Description

64C is the historical guitar string set from Aquila Corde Armoniche's Gut & Silk 900 series, designed for guitars used between approximately 1870 and 1946. The set consists of gut trebles and true silk basses, perfectly recreating the typical stringing of the 19th century.

Overview of the Gut & Silk 900 series for historical guitar by Aquila Corde Armoniche

Until the mid-20th century, guitar strings consisted exclusively of gut for the trebles and silk-core wound strings for the basses. The acoustic performance of such a stringing was quite different from that of modern sets. It was characterized by a marked tonal presence and brightness typical of the higher-pitched gut strings (certainly superior to nylon and, in some ways, in the chanter, more similar to PVDF or Carbon), while the basses, conversely, were exquisitely vocal in nature, in other words, less bright and persistent in sound than current nylon-wound basses, and more centered on the fundamental. This set (made in a single tension grade) accurately reproduces a historical stringing, typical of Llobet and Tárrega's time, using varnished gut for the trebles and silver-plated copper wound on silk basses as indicated by Pujol in the Escuela Razonada de la Guitarra of 1934. The gut used for the trebles is stiff and very smooth, an exact copy of a guitar treble string from Andres Segovia that we studied. The strings are varnished (before 1950, only oiling was done): this is a modern solution that allows for greater string durability, greater intonation stability while having a smooth surface similar to modern plastic strings. The guitar's nut must be properly prepared and adapted, with grooves only slightly incised and without overly sharp bending points. The basses in this set are made of true silk which, being a natural substance produced by an insect, cannot be constantly regulated in its dimensions. Consequently, the bass strings at the 12th fret may be flat or sharp by a certain amount. The accepted limit is 8 cents more or less. Beyond this value, the string is considered non-compliant and replaced. Please note that the degree of compensation introduced by the inclination of the saddle bone, calibrated for modern nylon-core strings, may not apply to natural silk-core strings.

Specifications of the 64C Gut & Silk 900 for historical guitar by Aquila Corde Armoniche

Diameters: E 1.17 - A 0.94 - D 0.83 - G 1.00 - B 0.82 - E 0.66