This is a standard length (120cm, 48") treble gut string made with sheep gut available with either 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.
Sheep gut is the classical material that has for centuries been used to make music strings throughout Europe and the Americas. The tone has a warm and rich sonority that is preferred by discerning players. Sheep gut strings have slightly different properties than beef gut. In broad terms, it has a warmer tone. One of our clients with a poetic flair describes sheep gut as having a “golden” tone and beef gut having a “silver” tone. The sheep gut has fibers and collagen that bond very well, making a tight structure with a lovely transparency. The texture supports the plucking or bowing very well, and the sound carries well in a room. If you feel you need a tone with more warmth and clarity than you are getting now, then sheep gut might be a good choice.
Sheep gut in diameters less than 1.00mm also has a lower twist of about 15 degrees to increase its strength and is an ideal string 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
Those diameters larger than 1.00mm are twisted more to make them more flexible and suited to:
- Bass Viol: C-4
- Tenor Viol: F-4
- Treble Viol: C-4
- Violin: D-3
- Viola: d-2
- Cello: d-2
- Lute: Treble and mid-range courses, and octaves on bass courses
- Harp strings
Use our String Calculators to find the correct strings for your instrument. You can find Specific String Tensions here.
