Manufacturers of
string and how to contact them
Initial investigation and 1st version, May 2000.
Updated in March 2003, January 2003, Oct 2004.
Here, let me explain how to obtain strings
you want. You can find a list of string manufacturers and dealers,
below. Contact them either through their web site or to their e-mail
address first to get catalogs and order forms. Some of them are
accepting orders on-line. The information on the manufacturer and
dealer listed below are the best of my knowledge and based on their
web site, the address printed on their products, etc. Their address,
phone numbers, or URL (web address) may have changed. I would
appreciate if you could inform me the changes you would notice on
them. If they share the number for both phone and fax, please be
considerate on time differences. By the way, I have confirmed most of
FAX numbers while requesting information.
PYRAMID
(Germany):
Pyramid Saiten und Stimmpfeifenfabrik: http://www.pyramidstrings.com/
Pyramid Saiten und Stimmpfeifenfabrik
Karl Junger GmbH
Postfach 6
D-91088 Bubenreuth
Erlangen
Germany
Address listed in their web site is the following (PO box)
P.O. Box 6, Sudetenstrasse 41- 43
D-91088 Bubenreuth
Germany
Phone: 0049-09131-24064/5
Fax: 011-49-9131-206642
>From outside of Germany,
Phone:+49-9131-24064/5,Fax:+49-9131-206642
E-mail: info@pyramidstrings.com
This German string manufacturer founded in 1850 is well known world wide as a maker of lute strings. Their strength is wide range of gauge in their metal wound strings. They even produce strings for mandolin, cittern, and ethnic instruments like oud, saz, sitar, balalaika, etc. They have produced wide variety of strings including nylon strings for lute, gut and metal wound ones. They opened their web site with secure server, so that orders can be made on-line. Their strings can be obtained through many early music shops. EMS in England sells their strings, for example.
[catalog]
I have ordered via FAX. They have just produced revised version and
they sent me these two booklets and order forms shown below. In this
booklet, recommended set of strings for various instruments are
listed. They seem to have a discount program. They can provide an
invoice either in Douitch Mark or in EURO while ordering strings. I
usually pay in EURO. They do not accept credit card payments. EURO is
the only one to be used these days, I suppose.
How to order to Pyramid
(1) Obtain a catalog and an order form.
You can contact them through their web site or via e-mail.
(2) Fill out an order form. In some case, you have to specify product
names like "gut". Just make what you want clear and you don't have to
worry about total amount. For some instruments, it may be better to
write a type of instrument, scale length, pitch to be used, number of
courses, etc.
(3) Order via FAX.
(4) You will receive a FAX from Pyramid to confirm your order and
notify the total amount.
(5) Send the payment. I usually use the International Money Order for
this.
(6) In a few days, you will receive a mail notifying a receipt of the
payment.
(7) A few more days later, you will received ordered strings, which
sometime happens before you receive the notification of the
payment.
BERND
KUERSCHNER (Germany) :
Bernd KUERSCHNER: http://www.kuerschner-saiten.de
Bernd Kuerschner
Obere Waldstrasse 20
D-65232 Taunusstein
Germany
Phone: 0049-061-286910, Fax:0049-061-288207
>From outside of Germany, Phone:+49-61-28-6910,
Fax:+49-61-28-8207
E-Mail: kuerschner@kuerschner-saiten.de
EST.1970. German string maker produces strings for violin, lute, viola da gamba, etc. Their address is printed on the string case. They produce metal wound over gut strings. Their strings seemed to be popular among lute players. I believe in most high quality products in the world!!
[catalog]
I have received a small booklet and a price list. They have listed
recommended string sets for various instruments on their booklet.
They will accept credit card payment.
How to order to Kuerschner
(1) Obtain a catalog and an order form.
You can contact them through their web site or via e-mail.
(2) Fill out an order form. If you want to pay by a credit card, fill
the credit card information. Just make what you want clear and you
don't have to worry about total amount. For some instruments, it may
be better to write a type of instrument, scale length, pitch to be
used, number of courses, etc.
(3) Send the order via FAX.
(4) A few days later, you will receive the strings. An invoice and a
receipt of credit card payment will be included.
