Makeshift strings

[Rune]

I have a lyre and i was wondering if there are makeshift strings i can string it with.
i know cattle gut is the old timey string, but what else can i use in a bind? heh..

 

[MetalBryan]

There's an artist in Sweden - Simon the Magpie. He has a youtube channel with a lot of weird stuff, but one thing he does is experiment with guitar strings. I'm assuming you're talking about replacing ACOUSTIC strings on a 6-string guitar, so not sure any of these videos will help you because they are all for electric guitar.

For example, here's a video where he replaced the strings of his bass guitar with...

magnetic audio tape -
shoelaces -
jump rope -
balloons -

You get the idea. I thought these might inspire you to think about unconventional materials in addition to historic materials.

 

[Rune]

ty!

i did also read that you can use fishing line for a professional sound.

 

[Tony G]

ty!

i did also read that you can use fishing line for a professional sound.

For acoustic yes but you have to use over 15 lb line for the low e

 

[MetalBryan]

Someone I knew that traveled with a ukulele used dental floss. I didn't mention it at first because they were replacing strings all the time, but maybe with a lyre your interaction with the strings is less aggressive. Please post what you come up with this is something I'm interested in hearing about.

 

[Tony G]

ty!

i did also read that you can use fishing line for a professional sound.

Someone I knew that traveled with a ukulele used dental floss. I didn't mention it at first because they were replacing strings all the time, but maybe with a lyre your interaction with the strings is less aggressive. Please post what you come up with this is something I'm interested in hearing about.

A uke is different the tension is vary low compared to a guitar or lyre

 

[Rune]

For acoustic yes but you have to use over 15 lb line for the low e

whattt?

 

[Tony G]

whattt?

On a guitar yes you need a thicker string for the low e for the lower tone

 

[Framese]

I think I've tried wax over yogurt on cotton or wool, then oil and maple syrup on wool. Nothing was particularly sturdy or sound conductive. It seems that a special kind of oil may dry on wool and conduct sound, then waxing it would saturate the base material with a stage by stage adhesive for the oil resulting in a smooth but fragile texture.

I feel like once a natural solution could be added to expansive plant fiber such as cotton, easily everybody would be using it. Everybody uses cotton for everything. Or maybe flax would work well; I've never touched it, but it seems to have a wiry texture. I could be wrong.

Alternately, maybe you could get long pieces of bamboo bark and twist it together like grass twine.