String Set
The complete set of strings fitted to a string instrument.
What it means
The string set of a stringed instrument is the complete set of strings stretched between bridge and pegs or tailpiece. The number, material, thickness, and tuning of the strings are characteristic of each instrument: a violin has four strings, a guitar usually six, and a concert harp considerably more.
Strings can be made of different materials, such as gut, steel, nylon, or metal-wound cores, which substantially shape an instrument's tone color, responsiveness, and volume.
Musical use
The string set largely determines an instrument's character: a gut string set, as used in historically informed performance, sounds warmer and softer than a modern steel string set, which is louder and richer in overtones. Even within one instrument family, string sets differ, for instance between classical and folk violins.
This should be distinguished from the bow used on bowed instruments, a separate tool for producing sound, and from an individual string, which is only one element of the complete set.
Performance practice
When a string instrument is fitted with a new set of strings, give the new strings time to stretch and settle in tuning before using them in performance. Make sure the string set matches your instrument's tonal ideal and your playing style, since different string types noticeably change response and tone color.