Aquila Gut & Silk 800 – Classical Guitar Strings for Historical Performances – 1790 to 1870 – 73C 1 zoom

Hover

Aquila Gut & Silk 800 – Classical Guitar Strings for Historical Performances – 1790 to 1870 – 73C 2 zoom

Hover

Aquila Gut & Silk 800 – Classical Guitar Strings for Historical Performances – 1790 to 1870 – 73C 1
Aquila Gut & Silk 800 – Classical Guitar Strings for Historical Performances – 1790 to 1870 – 73C 2
Full Screen

Aquila Gut & Silk 800 – Classical Guitar Strings for Historical Performances – 1790 to 1870 – 73C

£52.49

  • Aquila Gut & Silk 800 Strings – Code 73C
  • For Historical Classical Guitar Performances
  • Setup Used on Guitars Between 1790 and 1870 Approx.
  • Suggested Pitch – A = 435 Hz – Scale Length 62cm
  • Varnished Gut Trebles – Silk Core Wound Basses
  • Handmade in Italy
  • Please Read Product Description Carefully Before Purchase
  • Preparation and Adaption of the Nut Required for Installation

In Stock | FREE UK Priority Shipping | Fast Dispatch & Delivery

Description

Gut & Silk 800 – For 1790 – 1870 Performances

Up to the middle of the 20th century, the only available strings for guitar were plain gut for the trebles and wound on silk core for the basses.
Their acoustical performance was quite different than that of modern synthetic strings.

Their main characteristics were a marked tonal presence, response and brightness typical of the gut strings, while the silvered copper wound basses on the other hand, possessed an exquisite vocal quality i.e not so bright and with less sustain than modern wound on nylon strings, and more fundamentally heavy.

Unlike modern guitar sets, the tension profile of the treble strings in these historical sets are only lightly scaled to replicate the standard of thier time and the sets come in only one tension as was also the norm.

The Aquila 800 historical set has been created to bring back to life the exact historical settings typical of the 19th Century as re-discovered by Aquila through their extensive research.

Useful Information

Historical Guitar Sets – Suitable for A-435 Hz Pitch

For those using gut strings for the first time, please understand they cannot be handled in the same way as Nylon or Fluocarbon strings (PVF).

Gut strings have much higher production costs than those of plastic materials due to long and difficult working procedures. Each handmade string requires 12-15 days of labour to produce.

Remember that the lifespan of a gut string (only a few days in regards to the treble string) is traditionally much lower than that of modern Nylon and Fluocarbon strings due to the wearing action of right hand finger nails and metal frets. To improve the lifespan of your strings, please keep nails short and oval shaped.

In practice, the treble (1st) string normally lasts around 2-7 days, just as it did in the time of Llobet.

Gut strings are not as smooth as those made of Nylon or Fluocarbon as the modern player is used to. The surface feels similar to satin and may require some tactile and psychological adaptation to get used to.

The sound of silk wound bass strings is also very different to modern wound strings made from Nylon multifilament. The silk bass sound is less persistent, more percussive has poor overtones.

Please understand these specifications are perfectly normal for this type of string and are certainly not manufacturing faults. On occasion strings may appear slightly inhomogeneous due to the natural characteristics of the silk.

Gut is a very soft material which tends not to slide into the grooves of the nut and can easily be sheared with teeth. Gut often squashes or sticks and is therefore quite sensitive to the cut.

With all these issues to take into consideration, why then do we still use gut and silk wound bass strings ?

The answer is simple, the natural acoustic qualities of real gut strings are the best one can possibly achieve and those who experience them will be aware of the deep emotions they evoke in one’s playing and overall feel of the instrument. Once you have tried real gut strings it is very hard to return to normal Nylon or Fluocarbon strings.

Before stringing the instrument, please make sure the nut and bridge are free from sharp edges and that the nut grooves are perfectly smooth and not too deep.

You can eliminate sharp edges using very fine sandpaper, grit emery cloth (600 grade) or the finest steel wool (000) to polish and smooth the edges. In these polished furrows, place some soft graphite or well dried soap. Do not install gut strings on guitars that have small diameter rollers suitable for metal strings.

The best sound quality develops when the strings have completely set which will generally take sometime. To achieve stable intonation in just a few minutes, repeatedly pinch each string at mid length with your fingers, pulling firmly sideways, then re-tune and repeat. Stop when the string does not pull out of tune anymore.

