About Gamut Music Inc.
Gamut Music, Inc. specializes in early music strings and handcrafted instruments made by Dan Larson, luthier, located in Duluth, Minnesota, USA.
The Gamut Music string workshop provides hand-made natural gut strings in many styles suitable for early music / historically informed performance and modern music performance practice.
All Gamut Academie strings (pure gut and gut/metal-wound) are made with beef serosa unless they specifically say “sheep gut.” All pure gut Tricolore violin and viola strings are made with sheep gut; gut/metal-wound Tricolore and all Red Diamond strings are made with beef serosa.
Most* Gamut Academie strings are designed for Baroque instruments by those musicians playing historical performance practice at a=415 tuning, and are perfectly suitable for modern a=440 practice, but the result will be a little bit more tension at a=440. (*Academie Renaissance lute, vihuela, classical guitar, and banjo strings are designed for a=440 tuning.) Tricolore violin and viola, and Red Diamond strings are designed for modern performance practice at a=440.
Hand-made Gamut Workshop instruments include guitars, violins, vihuelas, and Renaissance and Baroque lutes.
Hand-made in the USA by Gamut Music, Inc., a leader in the revival of early music strings and instruments. Gut strings are not intended to be used with fine tuners or string adjusters, and those devices should be removed before installing the gut string on the instrument.
All Gamut Academie strings (pure gut and gut/metal-wound) are made with beef serosa unless they specifically say „Sheep Gut.“ All pure gut Tricolore violin and viola strings are made with sheep gut; gut/metal-wound Tricolore and all Red Diamond strings are made with beef serosa.
Gamut gut string gauges are approximate (≈) diameter. Meaning, that while a ≈0.60mm string is polished in the workshop to a diameter of 0.60mm, changes in ambient humidity, temperature, shipping, and storage conditions can cause to string to expand or contract slightly.
Gimped gut strings and custom gauged equal tension strings are gauged with the equivalent-gauge (=) system. This means that the gauge listed, such as =1.50mm, indicates that the string is approximately equal in weight to a plain gut string of that diameter. Of course, because the wire is much heavier than gut, the string will be much thinner than a plain gut string.
Custom Gauged Strings / Einzelsaiten
Here you can find information about the different types of strings and their possible uses.
Treble Gut Strings
This is a standard length (48″, 120cm) treble gut string made with beef serosa available with either a natural or varnish finish. Treble Gut is processed to be a little harder than the other kinds of gut. The treble string also has a lower twist of about 15 degrees. This construction gives it the strength and resistance it needs to stand the strain in the treble register.
Beef serosa has a higher tensile strength than does sheep gut, so this string is useful for instruments that require extra durability. If your instrument has a longer string length which puts it beyond the comfortable range for sheep gut strings, the beef gut would be a good choice for string selection as it will stand the strain a little better. Beef gut is processed to be a little harder than other kinds of gut, and it also has a lower twist of about 15 degrees to increase the strength.
Treble gut strings are best used for:
- Violin: e-1, a-2
- Viola: a-1
- Bass Viol: d-1
- Tenor Viol: g-1
- Treble Viol: d-1
- Lute: g-1, d-2, a-3, and octaves on bass courses
- Harp: Treble strings
Lyon Gut Strings
This is a standard length (48″, 120cm), single twist, Lyon-style string made with beef serosa available with either a natural or varnish finish.
This type of gut is named after the town in France which was famous for a particular type of flexible gut string. From the 16th century these strings were recommended as being some of the best strings for basses. Our reproduction of this string is made from gut specially processed in our shop to be soft and responsive. The gut is twisted in one direction to a high twist for the optimum combination of durability and flexibility.
The Lyon string is not as flexible as the Pistoy string. Both Lyon and Pistoy can be used for the same string positions. The Lyon should be preferred when a little extra stiffness is required under the bow or finger. This type of string is characterized by a tight and visible twist. The natural color tends toward opaque light to medium yellow. The Lyon-style of gut string is a high twist, single spin construction that offers a tone that is full and warm with a powerful fundamental and complex, pleasing upper partials.
Lyon strings are an ideal use for:
- Violin: D-3, G-4
- Viola: d-2, G-3
- Cello: a-1, d-2
- Contrabass: g-1, d-2
- Bass Viol: e-3, C-4, G-5, D-6
- Tenor Viol: f-4, C-5, G-6
- Treble Viol: C-4, G-5, D-6
- Lute: f-4, c-5, G-6, octaves on bass courses
- Harp: Midrange and bass strings
Pistoy Gut Strings
This is a standard length (48″, 120cm), double twist, Pistoy-style string made with beef serosa available with either a natural or varnish finish.
The Pistoy string is a unique development of Daniel Larson at Gamut Music. It is named for the town in Italy which was famous for producing the best string for basses, being „flexible, smooth, and well twisted.“ Our reproduction is made of three strands of gut twisted in one direction, and then the three combined together by twisting in the other direction in rope fashion. When dry, the string is polished down to the specific gauge required by the instrument. The results are a very flexible string with a quick response and a full, round sound. The string is characterized by a noticeable twist and flexible feel.
