Advice on vihuela strings

[Harry Jess]

I have LaBella vihuela strings on my 56cm string length instrument, tuned i A. But I have alsways felt that the strings on the 6th course were dull and lifeless. Well, I thought there was nothing to do about it, and that this was natural for such a small instrument. But today I replaced them with Pyramid strings meant for the 5th course of an 8-course lute, and this made a huge difference, the sound became crisp and full of life. Therefore I am interested in good advice regarding vihuela strings from other members of this forum.

[Steven Sorli]

I don't think it would.  The cork life should be applied very close to bridge.  I use about the same amount on a string that is 6" long as I use on one that is 40".  We are only talking very subtle changes in the sound.  The fluorocarbon is pretty close to gut without being altered.

[Steven Sorli]

I have obtained some of the new nylgut and put one on my lautenwerk right next to a real gut string.  The nylgut had the same brightness as gut but had no bloom.  It was flat, level and a bit airy compared to gut.  I am convinced now that my solution to a gut substitute is far superior as the fluorocarbon has the same bloom as real gut. Nylgut is excessively over-priced and lacks bloom.

[Steven Sorli]

And now after being up to tension for 2 weeks, the nylgut has developed more brightness so that it is brighter than real gut.  Still no bloom to speak of.