If you cannot decide which string type is for you here is some information from the St. Louis Strings Violin Shop to help you out.

Gut

This is the oldest type of string manufactured. The core is made of sheep gut. Modern gut strings are usually wrapped with aluminum or silver. As an organic material,, gut is readily affected by changes in temperature and humidity, causing the strings to shrink or swell, which affects pitch. Over time the wrappings may loosen.

Gut strings have these advantages: exceptional flexibility and feel; a warm, brilliant tone without harshness; and a subtle, sensitive response.

Steel Core

These strings have a solid steel core with a wrapping of stainless steel, chrome-steel, nickel silver, or aluminum. They create a loud, bright sound and have a minimal break in period. These strings can be difficult to tune on smaller violins.

Steel core strings have these advantages: economical; more durable than gut or synthetic core strings; little affected by changes in temperature and humidity; and have a bright, loud response with minimal effort.

Rope or Spiral Core

These strings have a core made up of strands of fine wire twisted into a cable. The wire is then overlaid with a wrapping of chromesteel, aluminum, nickel-silver, silver, or tungsten. Rope core strings have the flexibility of gut, with the durability and volume of steel core strings.

Rope core strings have these advantages; greater durability than gut strings; little affected by changes in temperature and humidity; and a better response and range than steel core strings.

Synthetic Core

Synthetic core strings typically are made with a nylon core. They are then wrapped with aluminum, silver plate, nickel silver, or silver. These strings have the virtues of gut core strings in terms of subtly and warmth, without the sensitivity to humidity and temerpature.

Synthetic core strings have these advantages; more durabler than gut; little affected by changes in temperature and humidity; and a response and sound more similar to gut strings than either rope core or steel core.

Back to Galaxy Strings or Back to Music Benefits and Brain Research Index