This is not a polished catline as some think. At first glance this might look like such a thing. However, the Pistoy is fundamentally a different kind of string. It shares one trait with the catline in that the string is made with two directions of twists. This is where the similarity ends. The Pistoy has no space in the structure like the catline does, and therefore has the same density as any plain gut string. The Pistoy string is expensive to make because it takes a lot of time to sort the gut into small bundles to twist and retwist. The gain is in the flexibility. Even in thick gauges the string remains supple and responsive. The color ranges from clear white on thinner strings (.80mm to 1.10mm) to opaque yellow on thicker strings.
Pistoy strings are an ideal use for:
- Violin: D-3, G-4
- Viola: G-3, C-4
- Cello: d-2, G-3, C-4
- Bass Viol: C-4, G-5, D-6
- Tenor Viol: F-4, C-5, G-6
- Treble Viol: C-4, G-5, D-6
- Lute: f-4, c-5, G-6, fundamentals on bass courses
- Harp: Bass strings
Copper & Silver Gimped Gut Strings
This is a standard length (48″, 120cm) copper Gimped gut string made of beef serosa with the Pistoy twist for extra flexibility. It is intended for those players who wish to play renaissance and early baroque performance practice and want the true gut tone. It is made with a copper wire twisted into the gut and polished smooth.
Natural strings are hand-rubbed with a light oil. Varnished strings have three coats of finish before being hand polished with the oil. There is an additional charge for varnished strings.
We use two different types of wire for Gimped gut strings: copper and silver. The copper wire is a little lighter than silver, so the resulting strings are slightly larger in diameter than the equivalent silver gimped string; and the copper makes the string slightly brighter in tone. Silver, being a heavier material, allows the string to have more weight with less gut, making these strings thinner than the equivalent copper gimped string; and since silver is a softer metal than copper, silver gimped strings are softer and more flexible.
Gimped strings were first mentioned in an advertisement in the 1664 edition of John Playford’s “Introduction to the Skill of Music.” The exact historical nature of these strings is not known; and the strings we produce are based on the descriptions of gimped lace of the period.
The Gimped string is characterized by the barber-pole or candy stripe appearance of the wire in the twist of the gut. The addition of wire into the gut gives extra density to the string so it can be thinner than a plain gut string of the same weight. The Gimped string, being thinner and having some metal content, offers a brighter tone and quicker response than a plain gut string of the same gauge density.
Gimped strings are gauged by the Equivalent Diameter system. This means that a given Gimped string is equal in weight to a certain gut diameter, but the actual diameter of the Gimped string is smaller due to the added weight of the wire. A Gimped string may be gauged at =1.50mm, but the actual diameter of the string is 1.10mm. The thinness and the addition of the wire gives a bright tone.
Gimped gut strings are best used for:
- Violin: D-3, G-4
- Viola: G-3, C-4
- Cello: G-3, C-4
- Bass Viol: C-4, G-5, D-6
- Tenor Viol: F-4, C-5 G-6
- Treble Viol: C-4 G-5, D-6
- Lute: C-5, G-6, and lower fundamentals
- Harp: Bass strings
Diapason Gut Strings
Diapason gut strings are extra-long (96″, 240cm) beef serosa strings made for special use on instruments like archultes, theorbos, lautenwercks, and harpsichords.
For diapason gut we usually select strings that have a high degree of twist because these strings are not intended to have a lot of tension put on them, as would be the case for treble gut.
The strings are a medium to high single-twist construction, and the gauges from .50mm to 1.00mm correspond to our treble gut strings except with a little more twist; the gauges from 1.00mm to 2.00mm correspond to our Lyon gut strings. The diapason gut is processed to be flexible and responsive.
Copper Gimped Diapason Gut Strings
This is an extra long (96″, 240cm) copper Gimped gut string made of beef serosa with the Pistoy twist for extra flexibility, and is intended for special use on instruments like archultes, theorbos, lautenwercks, and harpsichords. It is made with a copper wire twisted into the gut, polished smooth.
Natural strings are hand-rubbed with a light oil. Varnished strings have three coats of finish before being hand polished with the oil. There is an additional charge for varnished strings.
We use two different types of wire for Gimped gut strings: copper and silver. The copper wire is a little lighter than silver, so the resulting strings are slightly larger in diameter than the equivalent silver gimped string; and the copper makes the string slightly brighter in tone. Silver, being a heavier material, allows the string to have more weight with less gut, making these strings thinner than the equivalent copper gimped string; and since silver is a softer metal than copper, silver gimped strings are softer and more flexible.
Gimped strings were first mentioned in an advertisement in the 1664 edition of John Playford’s “Introduction to the Skill of Music.” The exact historical nature of these strings is not known; and the strings we produce are based on the descriptions of gimped lace of the period.
