Spider Silk Spun Into Violin Strings

Interesting, it's been a long time, but when I played it was all gut, except the E string which was steel. I figured that other than for students, that would likely always be the case due to the intrinsic classical nature of classically played violin. Combined with the effect of a well made / good instrument only getting better with age...when properly cared for...but I googled a bit, and it does indicate the steel and synthetic are much more common these days.

I'm no expert, but my second violin had steel strings, and it was similar, though not nearly as dramatic, as a honkey-tonk piano compared the timber of a grand piano a'la comparing steel to to the gut strings. Both pleasing if for completely different reasons and experiences.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/BpZXAO2PMrI/spider-silk-spun-into-violin-strings

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