Shipping & Returns

Shipping Information

Strings can be ordered through this online store, which is the quickest, safest, and most accurate way to place your order. Email is the most efficient way to communicate with the workshop: support@gamutmusic.com.

The Gamut Music workshop is not operational on Saturdays and Sundays, or major national US holidays. Orders placed later in the workday on Friday and over the weekend will not be processed until Monday.

Shipping times (2-Day, 3-Day, etc.) are calculated — once your order is completed — from the day after your order leaves the workshop, not when the order was placed. Please understand that all shipping times are "estimates," not "guarantees" — Gamut Music is not able to guarantee the timeliness of USPS or FedEx deliveries.

At checkout, you will see options for domestic and international shipping. We currently offer domestic FedEx and USPS shipping options. All FedEx shipments are guaranteed delivery (USPS 1st Class Mail is not guaranteed due to the unreliability of this service). International orders are only shipped via FedEx International Priority.

Tracking #: A sales receipt will be sent when your order leaves the workshop. The sales receipt will include a tracking number to follow the progress of your order (ignore any spaces in the tracking #). You can open the sales receipt to view the tracking number. Carriers provide no additional information to us regarding your shipment's progress.
Expedited Orders: At Gamut Music, we operate at "the speed of gut," meaning that individual orders are processed as they come in, as soon as materials become available from the gut room. Unfortunately, this process cannot be accelerated without compromising the high quality of our hand-made natural gut strings. If you wish to receive your strings sooner, we recommend placing your order well in advance to allow sufficient time for our hand-made process.
Overnight Orders: Due to the nature of our hand-made-to-order workshop, some items simply will not be available to ship overnight. If you require overnight shipping please contact us directly: support@gamutmusic.com / 218-724-8011.
Cancelled Orders: If an order is placed in the store and then cancelled, the money will be refunded except for up to 10%, which will be held back to cover the costs of the credit card / PayPal fees. We have to pay this fee for each transaction and refund, and the credit card companies do not refund this to us even if the order is cancelled, so we have to retain this amount to cover the costs of the transactions.
1st Class Mail (USPS): Is actually a misnomer — 1st Class Mail receives the lowest priority, is the slowest, least reliable and secure, and consequently, Gamut Music cannot guarantee delivery with this method. If you choose this lower price service and the package is lost we will not replace the order.
European Union* Customers – Update (04/2023): We have been informed by FedEx that individual customers DO NOT need to provide an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number. If you do have an EORI number, please include it in "Order Comments" at checkout. (*EU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.)
International Orders: Are subject to customs/VAT ("landed cost") fees at the receiving end. Gamut Music has no control over government- or carrier-imposed taxes or fees.
International Customers: United States regulations require us to claim the value of the shipment. Consequently, we are required to declare contents and the amount on the outside of the package for the customs authorities. To not do so would be a violation of laws in both countries and would expose not only us to possible fines, but the receiving customer as well.
For those who want to ask, no, we cannot send a package without noting the value of the contents on the package.
Shipping Timeline: Due to the nature of hand-made strings, shipping times (2-Day, 3-Day, etc.) are calculated from the day after your order leaves the workshop, not when the order was placed
Delivery Times: Provided by the carrier (USPS, FedEx) are "estimates," not "guarantees." Gamut Music has no control over the estimated or actual delivery times.
Plan Early: Assume any delivery estimate will take twice as long. Carriers will provide no explanation nor refund for shipments that exceed the estimated delivery date.
Options: We feel it is important that customers have many options to suit their price and timeline needs, but shipping option availability will vary by destination as determined by the carrier.
Correct Shipping Address: You are responsible for providing your correct shipping address. If your order is returned due to an incorrect address, or incurs an Address Correction Fee, we may charge to reship or to cover the associated fee.
Post-Delivery: Gamut Music assumes no responsibility for porch pirates. Please plan accordingly when placing your order. If you require a Direct Signature Required service, please contact us directly to place your order: support@gamutmusic.com / 218-724-8011.