We suggest using this set at a pitch of 435 Hz. When not playing, it is also recommended to tune the three wound basses approx. a semitone lower. These simple steps are useful to ensure a maximum lifetime of the strings.

In addition, gut strings are in themselves very strong to traction, but suffer greatly from potential sliding or contact points that are even minimally sharp (sharp edges).

Therefore, the nut of the guitar must be properly prepared and adapted, with only slightly cut grooves and no clear bending points.

The most important things to be observed, is that the slots are slightly cut and they never have clear bending points, and lastly that the nut is mirror polished. Only at this point using graphite on the grooves becomes truly effective.

Suggested Pitch – A = 435 Hz – Scale Length 62cm.

Please see gallery images for diagram showing an excellent technique for fixing wound silk basses in order to prevent string breakages, as suggested by Emilio Pujol in his book – Guitar School – A Theoretical Practical Method for the Guitar – Book 1.

An example of this can also be seen in Rob MacKillop’s You Tube Video – Rob’s Top Tips for Guitar Players: Behind The Nut String Ties.

Additional information

Weight 20 g
Dimensions 10.5 × 10.5 × 0.5 cm
GTIN

8052405530783

MPN

73C

Categories

Brand

Range / Series

Instrument

,

Tuning - Last String to First

Tuning - First String to Last

Tension

No of Strings

Pack Type

Anchor / End

Coated / Uncoated

Dispatch, Delivery & Returns

At Original Artisan, we take great care ensuring the goods you purchase on this site reach you in good condition and as quickly as possible.

Our aim is to provide the best service we possibly can for all our customers which is why we provide FREE priority shipping on all UK Mainland orders, fast dispatch and delivery and 100% satisfaction moneyback guarantees.

Please view our shipping information pages and guarantee & returns pages for further details.

UK Mainland Shipping – FAST & FREE

Smaller Items – Strings & Musical Accessories

  • FREE Royal Mail 1st Class & RM24 shipping for all UK orders
  • Same day dispatch on orders received before 4.30pm Monday to Friday & 11.30pm Saturday
  • Royal Mail aim to deliver most 1st Class & RM24 letters & parcels within 1 – 2 working days
  • Royal Mail Special Delivery Service available at checkout

Larger Items – Amps, Guitars & Ukuleles

  • FREE Express Courier shipping via UPS, DPD & Parcel Force
  • Same day dispatch on orders received before 12pm requiring courier delivery
  • Most couriers aim to deliver the next working day after posting or within 1 to 2 working days for certain services

Please note that at times of year where excessive strain is placed on delivery services such as Christmas, New Year, bank holidays and periods whereby unforeseen weather conditions or restrictions arise due to Coronavirus concerns, delivery times can vary.

Scottish Highlands, UK Islands, Channel Islands, Northern Ireland & Remote Areas

Free Royal Mail 1st Class & RM24 shipping is available for most smaller items, strings & musical accessories
Charges are applicable for larger items, amps, guitars and larger sized ukuleles.
Please view our shipping information pages and guarantee & returns pages for details.

International Shipping

Coronavirus Notice

Unfortunately due to the coronavirus pandemic, international shipping has been temporarily suspended. We hope to be resuming our international shipments as soon as possible but at the moment we are only processing UK orders. Please see our shipping page for exceptions.

Insurance

All items are sent with adequate postage insurance.

Customer Guarantees & Returns

Original Artisan operates a fair and open returns policy.

If for any reason the buyer is dissatisfied with the product, then the item may be returned within 14 days of receipt for a full refund, provided the product is returned unused and in it’s original packaging and condition.

If you need to return your item for any reason, please contact us either by phone, email or using our contact form and we will be happy to assist and discuss options to help resolve your issue or instigate your return as quickly as possible.

Please see our guarantee and returns page for more details.

Payments & Security

All purchases made through Original Artisan are processed through our secure online payment gateways using the most up-to-date security protocols offered by PayPal and Stripe, two of the most trusted and popular online payment gateways in the world.

Customers can be assured their payment details remain 100% safe at all times and our SSL (Secure Socket Layer Technology) ensures that all sensitive data sent between users and sites, as well as payment and processing systems is safeguarded using complex encryption algorithms to scramble data in transit.

SSL Web Technology used on this site makes it impossible for criminals to read, intercept or modify personal and sensitive information such as names, card information, addresses etc. sent over the internet, guaranteeing your payment data and personal details remain 100% secure throughout the entire payment process.