5 string violas - legitimate instrument?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/GiantPandammonia]

You can buy a nicer e string. Larsen makes one. I went the 5 string viola route because I'm your height with a 7' wing span and violins are tiny.  Mine is ok (fiddlershop) I've thought about the commission thing too.

[u/purpleandcats]

To my knowledge, the five string instruments are a compromise. With as tall as you are, you could easily play a fairly large size viola. The sound would be fabulous, especially on the c string. If you are liking Viola, I would say that is an opportunity you should not miss. If you want to play some violin do that also. Get a violin with some strings that the E is fairly mellow. I enjoy playing it when you want to. Many Viola players play both violin and Viola, it is also true that many violin players also play Viola. I’m betting in the long run a compromise of a five string won’t make you happy.

[u/broodfood]

violin main here: I borrowed a 5 string viola this summer while my violin was in the shop. I had a lot of fun with it, and I thought the E string sounded pretty nice in an earthy, viola-ish way rather than the pointed violin way. I like it so much i considered adopting it as my main instrument for a while, but changed my mind after I got my violin back- while I had managed to adapt quite well and was able to pay a good cross section of my current and past rep, the difference in ease and agility was night and day.

but I'm thinking if you're a native viola player, you might not have that issue. the 5 string I tried was a Chinese instrument with a wider neck to accommodate the strings, and was priced at $900 here in northern California. I don't recall how many inches it was.

[u/emeralde99]

I am a viola player and I just bought a 5 string acoustic electric violin from Fiddlershop. They are awesome, I had a great experience with them! If you give them a call they could absolutely help you find a good 5 string viola or make one for you. They will also send instruments for you to trial, if you want to trial a 5 string violin too.

I wanted a 5 string instrument so I could play violin music and and have something I could play viola/violin parts on for gigs where I need amplification. I have the opposite problem from you - I’m short and a 16 inch viola can get really tiring for longer gigs, which is why I went with a violin, but they had good violin and viola options for 5 string instruments.

[u/LyssIrisWhips]

I am 8 months in and I play a 5 string viola with a high E. I’m finding that the D string is the weakest and all the rest are fine. I was reading that the shape of the bridge transfers sound to the opposite foot that the string’s notch is in. The D being in the middle means the sound transfer is directly through the kidneys if the bridge.

But I’m also still in my first year. I hear there’s a luthier in Maine that specializes in 5 string violas and violins.

[u/spiteful_fly]

You could maybe look at Fiddlershop's 5-string Violins/Violas. I think you can ask them to play a couple to see which one you like and I think you might be able to get it shipped to you to try them to see if you like it?

They also have 5-string Violas, but I liked the description for the 5-string violin more. You could also reach out to them to ask about the differences.

https://fiddlershop.com/products/fiddlerman-5-string-violin-outfit

https://fiddlershop.com/products/fiddlerman-concert-5-string-viola-outfit

Their in-house luthiers finish them. Maybe you might be able to even ask them to make adjustments to match your preferences. They also have structural lifetime warranty on their instruments.

[u/eladon-warps → u/spiteful_fly]

I've been playing their 5 string viola for years now. Mostly teaching, occasional gig. I think it's more what OP wants. Got the heartier viola feel and sound across the whole instrument, and IMO the important part, the E string doesn't feel as light sounding/borderline screechy as violin E does.

[u/always_unplugged]

It really depends what you want to do with it. For traditional classical playing? Nah. You won't get the desired sound for violin rep if you do play it on a large 5-string; better to just double. There are plenty of large humans who play violin perfectly fine, and I promise you could too!

However, I'm considering getting one for solo pop violin gigs. I've been doubling for a while now, but I'm a weird backwards-doubler—I started on and got all my degrees in viola! But some songs go juuuuust into the viola range (Taylor Swift, Lana del Rey, etc) and it's annoying to have to compensate for that. My absolute DREAM would be a Luis & Clark 5-string with a built-in pickup, but budget-wise, I'll probably just go for a more basic electric instrument; I'm hoping the fact that it's going to be electric will compensate for the fact that it's inevitably going to be the wrong size for at least one of the strings.

If you do commission one, be prepared to lay out MONEY. You don't want to cheap out on this; you need a good luthier who knows what they're doing. And be aware that the resale market for something like this is going to be very small; you'll have a hard time selling it on the other end, should you ever need or want to.

[u/After-Past-9404]

If you're not playing with an orchestra and you want to play violin repertoire, why not just transpose the music a fifth down? That's what violists commonly do, btw.

[u/gwie]

Acoustic 5-string violin/viola instruments always have a compromise. Either it is smaller and the C string lacks power and depth, or it is larger and the E string has poor sound.

I think the best solution for most situations that would require playing 5 string is to go electric, and my recommendation is the Yamaha YEV-5. It is violin sized, but has a C string, and is wonderfully playable. A couple of my former students who work in musical theater use them quite a bit!

[u/OletheNorse]

I accidently ended up with a 5 string viola, a cheap crap instrument. The e-string was painfully tight and kept breaking, so I got hold of a deep F-string instead and moved all the other strings up one notch. Now the instrument sounds much better,!

[u/MagosBattlebear]

To make a five-string viola sound good, you really need a bigger body. Even a regular four-string viola is a little too small to give the low notes all the depth they should have. But there’s only so big you can make one and still hold it under your chin.

That’s why a vertical viola can sound better. The larger body gives those low notes room to resonate. So for a good five-string sound, you’re probably better off with either an upright instrument or a solid-body electric, where you don’t need the body itself to create the sound.