Unfortunately, this is the new reality of very steep international shipping and VAT costs. For the past few years shipping rates have skyrocketed, and these are the costs as ultimately set by carriers. The shipping rates are calculated specifically by your address. We have no control over the costs of shipping, and the prices you see are determined by FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc., not Gamut Music. We have no control of import fees or taxes, as that is set by individual governments.

We recommend contacting one of our Authorized Worldwide Dealers near you to see if they have what you are looking for in stock, or if they will place a special order for you.

Gamut String Warranty

Gamut Music warranties all strings for a period of 30 days after the shipping date. If a problem develops, please contact us with the following information:

The string length of the instrument: distance from the bridge to the nut
Pitch, including the tuning standard, ie. a-440, a-415, etc.
Details of the specific problem that has developed

Problem strings are not eligible for a refund or store credit but may be replaced at the discretion of Gamut Music.

For any problems that develop after the 30-day period, please contact us with the details.

Gamut Wound Contrabass String Warranty
Wound strings for the contrabass are warrantied for a period of 6 months from the date of shipping. If any problems develop, please contact Gamut Music with the details.

Gamut Return Policy

The following items cannot be returned:

Digital downloads of music
Music compact discs
Rosin
Gift certificates (except as required by law)
Custom-made strings (these are strings that do not have a Gamut Music SKU)
Guitar and vihuela roses
Leather washers
Instruments
Instrument straps

Returns
New, unused strings may be returned for a refund up to 30 days after the shipping date for a full refund. New, unused strings may be returned up to 90 days after the ship date for store credit. We do not accept returned strings after ninety days from the shipping date.

Used strings are ineligible for return. A used string is one removed from the package and put on an instrument resulting in coiling or curling at the end. If you remove the string from the package for inspection, please handle it carefully, as mishandling may cause kinks resulting in it being nonreturnable.

All returned strings will be inspected and the refund will be up to the judgment of Gamut Music.

Gamut does not reimburse shipping expense for returned (non-faulty) strings, and all of those costs will be paid by the customer. Credit will be issued to the customer in 3 to 5 business days of Gamut Music receiving the returned goods at:

Gamut Music, Inc.
1600 London Road
Duluth, MN 55812

STRINGS MUST BE RETURNED UNUSED WITHIN 30 (90) DAYS OF PURCHASE TO RECEIVE A REFUND (CREDIT).

Replacement Strings
Faulty strings will be replaced or may be returned for store credit at the customer's choice. A faulty string is defined as a string that breaks within 24 hours of being put on the instrument. False strings will only be replaced at the discretion of Gamut Music.

Shipping for returned strings will be provided via FedEx Express Saver, and credit for defective strings will be given when we receive and inspect the string in question. All replacement strings are sent out via FedEx Express Saver.

* Please note that strings ordered with store credit cannot be returned for another credit.

Payment Options

Payment methods include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover cards. PayPal transactions are also accepted. All payments must be made in US dollars.

PayPal
If you don't have a credit card, or don't want to use one on the Internet, you can use PayPal which will take payment out of your checking account and bypass the credit card charges. PayPal payments should be directed to: support@gamutmusic.com. To find out more about PayPal and to open an account with them, click here.

Credit Card
In order to confidently verify your credit card purchase, we have to ask you to present your details in a very specific way. Here are some tips to help you ensure that your details are entered correctly:

First and Last Name: Your name must be entered exactly as it is printed on your card and statement.
Address: This must be entered as it appears in your credit card records.
State/Province: Only complete this field if you have entered "US/Canada" as your country.
Telephone Number: Non-numeric characters are ignored by the verification system, and consequently it will not matter if you insert hyphens, spaces or leave blank spaces in between the numerals.
Credit Card Number: Non-numeric characters are ignored by the verification system, and consequently it will not matter if you insert hyphens, spaces or leave blank spaces in between the numerals.
Expiration Date: This is the date at the bottom of the card given in the format 00/00
CVV2 Security Code: This is the three digits in the signature stripe on the back of the credit card.

Please Note: Gamut Music DOES NOT retain customer credit card information.

Checks
If you want to send in an order with a check, you can make an order in the string store and select the "Check" or "Money Order" payment option. The order will be sent when the check arrives at the Gamut Music office.

