Gimped strings: This type of string was first mentioned in 1664 and marks the first evidence of joining wire with musical strings. The wire is twisted into the gut at the time of construction to resist buzzing and failure.
There are several ways one can construct this string. The way that I have settled upon is a type of Pistoy construction so that the string will be as flexable as possible. This is important as the intruduction of the wire has a stiffining effect. The process imbeds the wire into the string so there is no roughness due to the wire. This Pistoy gimp is made for lute, viol, and violin low strings. The string is polished smooth, but some strings have a slight texture to them.
The gimped string is characterized by the barber-pole or candy stripe appearance of the wire in the twist of the gut. Gimped strings are gauged by the equivalent diameter system. This means that a given string is equal in weight to a certain gut diameter but the actual diameter of the string is smaller due to the added weight of the wire. A gimped string may be gauged at = 1.50 mm but the actual diameter of the string is 1.10 mm. The thinness and wire give a bright tone. Gimped strings are best used for:
Violin: D-3 and G-4
Viola: G-3 and C-4
Cello: G-3 and C-4
Bass viol: C-4, G-5, and D-6
Tenor viol: F-4, C-5 and G-6
Treble viol: c-4 G-5, and D-6
Lute: c-5, G-6 and lower fundamentals
Harp bass strings
Click here for a table that shows examples og gimped gauges that are used on popular instruments.
Click here for a list of Gimped gauges that are available.
Click Here for information about Gimped Diapason strings.
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