The Gimped string is characterized by the barber-pole or candy stripe appearance of the wire in the twist of the gut. The addition of wire into the gut gives extra density to the string so it can be thinner than a plain gut string of the same weight. The Gimped string, being thinner and having some metal content, offers a brighter tone and quicker response than a plain gut string of the same gauge density.
Gimped strings are gauged by the Equivalent Diameter system. This means that a given Gimped string is equal in weight to a certain gut diameter, but the actual diameter of the Gimped string is smaller due to the added weight of the wire. A Gimped string may be gauged at =1.50mm, but the actual diameter of the string is 1.10mm. The thinness and the addition of the wire gives a bright tone.
Sheep Gut Strings
Nylon Strings
This is a nylon string (46″, 116cm) made of DuPont Tynex® 612 and polished to the perfect gauge in the Gamut workshop. These strings are perfectly rectified with a high polish and are, we believe, the best synthetic strings available today.
Fret Gut
Fret gut made of beef serosa for tying frets onto historical instrument necks, such as lutes and viols, comes in the standard (48″, 120cm) length. How many frets you will get out of each length depends on how wide the neck of your instrument is, and whether you are using double or single frets.
The usual custom for gauging frets is to have the thickest fret be the first fret — the one nearest the nut — and then have each subsequent fret decrease by 0.05mm. Using this system, the first fret on a lute would be 1.00mm, the second fret 0.95mm, the third fret 0.90mm, and so on. On most lutes the thinnest size of fret that is practical is 0.65mm, so depending on the number of tied frets required by your instrument, you may need to use one, two, or three of the 0.65 frets to complete the fretting.
Natural strings are hand-rubbed with a light oil. Varnished strings have three coats of finish before being hand polished with the oil. There is an additional charge for varnished strings. The string comes with plain, unknotted ends.
Frets may be purchased individually or in a set. We package three sets of frets:
- Renaissance Lute Fret Pack contains eight sizes of frets: 1.00mm, .95mm, .90mm, .85mm, .80mm, .75mm, .70mm, and .65mm
- Baroque Lute Fret Pack contains contains ten sizes: 1.20mm, 1.15mm, 1.10mm, 1.05mm, 1.00mm, .95mm, .90mm, .85mm, .80mm, and .75mm
- Viol Fret Pack contains seven frets: 1.20mm, 1.15mm, 1.10mm, 1.05mm, 1.00mm, .95mm, and .90mm
Tail Gut
Tailgut made of beef serosa used to attach the tailpiece onto the instruments of the violin family and some viols.
Tailgut is usually sold by a diameter thickness. Violins and violas use tailgut that is from 1.90mm to 2.20mm thick. Cellos use a gut around 3.00mm thick, and a violone / double bass should use a gut about 5.00mm thick.
The thickness that you choose depends on the qualities you are looking for. A thicker gut will be more stable and stretch less than a thinner gut, but it may not allow as much vibration in the tailpiece as the instrument needs to sound its best. One of the advantages to the use of real gut over synthetic gut is that the flexibility of the tailgut can be changed simply by changing the diameter of the gut and this can have a radical effect on the tone and response of the instrument.
Natural strings are hand-rubbed with a light oil. Varnished strings have three coats of finish before being hand polished with the oil. There is an additional charge for varnished strings. The string comes with plain, unknotted ends.
Custom Gauged Violin G-4
This is a single-length (24″, 60cm) gut core string with a sterling silver wire wound onto the gut in tandem with a thin silk layer wound onto the core between the gut and wire. Because the wire is round, the surface of the wire is polished so that the string has a smooth, “half-wound” feel. The tone is warm and full.
Custom Gauged Viola G-3
This is a single-length (32″, 80cm) gut core string intended for “Equal Tension” performance practice with a sterling silver wire wound onto the gut in tandem with a thin silk layer wound onto the core between the gut and wire. Because the wire is round, the surface of the wire is polished so that the string has a smooth, “half-wound” feel. The tone is warm and full.
Custom Gauged Viola C-4
This is a single-length (32″, 80cm) gut core string intended for “Equal Tension” performance practice with a sterling silver wire wound onto the gut in tandem with a thin silk layer wound onto the core between the gut and wire. Because the wire is round, the surface of the wire is polished so that the string has a smooth, “half-wound” feel. The tone is warm and full.
Custom Gauged Cello G-3
This is a single-length (48″, 120cm) gut core string intended for “Equal Tension” performance practice with a sterling silver wire wound onto the gut in tandem with a thin silk layer wound onto the core between the gut and wire. Because the wire is round, the surface of the wire is polished so that the string has a smooth, “half-wound” feel. The tone is warm and full.
Custom Gauged Cello C-4
This is a single-length (48″, 120cm) gut core string intended for “Equal Tension” performance practice with a sterling silver wire wound onto the gut in tandem with a thin silk layer wound onto the core between the gut and wire. Because the wire is round, the surface of the wire is polished so that the string has a smooth, “half-wound” feel. The tone is warm and full.
Accessories & Gifts
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