Description
Banjos were very popular in the United States in the late 1800s, and consequently there are lots of strings that survive for us to measure and replicate. From the ones in the Gamut Academie string archive, it is evident that violin strings were repurposed and relabeled as banjo strings for the first, second, third, and fifth positions, with a guitar fourth string used for the banjo fourth.
We have bundled together beef serosa banjo strings and offer them in a standard set for ease of ordering. The set consists of:
- Banjo 1st String - Treble Gut .56mm
- Banjo 2nd String - Treble Gut .78mm
- Banjo 3rd String - Lyon Gut 1.06mm
- Banjo 4th String - Gut/Silverplate-Wound .82mm
- Banjo 5th String - Treble Gut .56mm
Plain gut strings are available with a natural or varnish finish. 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.
Gamut Music is pleased to offer natural gut banjo strings (48", 120cm) with the same type of twist and gauge as those used in the late 19th century. The banjo first and second strings are made from our finest beef serosa treble gut. The third string is a single twist Lyon-style gut, and the fourth is treble gut wound with silver-plated copper wire. The shorter fifth banjo string is made of treble gut.
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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.
More information about Gamut gut strings, string types, gauges, and string tensions can be found on our FAQ/Articles page. Not finding an answer to your question? Please contact us directly: support@gamutmusic.com.