NRI (Northern
Renaissance Instruments / England):
Northern Renaissance Instruments NRI Home Page
Northern Renaissance Instruments
6 Needham Avenue
Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Manchester M21 8AA
England
E-Mail:post@nrinstruments.demon.co.uk Phone/Fax: 0161-881-8134
>From outside of UK, Phone/Fax:+44-161-881-8134 (they use a shared
number for phone and FAX, so please be considerate on time
difference)
This traditional string maker for enthusiasts in England is renowned for their gut strings. They have products including catline, tigerline, copper wire wound over gut, and silver wound, which are high quality and very maniac. At a glance, their products seem to be deep and indeed they are in a close examination. They have set strings for various instruments and even string for different tension. Their products are sold by EMS, also. They have "string calculator" listed in the catalog for 1 pound. However, this is not a slide rule, but a chart copied onto a sheet of A4 paper with an instruction. Just in case you are wondering about it.
[catalog]
Telling a truth, their catalog is exactly the same as what you see in
their web site. So, their web site should do, unless you insist on
paper. They do not accept a credit card payment. I ordered a few
strings and felt theirs are a little expensive. However, they have
very appealing strings and I would say they are a very interesting
manufacturer.
LA BELLA
:
La Bella: http://www.labella.com
La Bella
E.&O.Mari Inc.
256 Broadway
Newburgh,
New York 12550
USA
Phone: (914) 562-4400
Fax: (914) 562-4491
>From outside of USA, Phone:+1-914-562-4400,Fax:+1-914-562-4491.
However, I have not FAXed them and these are unconfirmed.
This is another famous string maker, actually a brand name used by E&O; Mari Inc. They have a web based on-line shop with secured server. But their site is rather picky about web browser, due to Java version and handling of cookies. I could not access to their site from my computer environment. Theirs seems to use two separate windows to navigate through the site (why they made it so complicated!). Apart from the contents, I think this is a bad example of making a web site. Their site was produced by a company named Inet Technology. They produce not only nylon strings for classical guitars but also those for lute, viol, and hardy gurdy. They also produce strings with historical tension, called "ultra light gauge". They have sets of strings for lute and other instruments listed. They also produce gut string and aluminum wire wound strings, which I think is great, but I want them to update the web site, so that it becomes easier to access.
[catalog]
I received it soon after I ordered it via FAX. It's a nice book which
is far from an usual catalog. Their recommended set of strings for
various instruments is listed in it. They accept credit card payment.
J.D'Addario
& Company, Inc:
J.D'Addario & Company, Inc: http://www.daddario.com/
This American string maker produces wide variety of strings not only for classical, electric, and acoustic guitars, but also for banjo and mandolin. They also make strings for pedal steel, dulcimer, quarto, bouzouki, fiddle, etc. How could they produce this many! Their web site seems to deal mainly with electric instruments, but it also deal with wide variety of subjects on strings.
update in 2003: Their web site has been updated and now requires the Flash player to browse, unfortunately. It does not have their product listing, so you can go without it by requesting a catalog.
Requesting a cataloghttps://www.daddario.com/posters.html
J.D'Addario & Company, Inc.
PO Box 290 - Farmingdale,
NY 11735
USA
Tel: 516-439-3300
Fax: 516-439-3333
>From outside of US. Phone:+1-516-439-3300, Fax:
+1-516-439-3333
E-Mail: Webmaster@daddario.com orÄ@strings@daddario.com for
strings specific.
[catalog]
I received it about a week after having requested via FAX. They sent
me a catalog along with their sticker. Theirs seems to be more
fashionable than others. I had a trouble on finding an order form,
but it is on the back side of EVANS catalog. They accept credit card
payment.
ghs:
ghs: http://www.ghsstrings.com/
This is another US maker that produces various strings. At a glance, they produce strings mainly for electric and steel string guitars. But they also produce strings for banjo, mandolin, classical guitars, etc. As a matter of fact, they have variety of strings for ukulele. They have GHS tension computer page on their web site (mostly dealing with sets of strings they have).
