Kora Strings

Kumbengo Koras is the first and only maker of strings especially developed for koras.

We use a special nylon monofilament (a single strand of fiber) which is particularly suitable for musical string applications. Our string material has greater hardness and a lower stretch rate than commonly used fishing line. Kumbengo Kora Strings produce a loud and clear tone and stay in tune easier than any other string out there. The easiest and cheapest way to improve the sound of your kora is to switch to Kumbengo Kora Strings.

We also manufacture our own custom wound bass strings for koras, especially calculated, with 4 different gauges of nylon cores and winding material to produce the ultimate string for low registers.

Kumbengo Kora Strings are sold in 5 sets of varying gauges, from Extra-Light to Heavy, for traditionally set up 21-string instruments. . The sets are carefully calibrated, combining monofilament and wound strings.

For players not clear on which set to choose or wishing to experiment we offer a Universal Set which contains a 10ft/3m coil of every monofilament gauge plus all 4 gauges of wound bass strings.

And you can individually purchase any of the 11 different gauges of monofilament in 10ft/3m coils, or any single one of the 4 gauges of wound bass strings.

Extra Light Gauge Set: 45US$/42€

(11 assorted gauges of monofilament nylon harp string)

Light Gauge Set: 52US$/49€

(10 assorted gauges of monofilament nylon harp string,  plus 1 wound bass string)

Medium/Light Gauge Set: 57US$/53€

(11 assorted gauges of monofilament nylon harp string,  plus 1 wound bass string)

Medium/Heavy Gauge Set: 70US$/65€

(10 assorted gauges  of monofilament nylon harp string,  plus 2 wound bass strings)

Heavy Gauge Set: 80US$/74€

(9 assorted gauges  of monofilament nylon harp strings, plus 3 wound bass strings)

Universal Set: 85US$/78€

(11 assorted gauges  of monofilament nylon harp strings in 10ft/3m coils, I through XI,  plus 3 wound bass strings, XII, XII and XV)

Individual Monofilament Nylon Strings, light: 4.5oUS$/4.20€ each

(gauges I through VII, 10ft/3m coils)

Individual Monofilament Nylon Strings, heavy: 6.00US$/5.60€ each

(gauges VIII through XI, 10ft/3m coils)

Wound Bass Strings: 15US$/14€ each

(total length 58in/147cm, wound length 38in/96cm, nylon core/nylon wound, gauges XII, XIII and XV)

Light Monofilament: .020 through .040 (0.5mm through 1mm)

Heavy Monofilament: .045 through .060 (1.14mm through 1.5mm)

Custom Wound Bass Strings: .071 through .100 (1.8mm through 2.54mm)

Ordering: please contact Kumbengo Koras via email (info@kumbengokoras.com) to place your order. We will confirm, typically within 24 hours,  and send an online payment request. Shipping within the US is 6$. We are not able to ship to international destinations.

Please note: We can not assist with inquiries regarding the suitability of our strings with instruments that did not originate in our shop, we simply do not have that information. If uncertain and if the information can not be obtained from the original builder or seller, you may want to choose the ‘extra light’ or ‘light’ gauge set to start with, or you can also the ‘universal’ set and experiment with all of the available gauges.