Dear Lutenists It seems that Mimmo Peruffo of Aquila, who is by formation a chemical engineer, as well as a string maker, has been busy making new synthetic strings. % Mimmo, fairly recently acquired an extrudor, as shown here: [1]http://www.youtube.com/v/A5Yp1O3LS8U and so I presume this has allowed him to develop these string on site. % The most interesting for lutenists and historical instrument players, would no doubt be the new nylgut, which has been developped to have the typical colour of gut and less stretch than the old NYLGUT. % These were the two qualities of Nylgut that many lutenists disliked, its white colour, and its great flexibility; some actually preferred a nylon top string, even when they used nylgut on lower strings. % Have any of you had a chance to try these out? If so, how do they actually compare, in your view, to the old nylgut? Perhaps, this has already been discussed, here, and I have missed the posting, but the only reference to it, I have come accross on a web search, is from the Ukele player, Ken Midlleton: % "There is almost no difference in sound between the old Nylgut and the new ones. The main difference is the feel of them. The main difference in sound is the noise your fingers make when they move over the strings. The newer ones are less noisy." KM [2]http://tinyurl.com/2au4556 % Does this mean that the new Nylgut is smoother than the old one? If so, this one characteristic might actually be less like gut-like? I remember, David Tayler's advice on sand papering Carbon strings in order to diminish their bell-like sound associated with their smoothness relative to gut. However, the other new characteristics would probably be a welcome improvement. % K.M. is not comparing the New nylgut to gut, just with the old version; and so his remarks may not be significant for lute players. % From KM's postings, I also learnt that Aquila has developped a new Bionylon. you can hear his Youtube recording comparing Bionylon and the old Nylgut on the same Ukele model: [3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4ILpHArVKw % A search on Aquila's pages showed that this new "eco-friendly" nylon string, is made mainly from "castor oil". It may become available in diameters for use on lutes, but Aquila says : "We recommend Bionylon(R) strings for all plucked instruments such as classical guitars and ukuleles. Colour: natural pearl" [4]http://tinyurl.com/36x8fbj % According to comments on KM's string test, Bionylon might be dryer sounding than the old Nylgut. % The same page on Materials used by Aquila, mentions a variant of Nylgut made specifically for guitar-players using nails, which they call "Silkgut". % "We can define Silkgut(R) like a cousin of Nylgut(R). The difference between Nylgut(R) and Silkgut(R) is that the Silkgut(R) is a bit stiffer than Nylgut(R). In other therms it last longer under the finger nails of guitar- players. Silkgut(R) is suitable for classical guitar Trebles and modern Harp's strings. Colour: silked." % How Silkgut and the new Nylgut differ (apart from colour) is not clear, as presumably they are both stiffer than the old Nylgut. Presumably, Silkgut is just not aimed at lute players, and it might be available in limited diameters. % Do any of you have further information about any of these strings? % How might the new Nylgut effect the sound and feel of wire-wound Nylgut strings, or might Mimmo produce a Nylgut specifically for this? How about a loaded Nylgut bass string? % Regards Anthony
-- References 1. http://www.youtube.com/v/A5Yp1O3LS8U 2. http://tinyurl.com/2au4556 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4ILpHArVKw 4. http://tinyurl.com/36x8fbj To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html