsen Virtuoso — medium |
| PirastroEudoxa | Tailpiecewhite/violet spiral Pegboxblack | Tailpiecewhite/violet spiral Pegboxrust red | Tailpiecewhite/violet spiral Pegboxbrown | Tailpiecewhite/violet spiral Pegboxviolet | Manufacturer chart Gut range; gauges and material variants require separate checking. View source for Pirastro Eudoxa |
| PirastroEvah Pirazzi | Tailpiecegreen/black spiral Pegboxblack | Tailpiecegreen/black spiral Pegboxpink | Tailpiecegreen/black spiral Pegboxbrown | Tailpiecegreen/black spiral Pegboxlight violet | Manufacturer chart Medium standard set shown; additional gauge colours occur on soft and strong strings. View source for Pirastro Evah Pirazzi |
| PirastroEvah Pirazzi Gold — standard | Tailpiecegold/black spiral Pegboxblack | Tailpiecegold/black spiral Pegboxpink | Tailpiecegold/black spiral Pegboxbrown | Tailpiecegold/black spiral Pegboxlight violet | Manufacturer chart Steel A with synthetic D/G/C. Alternative rope-core C has violet pegbox silk. View source for Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Gold — standard |
| PirastroEvah Pirazzi Gold — steel | Tailpiecegold/black spiral Pegboxblack | Tailpiecegold/black spiral Pegboxrust red | Tailpiecegold/black spiral Pegboxhoney yellow | Tailpiecegold/black spiral Pegboxviolet | Manufacturer chart Complete steel set: rope-core D/G/C; distinct from the synthetic D/G/C set. View source for Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Gold — steel |
| PirastroObligato | Tailpiecerust red/black spiral Pegboxblack | Tailpiecerust red/black spiral Pegboxpink | Tailpiecerust red/black spiral Pegboxbrown | Tailpiecerust red/black spiral Pegboxlight violet | Manufacturer chart Medium shown; soft and strong have additional gauge colours. View source for Pirastro Obligato |
| PirastroOliv | Tailpiecewhite/olive spiral Pegboxblack | Tailpiecewhite/olive spiral Pegboxrust red | Tailpiecewhite/olive spiral Pegboxbrown | Tailpiecewhite/olive spiral Pegboxviolet | Manufacturer chart Gut range; gauge and material must be checked separately. A/D ball ends, G/C knot ends. View source for Pirastro Oliv |
| PirastroTonica — New Formula | Tailpiecewhite/rust red spiral Pegboxblack | Tailpiecewhite/rust red spiral Pegboxrust red | Tailpiecewhite/rust red spiral Pegboxbrown | Tailpiecewhite/rust red spiral Pegboxlight violet | Manufacturer chart Standard full size. Red thread towards bridge is about 10 mm (older formula about 3 mm). 40 cm: extra blue-grey peg marking; 43 cm: extra grey. View source for Pirastro Tonica — New Formula |
| PrimMedium | Tailpiecegreen Pegboxpurple | Tailpiecegreen Pegboxgreen | Tailpiecegreen Pegboxred | Tailpiecegreen Pegboxblue | Historical code Older viola reference; other tensions need checking. View source for Prim Medium |
| Thomastik-InfeldAlphayue | Tailpieceblue Pegboxgrey | Tailpiecegreen Pegboxgrey | Tailpieceorange Pegboxgrey | Tailpiecered Pegboxgrey | Manufacturer chart AL21–AL24; fractional sets use the same colour scheme. View source for Thomastik-Infeld Alphayue |
| Thomastik-InfeldDominant | Tailpieceblue Pegboxpurple | Tailpiecegreen Pegboxpurple | Tailpieceyellow Pegboxpurple | Tailpiecered Pegboxpurple | Manufacturer chart Medium shown; strong uses green pegbox silk. A 136, D 137/137A, G 138, C 139. View source for Thomastik-Infeld Dominant |
| Thomastik-InfeldDominant Pro | Tailpieceblack Pegboxgrey | Tailpieceblack Pegboxpurple | Tailpieceblack Pegboxblack | Tailpieceblack Pegboxblue | Manufacturer chart Medium: DP21, DP22, DP23, DP24. View source for Thomastik-Infeld Dominant Pro |
| Thomastik-InfeldDynamo | Tailpieceblack Pegboxblue | Tailpieceblack Pegboxgreen | Tailpieceblack Pegboxorange | Tailpieceblack Pegboxred | Manufacturer chart DY21, DY22A, DY23, DY24. View source for Thomastik-Infeld Dynamo |
| Thomastik-InfeldPeter Infeld | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxblue | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxgreen | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxyellow | Tailpiecepurple Pegboxred | Manufacturer chart PI21, PI22A, PI23, PI24. View source for Thomastik-Infeld Peter Infeld |
| Thomastik-InfeldRondo | Tailpieceblue Pegboxorange | Tailpiece
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