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Tying Lute Frets
Hold the instrument in some way that it is secure and will not slip around as you work on it. This could be on a table, or, perhaps you can hold it between your knees. Remove the old fret by clipping the knot with some fingernail clippers. Replace only one fret at a time.
Tie the new fret a little down the fingerboard from its home position, (toward the nut). The fret will be pulled up into position. This will help hold the fret tightly on the fingerboard.
Thread one end of the fret material under the strings and around the back of the neck as in figure A. The long end we will call strand 2 and the short end we will call strand 1. Pull strand 1 behind strand 2 for a length of two or three inches as in figure A.
Make a loop around strand 2 with strand 1 by pulling it around strand 2 and underneath itself as in figure B.
Pull the knot tight. You may have to rotate the fret on the neck a little so that the knot lies more or less at the joint of the fingerboard and the neck. Use the other frets as a guide.
Now, make a simple overhand knot by looping strand 1 and strand 2 around each other as in figure C.
Pull the knot tight again.
Clip the ends so there is about 1/8 inch of each end sticking out of the knot. Use a small flame or soldering iron to burn the ends of the strands down to the knot. Be careful not to burn the knot or the instrument!!
Pull the fret up into position. You can usually tell where the fret goes by the marks and wear on the neck.
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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.