Product Description
Table of Tricolore Violin Gauges | ||||||
Light | Medium | Heavy | ||||
a-2 Gut/Aluminum | .68mm | .80mm | .72mm |
This is a single length (22") violin string with a gut core and aluminum wire winding. The gut core has been carefully seasoned and then wound with aluminum wire in the tradition of the Perfection Musical String Co. There is a leather washer at the knotted end to help keep the string secure in 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 virtuoso Jascha Heifetz and many players are 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
One addition we have made to the original string design is the inclusion of a leather washer at the knot of each string. Modern tailpieces are made with wider string slots than those of the early 20th century and the gut knot is no longer big enough to hold the string in place. The leather keeps the string from pulling through the tailpiece.
Tricolore strings are manufactured in the USA by Gamut Music, 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.
Product Videos
Custom Field
Product Reviews
6 Reviews Hide Reviews Show Reviews
-
Always a favorite
no better strings than tricolor
-
Always a favorite
Gamut Strings are a longtime favorite of mine. They are the best I have found anywhere and I have traveled a lot over the years. Dan Larson is a gifted maker and deserves our utmost support. The ordering/shipping process is easy and my strings always arrive in a timely fashion.
-
Wound Tricolore A string
This is the first time Ive tried the Gamut wound A. It sounds great even when I tune it down to G for fiddle tunes!
-
Very nice sound
I have one problem. The aluminum winding is already damaged behind the nut (after one week and I did'nt tune higher than 440). I have made a picture of the damage.
-
josephnl81@gmail.com
Very nice and pure sound, but not enough overtones and strength as the G & D. However, I’ll still buy it again
-
Best strings ever
I started using Tricolore a few years ago, after having used Pirastro Passione for a while, as well as having tried other gut strings (including some from Gamut). I was wary of using an all-gut string based on my experience with other gut strings, for several reasons, but these strings are superb. All the tone you would want, plus really good stability, easy playability all the way up the neck, and a singing tone that is wonderful. The wound A Tricolore string was unavailable for quite a while, and I fortunately had a few stockpiled to get me through. The singing quality is so wonderful, much better than the Passione, which had been the best combination of tone and stability I had found until I discovered Tricolore. I'm glad these are back in stock. I use the heavy gauge version, and get a wonderful thick sound from it, a perfect match for my Guarneri-style violin.