GHS Corporation
2813 Wilber Ave
Battle Creek,
MI 49015
USA
Tel: 1-800-388-4447
Fax: 1-800-860-6913
from outside of US, Phone:+1-800-388-4447,Fax:+1-800-860-6913
E-Mail: webmaster@paradigm-consulting.com
EMS(The Early
Music Shop/England):
The Early Music Shop: http://www.e-m-s.com/
The Early Music Shop
38 Manningham Lane, Bradford,
West Yorkshire, BD1 3EA,
England
Telephone: 01274-393753
Fax: 01274-393516
from outside of England, Telephone: +44-1274-393753,Fax:
+44-1274-393516
E-Mail: sales@earlyms.demon.co.uk
This is a major supplier of early wind, string, and keyboard instruments. They locate in England and supply not only instruments but also accessories and strings. In strings, they carry those for guitars for sure, along with those for viols and lutes. They sell not only their own brand of strings, but also those of other string manufacturers.
[catalog]
You can request one through their web site or via FAX.
PIRASTRO(Germany):
Pirastro Strings: http://www.pirastro.com
GUSTAV PIRAZZI & COMP. KG
Senefelderstrasse 80
D-63069
Offenbach am Main
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 69 - 84 00 90 0 , Fax:+49 (0) 69 - 83 16 63
from outside of Germany, Phone: +49-69-84 00 90 0,Fax: +49-69-83 16
63
E-mail info@pirastro.com
This is a German string maker, who produces those for violin and viol. They carry gut strings and aluminum wire wound ones. Their products can be obtained through EMS. Their specialty seems to be strings for instruments in the violin family.
SAVAREZ(France):
Savarez USA: http://www.savarez.com (under construction)
Savarez Classical Guitar Strings.
Impecco Ltd. U.S. Distributor
P.O. Box 98
Park Ridge, New Jersey 07656-0098
USA
Telephone: 201-930-1917
Fax: 201-930-1822
from outside of US, Phone: +1-201-930-1917, Fax: +1-201-930-1822
Savarez France: http://www.Savarez.com/french_contactus.html
Savarez S.A.
51 Rue Deleuvre
B.P 4356, 69242 Lyon Cedex 4
France
Telephone: 011-33-472-106-262
Fax: 011-33-478-286-419
from outside of France, Telephone: +33-472-106-262, Fax:
+33-478-286-419, which has not been confirmed because I ordered a
catalog to Savarez USA.
This is a French string maker founded 1770 in Lyon. Their products are widely available. They produce treble strings which has a nylon core wounded over with plastic. They are known for ground treble strings among other unique products. You can obtain theirs through many music store. Most stores in Japan usually stock their strings.
[catalog]
I requested it via FAX a long time ago, but have not received any
reply, yet. Other manufacturers had responded to my request promptly.
I don't know why.
Albert
Augustine LTD
http://www.albertaugustine.com
This is Augustine infamous for their less accurate strings, however their web site seemed to be mainly a company information.
Luthier Music
Corp
They are located in New York. Other than strings, they carry guitars, sheet music, and CD.
Aquila Corde
Armoniche
Aquila Corde Armoniche:
Aquila Corde Armoniche di Peruffo Mimmo & C. S.a.s.
Via Aviano 10, 36030 Caldogno,
Vicenza -Italy
Phone: +39 0444 986972, Fax:+39 0444 989399
E-mail: aquila@aquilacorde.com
This is an Italian string maker.
US branch of Aquila: http://www.aquilausa.com
Aquila USA
P.O. Box 82761
Portland, Oregon 97282-0761
USA
E-mail: info@aquilausa.com
[catalog]
I requested a catalog to Aquila USA and their answer was "see our web
site.".
Daniel
Larson/Gamut Web Store:
Daniel Larson: http://www.daniellarson.com/
This site has a detailed description on historical instruments and how to make strings, especially gut strings. Pay attention that they also carry lute and mandolin. They distribute their strings through Gamut Web Store mentioned below.
Gamut Web Store Gamut Musical Strings: http://gamutstrings.com/
This looks like a string shop of Mr Daniel Larson. You can choose and order strings for violin, gamba, lute, or fret gut individually.
Gamut Web Store Gamut Musical Strings
26 N. 28th Ave E.
Duluth, MN 55812
USA
House of
Musical Traditions:
House of Musical Traditions: http://www.hmtrad.com/
This is a shop specialized on ethnic musical instruments and
related CD, video, and books.
