Sheep Gut (Academie Gold)
All Gamut Academie strings (pure gut and gut/metal-wound) are made with beef serosa unless they specifically say “sheep gut.” All pure gut Tricolore violin and viola strings are made with sheep gut; gut/metal-wound Tricolore and all Red Diamond strings are made with beef serosa.
Gamut Academie Gold sheep gut strings are designed for Baroque instruments by those musicians playing historical performance practice at a=415, and are perfectly suitable for modern a=440 practice, but the result will be a little bit more tension at a=440.
Sheep gut (or sheep intestine, or sheep serosa) is the classical material that has for centuries been used to make music strings throughout Europe and the Americas. The tone has a golden, warm and rich sonority that is preferred by discerning players. Sheep gut strings have slightly different properties than beef gut. In broad terms, it has a warmer tone. One of our clients with a poetic flair describes sheep gut as having a “golden” tone and beef gut having a “silver” tone. The sheep gut has fibers and collagen that bond very well, making a tight structure with a lovely transparency. The texture supports the plucking or bowing very well, and the sound carries well in a room. If you feel you need a tone with more warmth and clarity than you are getting now, then sheep gut might be a good choice.
This type of string is characterized by a low twist that is sometimes not even visible. The color of the string ranges from clear to white and sometimes to transparent yellow.
This type of string is an ideal use for:
Violin: e-1 and a-2
Viola: a-1 and d-2
Bass viol: d-1, a-2, and e-3
Tenor viol: g-1, d-2, and a-3
Treble viol: d-1, a-2, and e-3
Lute: g-1, d-2, a-3, and octaves on bass courses
Harp: treble strings
Sheep gut strings are available in millimeter gauges from .38mm to 2.10mm in increments of .02mm.
Is This [Instrument String] Available in Sheep Gut?
Periodically, inquiries arise regarding the availability of sheep gut for certain instrument strings, prompting questions about why certain strings, such as those for X or Y instrument, are not offered in sheep gut.
It is crucial to recognize that sheep gut presents distinct intricacies compared to beef gut, stemming from differences in the respective animals and the manufacturing processes involved. Sheep gut string manufacturing is characterized by unique labor costs and challenges in production, rendering it a relatively scarce and exceptionally valuable commodity. Consequently, decisions must be made regarding the allocation of our limited sheep gut stock.
For instance, upon conducting hearing tests, we determined that the discernible contrast between a violin D-3 Pistoy sheep gut string and its beef gut counterpart is less pronounced than that of the sheep gut and beef gut violin e-1 string. As a result, we have opted to concentrate our sheep gut production on treble strings.
Notably, the process of twisting the sheep violin D-3 Pistoy string presents its own set of challenges. The splitting of sheep gut results in left- and right-side threads. When the string is crafted with rights, it tends to be too small, while with lefts, it is frequently too large. This necessitates the production of four or five strings to obtain one of the appropriate size for the D-3 string, leading to significant waste.
It is our hope that, in the future, a more abundant and cost-effective supply of high-quality sheep gut will enable us to revisit the offering of sheep Pistoy strings.
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Hand-made 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.
All Gamut Academie strings (pure gut and gut/metal-wound) are made with beef serosa unless they specifically say "Sheep Gut." All pure gut Tricolore violin and viola strings are made with sheep gut; gut/metal-wound Tricolore and all Red Diamond strings are made with beef serosa.
Gamut gut string gauges are approximate (≈) diameter. Meaning, that while a ≈0.60mm string is polished in the workshop to a diameter of 0.60mm, changes in ambient humidity, temperature, shipping, and storage conditions can cause to string to expand or contract slightly.
Gimped gut strings and custom gauged equal tension strings are gauged with the equivalent-gauge (=) system. This means that the gauge listed, such as =1.50mm, indicates that the string is approximately equal in weight to a plain gut string of that diameter. Of course, because the wire is much heavier than gut, the string will be much thinner than a plain gut string.
More information about Gamut gut strings, string types, gauges, and string tensions can be found on our FAQ/Articles page. Not finding an answer to your question? Please contact us directly: support@gamutmusic.com.