Strings for String Instruments: Everything You Need to Know

String Instruments – Bowed Instruments

Musical instruments that have strings are called string instruments. Simple enough. Dividing string instruments into bowed instruments (with their main representatives: violin, viola, cello, and double bass) and plucked instruments (such as guitar, harp, and zither) is also straightforward. Things get truly interesting when you want to match the right strings to each individual bowed instrument.

Not only are there violin strings, viola strings, cello strings, and bass or double bass strings available in various basic types; there are also gut strings, steel strings, and synthetic strings. And within each of these basic types, there are numerous variations with different properties and tonal characteristics. But the effort to choose the right strings for your instrument is worth it: since the body of the instrument merely serves to amplify the vibrations produced by the strings, only the right strings can optimize the instrument’s sound and realize your personal tonal ideas. In the PAGANINO String Shop you’ll find a wide selection and can conveniently buy your strings online.

History

Gut is the oldest material used for strings. For thousands of years, people have been producing gut strings, possibly originating from the crafting of bowstrings. Even in prehistoric times, animal tendons were used as strings. In the advanced civilizations of the Near East, horsehair and gut were already in use, and the ancient Mediterranean cultures also used gut. In the tomb of the Egyptian musician and artist Harmosis, who died around 1500 BC, a lute with intact gut strings was found. This instrument is now displayed in the museum in Cairo. From the 18th century onward, gut strings were also produced in Germany.

Decades later – after World War I – the first steel string was developed due to a shortage of natural gut. Even before that, gut strings had been wound with thin wire to extend their lifespan. Steel strings had already proven themselves in other fields such as piano making. The development of innovative strings from steel and various other materials gained momentum. As early as the 1960s, plastic strings were in use. The term “plastic” encompasses various materials ranging from nylon and perlon to polyester. For the latest generation of synthetic strings, a string core made from high-tech plastics (e.g., PEEK = PolyEtherEtherKetone) was developed. These materials can withstand extreme stress and have a very long lifespan.

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