Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 178
Scan 178
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
10 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 152. See the scan on archive.org.
1the larger factories this operation is carried out in these days by means of an ingenious machine which, run by steam, makes the string turn fourteen or fifteen times in the course of a single minute.
3AMERICAN PROCESS
5Violin strings are frequently referred to as "catgut," and to this day the general public, not familiar with the process, believes that they are made from the intestines of cats. The origin of the term "catgut" has never been definitely ascertained. The Encyclopedia Britannica gives a reasonable explanation, stating that the Italian term for violin is "kit." At first steel strings were used on the kit, hence the term "kit steel." Later when gut strings were used the term "kit gut" became common. This in time developed into "catgut." Another explanation of the terms states that when gut strings were first manufactured in Europe the best strings came from Catagniny, Germany, and they were so much superior to strings from other parts that violinists demanded Catagniny gut or "catgut."
7Catgut is not made from any part of the cat, and the feline family has no connection whatever with gut strings. They are made from the small part of the sheep intestine. The best violin strings are made from the fresh intestines, which are, like all animal products, very perishable. The largest makers of musical strings are usually found near the slaughterhouses. These intestines cannot be shipped any distance without being salted or dried. Sheep intestines are usually about 60 feet long and most of it is used as sausage casings and only the narrow ends which average about 8 yards, are sufficiently tender to enter into the manufacture of violin strings. This part is not much larger in diameter than a pencil, and is sometimes used as the casings of small breakfast sausages. This narrow sheep intestine must be thoroughly cleaned and scraped (Plate 41), most of which is done by hand, although machinery takes care of a few operations. Usually the intestines are split in half and great care must be exercised in handling these small pieces, as they are very tender and break easily. Every bit of fat and grease must be removed so that only the firm texture of the intestine is made into strings. Strings made from intestines that are not cleaned thoroughly deteriorate rapidly, as the fats that are not removed decay. Some string makers do not split the intestines, but specialize on what they call "whole gut" strings.
9After the intestines are thoroughly cleaned, the best lengths of uniform size are set aside to be used in making the finest strings. They are cut to uniform lengths, and while still moist are bunched together to be spun. The number of strands in these strings depend upon what is wanted; for instance, in making good violin E strings, at least six or seven ply is used, violin A strings require eight to ten ply, D strings eleven to thirteen, cello strings eighteen to thirty and some double-bass strings have as many as fifty strands. These figures are for split intestines, that is, there are fifty half or twenty-five
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