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Tricolore Violin a-2 Gut

Tricolore

19 reviews Write a Review
SKU:
C120
$29.00
Width:
4.00 (in)
Height:
4.00 (in)
Depth:
0.10 (in)
Shipping:
Calculated at Checkout
$29.00

Description

Table of Tricolore Violin Gauges
  Light Medium Heavy
a-2 Sheep Gut .76mm .78mm .80mm

 

Tricolore strings are designed for modern performance practice at a=440.

This is a single-length (24", 60cm) sheep gut treble string.

Sheep 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.

One update we have made to the original string design is the addition of a 3-D printed ball end on each string. Modern tailpieces are made with wider string slots than those of the early 20th century and a gut knot is no longer big enough to hold the string in place. The ball end will keep the string from pulling through the tailpiece.

The Tricolore brand, used by many famous violin soloists, was one of the most well known violin strings made in the 20th century. Now, after many decades of being unavailable, we are pleased to offer these strings again. This string was developed by Ray Neiner at the Perfection Musical String Co. Brunswick, IN, just south of Chicago. The machines we use at Gamut Music to make the strings were purchased from the Perfection company, and in addition to the machines, we also received the formulations that Perfection used to make their strings, including the Tricolore brand. We have in our archives a copy of the Perfection workshop book that specifies the gauge of gut used for the cores, the size of the wires, length of the strings, and colors of the thread used for the stockings at the top and bottom of the strings. In addition to this practical information, we also received instruction for the special curing treatment that the gut cores went through before being wound and the specific techniques used in winding the wire onto the gut core. These strings are accurate replications of the ones that filled American concert halls with sound in the 20th century.

Notably, the Tricolore strings used by violinist virtuosos and many players interested in reproducing this historical tone consisted of:

  • e-1 - Goldbrokat - 0.26mm (Medium) gauge
  • a-2 - Treble Gut - 0.78mm (Medium) gauge
  • D-3 - Lyon Gut - 1.06mm (Medium) gauge
  • G-4 - Gut/Sterling Silver - 0.80mm (Medium) gauge

Sheep gut (or sheep intestine, or sheep serosa) is the classical material that has for centuries been used to make music strings throughout Europe and the Americas. The tone has a golden, 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.

#

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.

Extra Information

Brand:
Tricolore
Width:
4.00 (in)
Height:
4.00 (in)
Depth:
0.10 (in)

    19 Reviews

  • Posted by Jeff on Dec 7th 2024

    5

    Best violin A string ever!

    This A string is so rich and responsive and wonderful! For me anyway it even lasts longer than composite wound A strings (modern wound composites usually last me two months because my body chemistry seems to eat through the aluminum, but a Tricolore gut A can last me four or five months!). The heavy version can take just as much bow pressure as any modern string. The attack has a ton of bite so you do have to adjust your bowing a bit but the reward is a much wider range of tones and dynamics. Pairs just as well next to a synthetic D as is does the Tricolore D. When you hit it just right the overtones are otherworldly, or wail on it for the most gritty sound possible on a fiddle.

  • Posted by Michael Evans on Jan 27th 2022

    5

    Best

    I've been using Tricolores since Gamut started production at least 10 years ago. I will continue to use them for as long as they are produced, they are the best.

  • Posted by Lucas Velasco on Sep 5th 2021

    4

    Best A string

    Best a string on the market, very projecting and bright but not to harsh, fits my instrument very well and with the wound D and G it makes the instrument into a gradient of deep to bright from G to E. I got rid of one star because they seem to fray easily and the top get flattened by the bow even with good rosin made for gut (Gustave Bernadel)

  • Posted by Pat Patterson on Jun 4th 2021

    5

    TRICOLOR VIOLIN plain gut a string

    This is my absolute favorite a string. It is stable, bright and powerful. It is far more stable than any wound string, got or synthetic. If you love gut strings but you get frustrated with the a string going flat, give this one a try. Also try the full TRICOLOR set.

  • Posted by Dave Mount on Dec 28th 2020

    5

    Warm, easy to play

    After playing on Vision Titaniums for awhile I've gone back to Gamut Tricolores. Used my old wound G and D but needed a new A, and I can't believe how easy it is to get it to speak. And it makes my not-great old fiddle sound its very best.

  • Posted by Elisa Citterio on Sep 20th 2020

    5

    Great string. Great sound and long last

    One of the best a gut string

  • Posted by Eric Spradling on May 7th 2020

    5

    I didn't know what personal tone was until this string

    I studied Baroque violin in college and always used Academie strings, but post-college I'm back playing in modern orchestras. I've been using synthetics (of course, it's what I was raised on) but I was never satisfied with my tone, color palette, and bow response of synthetics. I changed the A string to this bare gut A (heavy gauge) and even my partner's eyes widened. I'm not sure what the commotion around gut string's supposed lack of stability, but this string honestly settled more quickly than most synthetic A strings I've used (Obligato, Dominant, Evah Pirazzi, Evah Pirazzi Gold, Tonica, Zyex, Larsen Il Cannone, and PI all didn't settle or respond as quickly). I think the conversation should rather be based around the quality of gut, and evidently the highest quality of gut string as produced by Dan Larson is better than these gut strings that won't stay in tune - that's a reflection of poor manufacturing rather than an innate downside of gut in my opinion. Furthermore, suggestions of "sluggish bow response" I find false. I personally feel that gut strings are by far the most sensitive, the issue is rather that of less refined bow technique, but once you negotiate the string's response you'll find anything else feels stiff, one-dimensional, and that a technique is just a technique, not expression. In conclusion, I don't know if I could bear using any other strings. I'm messing around with the whole set to figure out the combination of gauge and winding (or lack thereof) and will be happy to review once I've found my setup with comments about different combinations and how they responded on my instrument.

  • Posted by Dita Breebaart on Nov 17th 2019

    5

    Very nice sound

    good quality

  • Posted by michel samson on Apr 11th 2019

    5

    tricolor violin A-2 gut

    wonderful strings so glad they keep on making them