Diapason Gut
We use the term "Diapason gut" for long, low-pitched strings such as those used on the extensions of archlutes, theorbos, lautenwercks, and harpsichords.
It is another term we use for full-length, uncut strings. Our standard length for most of our strings is 48” (120cm), because this length makes one cello / bass viol string, or two violin strings. The length of the diapason string is twice that, or 96” (240cm).
The smallest diameter we offer in the diapason length is .50mm and the largest diameter is 2.00mm and gauges are available in increments of .02mm.
For diapason gut we usually select strings that have a high degree of twist because these strings are not intended to have a lot of tension put on them, as would be the case for treble gut.
The strings are a single-twist construction and the gauges from .50mm to 1.00mm correspond to our treble gut, except with a little more twist, and the gauges from 1.00mm to 2.00mm correspond to our Lyon gut.
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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.