Product Review: Larsen Il Cannone Silver Violin Strings

Written by Joshua Smith, violinist and Showroom Manager at Simply for Strings.

In July this year, Larsen released the latest addition to their Il Cannone line-up: Il Cannone Silver for violin. This string set stands as Larsen’s most “brilliant” and “focused” set to date, and sets itself apart with high-grade silver winding for the G- and D-strings to aid sound colour and longevity. Each set includes 5 strings - G, D, A, and two E-string variants (Caprice and Silver) as options to suit each player’s preference. The A, D, and G strings each have a multi-filament synthetic core, and match the Il Cannone Gold in tension.

Generally, this set is superb in its playability and sound. Despite their higher tension, these strings still feel flexible and easy under the fingers and bow. These strings do not choke (at all) and, in the best sense, offer plenty of resistance to the bow. Whether the secret sauce is in the tensions, windings, or core, my instrument’s quirks are somewhat masked and give way to a more balanced sound across the register. Particularly, the A string greatly helped my violin’s occasional nasal tendencies to open into a powerful and colourful sound. This evenness extends to their playability, with the response under the left hand and bow being very similar between the wound strings. So this isn't a complete love-in, I will mention that my instrument developed a slight 'tubbiness' in sound in higher positions with this set. This was not a deal-breaker for me, and did not extend to the general response from the strings in these positions.

The two E string variants are both lower in tension than the Larsen Gold E (9kg), but are both quite strong in their own right with the Caprice at 8.7kg and Silver at 8.1kg. For my instrument, the Caprice gave an immediate, punchy sound all the way up the string, and the Silver provided a sweeter sound with a softer feeling under the fingers. For those with instruments that do not respond well to higher string tensions, it may be worth opting for the standard Il Cannone Medium E.

The Il Cannone Silver set certainly lives up to Larsen's claims of a focused and brilliant sound. I would comfortably recommend these strings to players with instruments that already have plenty of colour and texture, and are seeking a lift in projection and focus for larger performance spaces. My time testing these strings was very enjoyable, and it has been fantastic to see the steps that Larsen have taken in their string development. Their willingness to engage with artists from various performance settings has yielded a range of Il Cannone strings that can cater for many instruments. These latest iterations of Il Cannone (Direct & Focused, Gold, and Silver) have done a fantastic job in retaining string flexibility and playability while increasing string tensions to boost projection and focus.

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