gutstrings - pure sheep gut
Our sheep gut is untainted and pure; likewise, is the passion we create our strings with. Wild strings combine deep-rooted tradition with world-level craftsmanship. We did in-depth research in our „wild“ experimental laboratory, searched for the perfect raw materials, and created a sheep gut string, that is simply refreshing.
We have devoted a significant amount of time to the development our strings. It is a completely new – and at the same time a very old product. Below we provide you with information about our string making process. This will allow you to rediscover our historical sheep gut strings with joy.
From violin maker to string maker
In recent decades, only a few string makers have continued to practice the craft traditionally, maintening and keeping alive the old crafting methods...
The Instrument Maker
To live and love diversely
My work is my passion. I am fortunate to build violins, violas, cellos, treble- tenor- and bass viols, violones, and Pardessus de viole with dedication almost every day. I have also participated in various research projects and enjoyed creating prototypes for research. We also produce matching Renaissance, Baroque and Classical bows in my workshop. During the creative process we pay meticulous attention to historical instrument making practices.
The Master of String Making
Every apple stems from a tree
There is only one German Master String Maker left in the world. It was my luck and joy to learn the string making processes from Wolfgang Frank, who has been both my mentor and my teacher during this journey into to the past. Our intention was not to invent something new, but to rediscover, to understand, and to revitalize historical string-making.
The Old Masters
Every river flows from a source
Jane Achtman and Kai Köpp from the Musicological Research Department of University of the Arts Bern (HKB) dove into oral and written sources from the past as part of an Innoswiss research project. The knowledge of the Old Masters is the true source of „Wild“.
The Material
More than a sum of its parts
We use only high-quality raw gut from lambs for our strings. They are cleaned, split into ribbons, sorted, and twisted into a variety of strings only by hand. In this way a slaughterhouse waste product becomes a precious raw material, which we craft into a pure, natural product.