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Why I don't like varnished strings:
Maybe if you live in a very humid place, like Vietnam or Japan, it looks like this is the only solution. It may be true in fact if you want to buy a “ready to use” string.
But if you have the patience of organizing your olive oil process and oiled strings stock, you will have much greater results.
It’s just to add one step more to your planning: buying your strings in advance so you have time to leave them one month in oil and give them a couple of weeks to dry.
Here are my advises on how to do it, and which is the best string to support you in your battle against humidity
(Warning: don’t do this with wound strings!) Concerned about the short life of your strings? Do your strings get hairy in minutes in the summer? Your strings could last much longer, you need only some olive oil, and some time…. It may seem complicated, especially if you are always touring and you are never at home… but think for
Read MoreWhat happens to a string while polishing. (one more way to save money) The difference between a slightly polished string and a perfectly smooth string and why it is definitely worth to choose the first One. Want to know more? There’s a downloadable report here, it’s free, no opt-in required!
Read More“I couldn’t play without varnished strings. Yes, I know they are not historically correct, but there is no other way for me, as my hands are so sweaty and I am so busy, that I move from hard air-conditioned to hot and humid environments even trice per day.”Is this familiar to you? I hear this
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baroque music, double-bass strings, early music, gut strings, gut strings history, gut strings maintenance, gut strings manufacture, viol strings, viola da gamba strings, viola strings, violin strings, violoncello strings
How the gauge is determined at the polishing and on half polished and smooth strings…. Can you guess why you can never be sure of the quality of a polished string? Want to know more? There’s a downloadable report here, it’s free, no opt-in!
Read MoreA video from Superquark , ed. 2013. Superquark is a popular tv show in Italy, about science, art, history. It shows the manufacture of gut strings. At 2.06 it’s me cleaning the guts with the copper thimble.
Read MoreFrom historical process to modern, from sheep to cow. In this video I forgot to mention the most important thing: the use of bovine guts permitted to avoid a big part of the process, saving days of work and dozens of workers, and, last but not least, working with a standardized material, always same size. If
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