Description
| Table of Tricolore Violin Gauges | |||
| Light | Medium | Heavy | |
| Tricolore Steel e-1 | - | .25mm | - |
| a-2 Gut | .76mm | .78mm | .80mm |
| D-3 Gut | 1.04mm | 1.06mm | 1.08mm |
| G-4 Gut/Silver | .78mm | .80mm | .82mm |
This is a classic set of Tricolore sheep gut strings 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 violin e-1 with loop end
- Tricolore plain sheep gut a-2 with knot and washer
- Tricolore plain sheep gut D-3 with knot and washer
- Tricolore silver-wound beef gut G-4 with knot and washer
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, as they always have been.
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
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 washer keeps the string from pulling through the tailpiece.
Tricolore strings are manufactured 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.
More information about Gamut gut strings, string types, gauges, and string tensions can be found on our articles page. Not finding an answer to your question? Please contact us directly: support@gamutmusic.com.