rojaros
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Gut strings
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
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seven
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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
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coolsciguy
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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!
-- Amir
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seven
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Hi Amir,
Only a short clip on my Instagram... I'll U2U a link.
Thanks
Rich
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elreyrico
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Hi,
If you want to hear how gut strings sound, you can listen to any recording of Marc Loopuyt.
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steamedhams
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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.
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