Mike's Oud Forums

Gut strings

rojaros - 3-9-2025 at 09:10 AM

Hello,
does anybody here have experience with plain (not wound) true gut strings for trebles (ff, cc, gg)? I mean real gut and not nylgut.

If so, would you rather used oiled or varnished gut strings.

How would you describe the sound?

Thanks and best wishes
Robert

seven - 5-5-2025 at 09:27 PM

Hi Robert,

I use gut strings on my Kashmiri rubab/Sarod cross (A Rikhi ram one off piece) and they are beautiful at capturing nuances and inflections that are often lost in modern nylon strings. There is a lack of attack and slight "slowness" in the string inherently. Overall it depends on what you like in the sound of an instrument as to whether the guy strings will be appealing to you... There's no harm in giving them a go! Have fun and play around.

Rich

coolsciguy - 5-6-2025 at 03:57 AM

Quote: Originally posted by seven  
Hi Robert,

I use gut strings on my Kashmiri rubab/Sarod cross (A Rikhi ram one off piece) and they are beautiful at capturing nuances and inflections that are often lost in modern nylon strings. There is a lack of attack and slight "slowness" in the string inherently. Overall it depends on what you like in the sound of an instrument as to whether the guy strings will be appealing to you... There's no harm in giving them a go! Have fun and play around.

Rich


Hello Rich,

Do you have a video clip of this magical Sarod of yours? It would be nice to see/hear it with gut strings. thanks!

seven - 5-13-2025 at 01:42 PM

Hi Amir,

Only a short clip on my Instagram... I'll U2U a link.

Thanks
Rich

elreyrico - 5-13-2025 at 09:42 PM

Hi,
If you want to hear how gut strings sound, you can listen to any recording of Marc Loopuyt.

steamedhams - 8-9-2025 at 07:01 AM

A few weeks ago I put some gut trebles on one of my ouds. They are oiled smooth beef gut strings made by Aquila. I really like the way they sound. They aren't necessarily better sounding than synthetic strings, just different. The gut strings sound a little bit muted in a way, having less volume and sustain than synthetic strings. I enjoy the subtlety of them. I agree with what seven said, that they capture nuances and inflections that are lost with synthetic strings.

They are more fragile than synthetic strings. After an hour or so of playing on gut strings with a thick cow horn risha I noticed that the strings were already fraying. I know that lute and guitar players who use gut strings typically use their fingertips rather than nails to avoid damaging them, so I wasn't too surprised. Since then I have been using a soft plastic risha and the string seem to be holding up better now.