SØRLI Lautenwerke and Harpsichords

Lautenwerk, Lute and Guitar Strings For Sale

I am now the exclusive retailer of the Zaya-Ruzo Co. Universal Copper-Wound Nylon Strings. These high quality strings are made of nylon cord that is wound with silver plated copper wire. Now you can choose from a variety of sizes for your lautenwerck, lute, guitar, chitarrone, theorbo, cittern, vihuela, vielle, rebec, harp, ukulele, hurdy-gurdy, or any other instrument that uses this kind of string. They are sold in continuous length coils of five meters. No other company in the world offers such long lengths of copper-wound string. Bulk spools of longer lengths may be custom ordered. You will find the pricing of these strings to be quite reasonable compared to the European alternatives. A classical guitarist client describes the sound of Zaya-Ruzo strings as a cross of Savarez and D'Addario J45s.

These strings are made using "endless string technology" which provides absolute consistent parameters of the wound string during any moment of the fabrication process. The result is a consistent diameter and cord tension with no oval. Tension is maintained on the cord during the winding process which is about 90% of the breaking point of the string. This will guarantee a minimum amount of string relaxation after installing on the instrument. The strings are made in the USA with materials from prominent US corporations.

Classical Guitar Pricing

5 Meter coils of Normal Tension #4, #5 and #6 - $30.00 (3 coils)

5 Meter coils of High Tension #4, #5, and #6 - $30.00 (3 coils)

5 Meter coils of Normal Tension #1, #2 and #3 Nylon - $5.00 (3 coils)

5 Meter coils of High Tension #1, #2 and #3 Nylon - $5.00 (3 coils)

5 Meter coils of Normal Tension #1, #2 and #3 Fluorocarbon - $28.00 (3 coils)

5 Meter set of Normal Tension with Nylon Trebles - $32.00

5 Meter set of High Tension with Nylon Trebles - $32.00

5 Meter set of Normal Tension with Fluorocarbon Trebles - $55.00

Massachusetts sales add 6.25% sales tax.

Prices include packing and shipping to USA, Canada and Mexico. Overseas add $10.00 per order.

To determine the size string that you need for other instruments, download and print out the Graphic Universal String Calculator PDF document (929 KB). Cut out the musical note bar along the two dotted lines. Cut out the half circle tabs below the graph and slide the note bar under these tabs. Slide the bar so that the black arrow points to the sounding length of the string you want to replace. Now find the note along the bar and follow it up to the string that will give you the tension needed. The strings are identified with numbers S-6-1 up to S-12-7. Middle C is c' at 261.6 hertz which is modern pitch. If you need notes lower than C 65.4 hertz you can extend the note bar in the bass or mark a new black arrow 118mm to the right of the existing arrow and now the notes are transposed down an octave. You can also extend the length of string at the right. Try to estimate the correct spacing. All sizes are available in five meter coils with no fancy packaging.

The price for S-6-1, S-6-2 and S-6-3 is $15.00 for 5 meters or $55.00 for 22.5 meter spool (25 yards). All other sizes and all guitar sizes are $10.00 for 5 meters or $36.00 for 22.5 meter spool (25 yards). Massachusetts sales add 6.25% sales tax. Prices include packing and shipping to USA, Canada and Mexico. For overseas add $10.00 per order.

Payment Options

To pay with Paypal use my email above as my Paypal address and include the sizes and quantities you want with your payment. Or send me an email with your order details including your Paypal email and I will send you a Paypal request for payment. I can also email you a Google Checkout Invoice. Or mail a personal check payable to Steven Sorli.

Five meter coils of the fluorocarbon strings are also available. Fluorocarbon (polyvinylidene fluoride) has a higher density compared to nylon. When replacing a nylon string with a carbon string use a smaller diameter. The bending stiffness is less and the string vibrates more easily. This emphasizes the upper harmonics and results in a more brilliant timbre. I will label these strings similar to the other suppliers with a number and KF. A 40KF string is a fluorocarbon (sometimes called carbon fiber) with a diameter of .40 mm.

You can use this online calculator: Arto's String Calculator to choose the correct strings. Classical guitars use KF62, KF66 and KF81.

The sizes available are KF33 $4.50, KF40 $4.50, KF44 $5.00, KF52 $6.00, KF62 $7.75, KF66 $9.00, KF74 $10.50 and KF81 $12.50.

Fluorocarbon treble strings are prone to slip at the tie block as can nylon. Before installing treble strings on classical guitars, hold the string tip above a match flame. The melted string tip balls up and prevents the string from slipping at the tie block.

If a copper-wound string sounds too bright, you can easily tone it down with a product designed for protecting cork sandals. The product is "Cork Life" by Birkenstock. Take a small artist brush and apply a thin film on just one or two inches of the sounding length of the string near one end. Let dry 20 minutes before judging the results.

Hitch Pin Knot

To make this knot, fold back the end of the string about two inches and squeeze the bend tightly with your fingers. Now form a 1/4" round loop of doubled string and position the bent end at the center of the loop. Use a jewelers screwdriver to catch the bent end and pull it through the loop. Pull string tight while holding the bent end with the screwdriver as a dummy hitch pin. The knot does not need to be close to hitch pin position.

Lautenwerk Conversion Kits

I receive many inquiries about converting metal strung harpsichords into lautenwerke. It is possible to convert some harpsichords and many horrible sounding instruments can be transformed into beautiful lautenwerke. To determine if your harpsichord is a good candidate, you must look at the following details: 1.) If you have a 4' stop, you need at least 3/8" of clearance from the 8' strings to the top of the 4' bridge pins, especially in the bass. If not, the lute strings will slap and buzz against the 4' bridge. 2.) The close pairs of a 2 x 8' must not be less than 3 mm apart. You can move one of the pairs to a slightly lower level to gain more space as the strings will pass right through the bridge in tiny holes. 3.) Tuning pins with holes are much easier to string. 4.) Instruments with very short bass strings (including spinets and virginals) will be the most successful as lautenwerke.

I am now offering kits to make this conversion. The price is $250. for the first choir and add $100. for each additional choir. You will receive a stringing list for your instrument, all the strings needed and useful tools and instructions. I will need the lengths of all C's and G's, the length of the lowest note, the range of the keyboard and the pitch it will be tuned at.