House of Musical Traditions,
7040 Carroll Avenue
Takoma Park
MD 20912
USA
Kelischek
Workshop
Kelischek Workshop: http://www.susato.com
This is a workshop that produces and distributes various stringed
instruments. They also deal with wind instruments, music book, and CD
production.
They list stringed instruments in
http://www.susato.com/stringinstrum.htm, where
19th century guitar (copy of 1827 Grobel's), renaissance lute, oud,
harp, gamba, dulcimer, violin, and bows are listed among others. You
can choose a set or individual strings for various instruments in
http://www.susato.com/strings.htm.
Kelischek Workshop
199 Waldroup Road,
Brasstown,
North Carolina 28902
USA
Matthias
Wagner:
Matthias Wagner: http://www.lutes-strings.de
Matthias Wagner
Ruschstrasse 5
D - 79235 Vogtsburg - Oberrotweil,
GERMANY
This is a German maker of lute and guitar. They deal with strings manufactured by Savarez, Aquila, Kuerschner, Pyramid, and Pirastro.
SOFRACOB:
SOFRACOB: http://www.sofracob.com/
This is a French string (fabric) maker.
SOFRACOB S.A.
Zone Industrielle
38121 Reventin-Vaugris
France
Sierra View
Acoustic Music:
Sierra View Acoustic Music: http://wmpub.com/gourdbjo.html
This is a California shop specialized in gourd bodied banjos and gut strings. Price list of their strings and their instruction on "string calculation" can be found in http://wmpub.com/GBhtml/gut.html.
Sierra View Acoustic Music
1478 Rocking W Drive
Bishop,
California 93514
USA
Damian
Dlugolecki:
Mr. Damian Dlugolecki is a string maker in Oregon, USA. He is specialized mainly in gut strings for violin, gamba, double base, etc. They accept credit card payments. In his web site, the string gauge is expressed in their propriety number, which can be converted to mm or inch using Java script. A little tedious.
520 S.E. 40th Street
Troutdale, OR 97060
ph. (503) 669-7966
FAX: (503) 665-2738
damian@damianstrings.com
Kathedrale
Strings (Nicholas Baldock):
These are produced by Mr Baldock, who is a professional player and researcher. His string is used by Gary Southwell, among others.
webmaster@baldock.de
House of
Musical Traditions:
This is a shop in Takoma Park in USA. They are selling instruments, sheet music, and strings along with operating music classes. They are known to deal with wide variety of instruments, especially ethnic ones. They are not a string maker, but a distributer of strings made by La Bella and others.
7040 Carroll Ave.
Takoma Park, MD 20912
TEL: 301-270-9090
FAX: 301-270-3010 0
hmtmail@htmtrad.com
Just
Strings:
This is a shop specialized in strings in USA, as their name suggested. They sell strings for all kinds of musical instruments. If you acquire a rare instrument, you'd better look for the strings here. They are dealing with strings of many ethnic instruments, also. They are a distributer of strings, not a manufacturer.
522 Amherst Street
Nashua, NH 03063
USA
Phone: 603-889-2664
Fax: 603-889-7026
csrv@juststrings.com
HANA
BACH:
http://www.hannabach-strings.com/index_nav.htm
Only PDF file. 2005.01.01
Universale
musical strings :
http://www.liuteria-antica.com/Universale_strings/index.html
Italian gut string maker.
Malcolm Rose / Harpsichord Maker
ÄFãýëÆä·
http://www.malcolm-rose.com/Stringing-Practice/stringing-practice.htm
Toro
Strings
http://www.torostrings.it/english/prodotti2.html
Toro Strings
Eurostylgut snc
C.da Conicelle -
65020 Salle (PE) -
ITALIA
Tel.: +39085928325
Fax: 085928326 -
E-mail: info@torostrings.it
NEW!!
Coastaltrading
Agency of Toro Strings in Japan ;
Order form :
http://coastaltrading.biz/string/toro_4.html
NEW!!
Ferrer Musical
GATO NEGRO (Black Cat). Spanish Strings.
