Natural Silk Strings & SILKMAG Strings
100% Natural Silk Strings
ZAYA-RUZO SILK STRINGS ​ are 50% stronger than gut strings, less stretchable, and have a louder and brighter sound. These also are weatherproof and moisture resistant, which is important for outdoor performances.
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Natural silk strings may be perfect for a lot of early musical instruments, such as lute, baroque guitar, cittern, rebec, fidel, hurdy-gurdy, and many other plucked and bowed instruments.
The sizes are in a wide range from 0.5 mm up to 2+ mm diameter. Full chart of sizes you can find below.
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There are several types of natural silk strings you can order:
* Unwounded natural silk strings
*Wounded natural silk strings
*Unwounded SILKMAG strings
*Wounded SILKMAG strings.
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Unwounded natural silk strings are made by old-time receipts using 100% natural silk filaments, which are twisted by 1.5-2.5 rounds per 1 cm of their lengths with stretchable natural glue, and covered with flexible natural resin.
Unwounded SILKMAG strings are made by the same way, but additionally these are embedded by magnetic nano powder that allows using an electromagnetic pick-ups.
All these strings are available wounded by copper silver plated wire 0.3 or 0.4 mm dia. Wounded SILKMAG strings do work with electromagnetic pick-ups.
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The Chart of available sizes and prices of Natural Silk and SILKMAG Strings
​ String # DIA (mm) Unwounded (price) String # DIA (mm) Wounded (price)
Natural Silk SILKMAG Natural Silk SILKMAG
#2 0.5 $8 $16 #32 1.3* $16 $24
#3 0.6 $8 $16 #34 1.4* $16 $24
#4 0.7 $9 $18 #36 1.5* $16 $24
#6 0.8 $9 $18 #38 1.6** $18 $26
#8 0.9 $10 $20 #40 1.7** $18 $26
#10 1.0 $10 $20 #42 1.8** $20 $28
#12 1.2 $10 $22 #44 2.0** $20 $28
#16 1.4 $12 $24
#20 1.6 n/a $30
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* - Wire dia. 0.3 mm
** - Wire dia. 0.4 mm
( All strings are 860 mm long)
Choosing Natural Silk Strings for the Hurdy-Gurdy
1. People often ask online which strings are best for a hurdy-gurdy. The diameter of a string depends on three main factors:
• the scale length (the vibrating part of the string, from nut to bridge),
• the working tension,
• the desired pitch.
2. The scale length of melodic strings typically ranges from 320–380 mm.
Drone strings usually have a scale length 60–80 mm longer.
3. The working tension depends on the construction of the instrument, its structural strength, and its acoustic responsiveness. Tension is also limited by the breaking strength of the material. For silk strings this limitation is less critical than for gut, since natural silk is about 50% stronger in tensile strength.
On average, melodic strings operate at around 6 kg of tension, while drone strings may be slightly lower.
4. Below are recommended diameters for natural silk melodic strings (and some drones), depending on scale length and pitch:
320 340 360 380 400 mm
G4 0.9-1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8
D4 1.3 1.2-1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1
C4 1.4 1.3 1.2-1.3
5. These recommendations apply to 100% natural silk plain strings (without metal winding). Recommended gauges for wound silk‑core strings will be provided later.
6. The suggested diameters are approximate.
• If the instrument is very light or structurally weakened (for example, an antique), you may choose strings 0.1 mm thinner, which reduces tension by about 0.5 kg (or 1 kg for C4).
• If the sound feels too weak or lacks brightness, you can increase the diameter by the same 0.1 mm, which will raise the tension accordingly.
Electromagnetic Pick-Ups TONEMAG
ToneMag is a magnetic pickup for acoustic instruments, built for a clean, lively, and natural tone.
At its heart is a neodymium magnet, delivering high sensitivity and a wide dynamic range without coloration or compression.
No preamp. No batteries. No special tools.
ToneMag plugs in directly and performs at full strength from the first moment.
The universal mounting system includes several angled bases, allowing installation on instruments of different shapes. Mounting takes only minutes and requires no modification to the instrument.
ToneMag is the honest voice of your instrument — amplified without loss.
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Price: $35/ea
