Copper Gimped Gut Strings

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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

Use our String Calculators to find the correct strings for your instrument. You can find Specific String Tensions here. Interested in varnished strings? Many strings come with the Option to Add Varnish.

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