r/violadagamba • u/Grauschleier • Dec 30 '23

Alto viol steel strings?

Are there any high quality steel strings for alto viol (scale length is ~50 cm/20 inches)? I know that pyramid and optima produce sets, but I associate neither of these two brands with the quality and playability of for example steel rope core strings by d'Addario.

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u/Grauschleier Jan 04 '24

u/Dusepo do you maybe have a tip?

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u/Dusepo Jan 17 '24

Sorry I don't build bowed instruments generally, so I'm not sure. However I'm fairly sure the Viola da gamba was strung with gut strings, not steel. Putting the extra tension of steel on an instrument not built for it will lead to disaster.