Dear Anthony, As far as I know, the KF strings are made from PVF. How it is that they are less clear and have a less shiny surface I don't know. I just wish they made them in slightly smaller sizes - the thinnest is .95mm, supposedly the equivalent of a gut string of about 1.1mm, though I doubt they are quite that heavy as I find they work well for a 5th course on a 60cm lute. I first came across one of these on one of Jacob's lutes, and thought it was a gut string - it looked and felt exactly like a perfect, low-twist gut string. Even at this diameter, it is quite a stiff string, with very little peg movement resulting in a big change in pitch, and it takes a while to settle, but once settled in it works really well. I'm using it with an octave, of course, on 6c lute, and I'm not convinced it would necessarily be successful on a unison course, but it makes a very handy alternative for a gut string when you want to be "waterproof".
Best wishes, Martin Anthony Hind wrote: >Several previous messages from synthetics users mention the advantage >of using carbon strings on the 4th and 5th course to avoid wire- >wounds. Nobody, in that discussion (i can recall) mentioned Savarez >KF. Some answers contrasted carbon and nylgut, others carbon and gut. >However, I notice that Jacob Heringman, who uses gut for recording, >says,"For touring and performing, as opposed to recording, I use >nylgut in the treble and mid-range, down to the fifth course (though >I'm experimenting with Savarez KF strings for the fifth course at the >moment), and the above-mentioned gut basses, with nylgut octaves." >http://www9.plala.or.jp/edurbrow/Heringman.html > >The KF might be an alternative then to carbon for the 5th also for >synthetic users (Savarez, in fact, claim the KF are closer in sound >and texture to gut), perhaps they have properties in between carbon >and nylgut, hopefully, being less slippery than carbon? > >I have heard people calling them carbon strings, but I think they may >be a fluor based product. >I have never, tried them myself, but they might be a serious but more >expensive alternative for the fifth course for someone using >synthetics, who did not want to use wire-wounds, and who does not >like carbon fishing line. >Personally, I have been comparing Aquila Venice and Gamut Lyons on my >5th course, of which more, perhaps, later. Choices for 4th and 5th >strings do seem to be critical for gut users too. >Anthony > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
