Aquila synthetic red strings
Recently I’ve been trialling a new set up on my seven-string bass viol with the addition of three ‘red’ synthetic strings for my low G, D and A. Generally, I’m a staunch traditionalist when it comes to strings. The wonderful Jane Julier, who made my viol in 2017, provided me with a detailed list of string makers and gauges that work with my instrument and I have followed that to a T. It would come as no surprise that synthetic strings did not get a mention on that list! Jane actually specified Nicholas Baldock wound strings of 2.00 for G, 2.70 for D and 3.60 for the A.
As some of you may know, Nicholas Baldock was an extraordinary string maker and musician who sadly passed away about a year ago. This was one reason I wanted to save the set of three wound Baldock strings I had for special occasions.
The other factor that spurred me on to acquire some synthetic strings was traveling from Melbourne to humid Sydney my low G developed an annoying rattle. Humidity can expand the gut inside the wind enough that it will start to vibrate against the outer winding.
I ordered a set of low string at Aquila Corde Armoniche online. The process was easy. I provided the gauges of the wound strings I had been using and they wrote back to say that matches their ‘medium’ tensioned set. They have ‘high’ and ‘low’ tensioned sets as well as being able to mix and match if you prefer.
These strings are also available via Saraband music, see the links below. Patrice will be able to answer any questions you may have.
A couple of weeks later, the strings arrived and I swapped out all three at once. I spent a couple of hours with the new strings noodling, tuning and retuning the instrument. It took a couple of days for the strings to settle and maybe this was a bit longer than I would expect for a set of gut wound strings but still not inconveniently long.
Since then the strings and been stable and kept their pitch incredibly well. I’ve had no issues with rattling sounds!
For many of you, I could imagine the main draw card of these strings is their ability to withstand the extremes of the Australian climate and stay very in tune.
I would think that they have a better longevity as well but I am yet to test that out personally.
For those who are looking for an alternative to animal products, these are a perfect option. And of course you can order a full set of strings and not just the lower strings.
And how do they sound, you ask!? Of course the burning question! Well they sound and perform very similarly to traditional wound strings and overall I’ve been very impressed with them.
They aren’t as good at ‘speaking’ quickly compared to the Baldock strings, but those Baldock strings were the Rolls Royce of wound strings.
I have also noticed a tendency when shifting to get a ‘squeaky’ or ‘slidey’ sound. Extra care on my lower strings shifting is needed to avoid that.
They are also a deep red colour, dramatic looking. It does look like I’ve pimped out my Gamba, MTV style…
These strings are a useful alternative that I’ll definitely be keeping on my Gamba for some time.
If you’re interested in trying these for yourself, they’re available through the following links:
Reidun Turner