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Cat gut or nylon strings?


Dub-T-123

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I’m sittin here sippin on a beer looking at my Martin 00-18g and I’m wondering... Does anyone out there still use actual “gut” strings? 

 

Is there a brand of strings that might be particularly interesting for classical?

 

I’ve already asked about nylon strings here before. Gotta ask again because there is not enough talk about these things to satisfy my interest 🙂

 

Looking at google there appear to be some “gut” strings available which I am curious about. 

 

Generally speaking I am quite enamored with the sound of my guitar with the humble daddarios but it’s always worth trying something else I guess 

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2 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

I haven't, but I found this

gut strings

Fill yer boots !

I had seen those too. Also read that Andrés Segovia requested that a set be made with nylon treble strings and gut bass strings. That seems like it was a popular option as well

 

From what I’ve read they have a softer sound with shorter sustain, but for $100 I’d be worried they may not last long

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On 6/4/2019 at 12:28 AM, Dub-T-123 said:

...Does anyone out there still use actual “gut” strings? ...

Generally speaking I am quite enamored with the sound of my guitar with the humble daddarios but it’s always worth trying something else I guess 

 

Many years ago I attended a ('Classical') concert where the cellist, Stephen Isserlis, would switch between one cello 'normally' strung and another which wore gut strings depending on the piece being played.  The Gut-strung instrument sounded appreciably more mellow (and quieter) than the more 'regularly-strung' instrument.

Apparently there are quite a few musicians in the field of Baroque music who use gut strings as these more closely replicate how the instruments of the day would have sounded but the attendant drawbacks are many - including some serious issues with instruments slipping out-of-tune.

Pip.

EDIT : In a similar vein; back in my late teens to mid twenties I played badminton for my Former Pupils school team in the Scottish League. I always had my racquets strung with gut, In contrast to the nylon strings of the day gut-stringing proffered slightly less power but, importantly from my viewpoint, it also had a less 'trampoline-like' feeling which, in turn, offerd more finesse when playing drop-shots (for instance) close to the net - and as I was almost never going to be able to out-do an opponent in the Power stakes......

Edited by pippy
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