The name and address for sending checks is:

Gamut Music, Inc.
1600 London Road
Duluth, MN 55812

Bank Transfer
If you would like to make a bank transfer for payment, please e-mail Dan for the bank information at: support@gamutmusic.com. Please note that there is a fee of $25.00 added to the invoice for a bank transfer. This is the fee that our bank charges us for the service.

Cancelled Orders
If an order is placed in the store and then cancelled, the money will be refunded except for up to 10%, which will be held back to cover the costs of the credit card fee. We have to pay this fee for each transaction and the credit card companies do not refund this to us, even if the order is cancelled, so we have to retain this amount to cover the costs of the transaction.

Timely Order Filling
Orders received at Gamut Music are filled as quickly as possible. If we are unable to fill your order quickly, you will be notified about the issue.

The workshop is not operational on Saturdays and Sundays, or major national US holidays.

Orders received before 11:00 AM Central Standard Time that have FedEx shipping will likely go out the same day, unless it is a large order, or contains a string not currently in stock that has to be hand-made. Orders with USPS Mail shipping methods will take longer due to the early cut-off for those services.

Please make note of any special messages on the front page of the string store before ordering.

Gamut Music Privacy Policy Statement

Gamut Music is committed to providing quality information and products to the musical community. In order to complete this mission and serve our clients, we will have to find out a little about you and your instrument. For the purposes of data protection, www.gamutmusic.com is the internet publishing platform for Gamut Music. The web site is hosted in the United States. Gamut Music is incorporated in the state of Minnesota, and is wholly owned by Daniel C. Larson, Duluth, MN USA, who is completely responsible for all content.

What Information Do We Collect?
When you come to visit our website, www.gamutstrings.com, we do not collect any information from you about your visit. Our server does register the number of hits each page on the site receives, but this is done entirely anonymously, and no attempt is made by the site to collect user data. When this information is collected, you have a choice to create an account on the website, or not. If you decided to create an account, all of the personal information you put in would be stored on a secured server. This information will be recalled on subsequent visits to the web site to make your purchase and checkout faster. You may also check out as a guest, without having to create an account. Gamut Music does not collect or store credit card information.

Cookies
We use cookies to recall the information stored in your web store account, provided you have created an account on the web-store. This cookie information is used only to retain information about your account. Other than that, we do not use cookies to track your visit to the web site, or otherwise gather information on your visit to the website.

What About the Information Requested?
Please note if you decide to utilize the Gamut Music Store and order strings through our website, we will need to collect personal information so that the strings can be billed, paid for, and sent to you correctly. This information includes your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and credit card information, which we use to communicate with you concerning your order.

The Gamut Music E-mail List
Gamut Music does maintain a list of e-mail addresses of customers. This list is used to send informational messages to our past customers occasionally. These messages contain news or other information about Gamut Music products such as strings and instruments. If you receive one of these messages and want to be taken off the list for subsequent mailings, you can unsubscribe, and your name all be taken off the list. Unsubscribe instructions are sent with every message. This list and your e-mail information are never passed onto any other party for any reason.

Your Privacy is Important to Us
We strive to do everything we can to protect the privacy of our users. We do not sell or exchange any information with any third parties.

From time to time, we may use customer information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change, we will post the policy changes on our website to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt-out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, we recommend that you review this Privacy Statement periodically, Gamut Music may update it from time to time.

If you would like to ensure that we do not contact you as a result of having used our site, please contact us at support@gamutmusic.com.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated privacy policy, you may contact us at support@gamutmusic.com. We will be sure to address your concerns.

Information About Secure Ordering Online
We are committed to ensuring the security and privacy of information supplied by our customers. The site uses a secure server that encrypts all your credit card information to ensure that no one else can view the details. The security of the connection will be confirmed by the presence of the padlock icon in the lower right-hand corner or upper left-hand corner of your browser. When this information is transmitted to Gamut Music, we store the credit card information on the office computer for long enough for your order to be completed and received by you; then the data is deleted from the machine. Consequently, if you want to make subsequent orders, you will have to either create an account which will store the information for future use or input all of the information again.