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Tricolore Violin String Set

Tricolore

11 reviews Write a Review
SKU:
CS10_
$105.24
Width:
4.00 (in)
Height:
4.00 (in)
Depth:
0.10 (in)
Shipping:
Calculated at Checkout
$105.24

Description

Table of Tricolore Violin Gauges
  Light Medium Heavy
e-1 Steel - .25mm -
a-2 Sheep Gut .76mm .78mm .80mm
D-3 Sheep Gut 1.04mm 1.06mm 1.08mm
G-4 Beef Gut/Silver .78mm .80mm .82mm

 

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

This is a classic set of Tricolore sheep gut strings (24", 60cm) as used by 20th century violinist virtuosos and many players interested in reproducing this historical tone. The set is available in Light, Medium, and Heavy gauges for the a-2, D-3, and G-4 strings, but the Tricolore Steel Violin e-1 string is Medium gauged for all sets.

The set is made up of:

  • Tricolore Steel e-1 with Loop End
  • Tricolore Sheep Gut a-2 with Ball End
  • Tricolore Sheep Gut D-3 with Ball End
  • Tricolore Beef Gut/Silver-Wound G-4 with Ball End

Plain 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. Tricolore gut/metal-wound strings are made with beef serosa.

One update we have made to the original string design is the addition of a 3-D printed ball end on each string. The end of the string that goes into the tailpiece comes with a 3-D printed ball end.

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

#

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)

    11 Reviews

  • Posted by Jeff on Mar 8th 2024

    5

    Best strings ever

    The heavy sized Tricolore violin strings are superb. IMO the only downside is that it takes a few days for them to first stretch out so that they’re tuning stable. But, after that, the tuning stability is great. And the heavies have a wonderful stiffness so that you can really lay into them and they keep giving you more, but they’re still wonderfully responsive with a light touch (the overtones when you play lightly are so rich, totally unmatched by synthetics!). I never want to play on strings with metal winding ever again. I’m an unwound-gut-for-life devotee. It’s been a couple years now and I see no reason to ever try synthetics again. I will say, though, that these benefit a lot from a responsive instrument and the right bowing technique. Especially in dry weather- if the strings are dry from low humidity they are very sensitive to tiny little details in your bowing that don’t come through at all on synthetic strings. When it’s humid out, they get a little softer and more forgiving. And lastly I have to say Tricolors last me longer than synthetics. My fingers must have a lot of sulfur in them or something because I kill the winding on any wound strings in two months or less. Heavy Tricolores last me four months easily. And, unwound gut strings don’t slowly go dead like wound synthetics. They age more gracefully. Raw gut sounds bright and beautiful up until its last day (when eventually a strand somewhere breaks and they go false). Tuning stability is fantastic. The only thing that will really mess with tuning stability is huge changes in humidity. Going between air conditioning and outside on a humid summer day will require significant retuning. Otherwise they’re great. I play Irish fiddle for the most part.

  • Posted by Aiken Van Spyk on Dec 12th 2022

    4

    violin tricolore

    Very well packaged and delivery was very good. As these are backup strings to a 'dominant' set I look forward to trying these when I can. The e string seems especially to be the one I wanted too.

  • Posted by Jack Dillon on Jan 17th 2021

    5

    Tricolore violin string set

    These are great strings and work very well with my 1926 Karl Berger violin!!!

  • Posted by Travis Johnson on Sep 21st 2020

    5

    Excellent strings

    G in particular has a type of rich warmth you cannot get from any synthetic strings and the E has a roundness. Doesn't matter how much you pay, what brand or how many youtube personalities swear by them, gut strings whether wound or raw win every time. I was told by Gamut staff the difference between these ($80) and their other gamut line ($150) is that this set is more suited for the modern violinist while the other for baroque period. Although I went the direction of Tricolore I'll be experimenting with other lines next. Fantastic, definitely recommend.

  • Posted by John Fadial on Sep 18th 2020

    5

    Gamut Tricolore medium set

    As a youngster I grew up playing gut stings, mostly Pirastro Eudoxa or Wondertone. Since switching mostly to synthetics in college, some decades ago (on the advice of various teachers), I have continued to search for that rich gut sound (think Heifetz, Francescatti, Rosand, Szeryng, Menuhin). Over that last few years I have gone back to guts, using first Passiones, then Olives, and even Chordas. The Tricolore set from Gamut beats them all. I have tested them in a large concert hall, and on recording. The richness and carrying power is stunning, and has far exceeded my expectations. These strings exhibited a highly complex sound with lots of overtones from the start (in my studio), but hearing them in the hall was a real eye opener. They are colorful, supple and extremely powerful. Due to their flexibility, they deliver a high volume of tone with very little effort, so some players may find they need to use less pressure. They work fantastically well on both my 1781 Gagliano, as well as on my 2020 Eduard Miller. They have a much quicker stretch time than even the Olives. I have been enjoying these for a couple weeks now, so I look forward to learning more about these strings' longevity, and what they can do. The heavier gauge, unwound gut A and D may take some getting used to for most modern violinists, but the sound is ravishing! Thank you, Gamut! Dr. John Fadial Soloist, Chamber Musician, Concertmaster, Professor of Violin, University of Wyoming

  • Posted by Serge on Jul 24th 2020

    5

    Best strings on the market!

    Best strings on the market! Rich sound, very stable, comfortable for playing, and great service from Gamut Music!

  • Posted by Unknown on Jul 16th 2020

    5

    Tricolore medium violin

    Fantastic strings, warm and full sound

  • Posted by Steve on Jul 3rd 2019

    5

    Tricolore violin strings

    After a major crack repair to my 1950's modern Italian violin, its acoustics had ended up being significantly altered, to the point where every brand of strings I tried was too bright (and I tried about 10 different sets of strings). I finally found Tricolore, which are the only strings that aren't too bright. The sound is gorgeous, even when muted. The only drawback is that the gut strings are a bit harder to initially tune and keep in tune, and they feel a bit less refined to the touch (I got the varnished version). I've ordered a wrapped A and D string to compare them. Overall, though, I love these strings, and they're really the only strings that work on my instrument.

  • Posted by David Mount on Aug 21st 2018

    5

    Great for old-time fiddle, with heavy wound D and heavy G

    I play old-time style and started with this set. The plain D was beautiful but required too much concentration for me to play cleanly (I don't have any formal violin training). Swapped it out for the med. silver/aluminum wound D. That was nice, but overall the bass seemed a little weak. For my instrument the Goldilocks combo was a heavy G, heavy silver D (a bit brighter than the one with silver in it), and a med. plain A. See my review of the G string for more details. Overall, I think the Tricolores are incredible for OT fiddle: beautiful, stable, and surprisingly easy to play, with a wound D, anyway.