Bump said: Try this if you dare:

I went to a music party down outside of Boston this weekend. There were about 15 of us, and we were handed 5 out of 6 Brandenburg Conceri to play. Some of the people were real pros, others were Pooh-Bears like moi. I did... uhhh... OK. I neither distinguished nor disgraced myself. Everyone was a good sport. BUT (herein lies the crux) they were all Early Music geeks and I had to tune Down 1/2-step to A-415. I'd always thought this was malarkey... after all, if you want an Organ at 415, you just shift all the pipes one hole to the left; if you have a piano, tell everyone to take a hike, because it's no secret that THE PIANO IS ALWAYS RIGHT. But here, there were some really adept players on baroque oboe and recorders, some w/ baroque violins, bla bla bla. So I wasn't about to make waves and tell them they were all snobs, even though I'm an ARCH-SKEPTIC about Everything in Life.So I dutifully tuned down. If this were a religious experience, I'd use C.S.Lewis' phrase "Surprised by Joy". All of a sudden my viola sounded sweeter, much goooooooier, more IN TUNE, and softer under the fingers. I loved it; I was wrong all along. Now then... I want to know if there are strings I can use that will give this relaxed, laid-back sound and feel when I'm at normal, god-fearing, right-thinking, left-wing A-440. I use Pirastro Obbligato strings now, and prefer them over other strings on This viola. That's the baseline. I want more Goo, more slurp, more rubberiness.Any ideas born of experience are welcome.Oh... and the other good thing about this party, food and schmoozing aside, was that I was seated right in front of a Double-Bass Viola da Gamba (Violone) player. This was a delicious experience; it gave me this warm, snuggly, pee-in-my-pants feeling throughout the afternoon. She (the player) assured me that this was a normal reaction, nothing to be embarassed about, and no medical treatment was necessary.
January 31, 2007 2:20 PM