High Twist Gut HT/ HR Print E-mail

 

Photo Gallery

Pictures nr. 1, 2 :  Aquila high twist gut strings
Pictures nr. 3 and 4 : Giovanni Pietro Pinaroli "Polyanthea Technica ..." Rome 1718-32
Pictures nr. 5 and 6 : Opening pages of the statute of the Roman Strings Makers'Guild, Rome 1642 (Biblioteca Angelica, Rome)
to learn more: read our FAQ
INTRODUCTION
The origin of the employment of gut to make musical strings is lost in the mists of time. Along the centuries manufacturing techniques were gradually refined until they reached the perfection unanimously recognized as the trademark of Italian and French stringmakers in the 17th to 19th century.
The scope of our work, supported by constant research and painstaking experimentation, is to offer natural gut strings produced by modern craftsmen working in the ancient Italian/French string-makers manufacturing criteria that for centuries has been passed on from one generation to the next, sure to offer you the very best of our tradition and aiming to reach the magic of sound that only gut, of all materials, can achieve.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND FIELD OF APPLICATION

First choice plain gut strings for general use in high and mid registers. All strings more than 0.50 mm. in diameter are exclusively high twist and undergo a specific processing aiming to ensure maximum elasticity and grant the best acoustical performance, ease of attack and long playing life, as proven by many acoustics and wear-and-tear tests.

The new product we offer instead of the varnished gut strings are the semi-rectified strings (HR types) .

String -varnishing is a modern treatment which was never used historically (gut strings were kept in olive or almond oil) and its sole purpose is granting a longer string playing life. But this happens at the cost of other aspects, the most important being a loss of sound quality, brightness for example, but also the bowing attack is not as efficient as with unvarnished gut.
The surface of the demi- rectified strings is only partly rectified, imitating the manual polishing techique of the time just to obtain a true string.
With this method the amount of fibers damaged by the abrasive action is noticeably reduced as compared with strings rectified with modern procedures. The advantages are: better stability against climatic changes, longer playing life and better acoustic performance.
We tested these strings for a long time: they best imitate historic hand- polishing in that they damage only a small amount of gut fibers as compared with current rectifying methods.
The advantages are:
an improved stability by climatic changes, longer playing life (similar to those of the vernished ones) and superior acoustical performance.
Owing to the special manufacturing technique employed in the production of the demi-rectified string type, the diameters in this table indicate a mean value.
E.g. a 66 string indicates, in fact, a possible diameter-window between 65 and 67.


Please notice
Gut is liable to suffer from cutting edges. Before stringing the instrument do make sure the nut and bridge are free from sharp edges and the nut grooves not too deep and perfectly smooth.
You can get rid of sharp edges with very fine grit sandpaper (600, for example) or the finest steelwool (000).
The best sound quality develops when the strings have completely set, which may ordinarily take sometime. To achieve a stable intonation in just a few minutes you can repeatedly pinch each string at midlength with your fingers, pull it decidedly sideways and tune it up again. Stop when the string does not pull out of tune anymore.
Note: gauges are expressed in hundred of millimeters (i.e. 120 = 1,20 mm) gut gauges on the tables are considered at the making standard condition of 20 ° C and 60 % degree of humidity.

Legenda

HT : polished oliled gut strings
HR : demi-rectified oiled strings

Conversion tables (between wound strings of different brands, Nylgut, PVF, Nylon, Gut strings)

Notice! In lacking of detailed informations we authomatically switch for the HR types

120 cm 180 cm 120 cm 180 cm
CODEX EUROS EUROS CODEX EUROS EUROS
HT/HR HT/HR HT/HR HT/HR
38 4.10 / -----
 ------ 116 12.60 /------ 25.50 /27.00
40 4.10 / -----
 ------ 120 14.30 /15.20 28.60 /30.40
42 4.10 / -----
 ------ 124 14.30 /15.20 28.60 /30.40
44 4.10 / -----
 ------ 128 14.30 /15.20 28.60 /30.40
46 4.50 / -----
 ------ 132 14.30 /15.20 28.60 /30.40
48 4.50 / -----
 ------ 136 14.30 /15.20 28.60 /30.40
50 4.50 / -----
 ------ 140 16.30 /17.30 32.70 /34.70
52 4.50 / -----
 ------ 145 16.30 /17.30 32.70 /34.70
54 5.30 / -----
 ------ 150 16.30 /17.30 32.70 /34.70
56 5.30 / -----
 ------ 155 16.30 /17.30 32.70 /34.70
58 5.30 / -----
 ------ 160 17.80 /19.00 35.80 /37.90
60 5.30 / 5.60 10.60 / ------
 165 17.80 / 19.00
 35.80 / 37.90
62 5.30 / 5.60 10.60 / ------
 170 17.80 / 19.00
 35.80 / 37.90
64 6.60 / 7.00 13.20 /------ 180 20.40 / 21.80
 41.00 / 43.90
66 6.60 / 7.00 13.20 /------ 190 22.80 / 24.40
 45.70 / 48.90
68 6.60 / 7.00 13.20 /------ 200 22,80 / 24.40
 45.70 / 48.90
70 6.60 / 7.00 13.20 /------ 210 26.60 / 28.50
 53.10 / 56.80
73 6.60 / 7.00 13.20 /------ 220 26.60 / 28.50
 53.10 / 56.80
76 7.80 / 8.30 15.50 /------ 230 26.60 / 28.50
 53.10 / 56.80
79 7.80 / 8.30 15.50 /------ 240 29.20 / 31.20
 58.30 / 62.40
82 7.80 / 8.30 15.50 /------ 250 29.20 / 31.20
 58.30 / 62.40
85 7.80 / 8.30 15.50 /------ 260 29.20 / 31.20
 58.30 / 62.40
88 7.80 / 8.30 15.50 /------ 280 36.50 / 39.00
 73.00 / 78.10
91 9.90 / 10.50 17.30 /------ 300 36.50 / 39.00 73.00 / 78.10
94 9.90 / 10.50 17.30 /------ 320 40.60 / 43.40 76.20 / 81.50
97 9.90 / 10.50 17.30 /------ 340 40.60 / 43.40 76.20 / 81.50
100 9.90 / 10.50 17.30 /------ 400 /
 80.20/ 85.80
104 9.90 / 10.50 17.30 /------ 420 /
 84.00/89.90
108 9.90 / 10.50 17.30 /------ 440 /
 88.00/ 94.10
112 12.60 /13.50 25.50 /------ 460 /
 94.00/ 100.50
+ IVA - VAT - TVA