This page explains the standards we hold ourselves to when researching, writing, and publishing content on Guntings String Guide.
Accuracy and sourcing
Every instrument profile and guide article is built from recognized academic, institutional, and museum references, which are listed at the bottom of each page. Where a fact varies by source, region, or tradition — a tuning, a date, an origin story — we use hedged language such as "commonly," "often," or "many sources describe" rather than presenting one version as the only truth.
Cultural respect
Many of the instruments covered in this library belong to specific living cultural and musical traditions. We aim to describe each one accurately and respectfully, on its own terms, and we avoid language that reduces a tradition to a curiosity or an exotic footnote. Where an instrument's history includes difficult or complicated chapters, such as the banjo's roots in West African instrument traditions and its later history in American minstrelsy, we address that history directly rather than omitting it.
No manufactured endorsements
We do not publish reviews, ratings, testimonials, or endorsements of specific brands, retailers, or products, and we do not invent quotes, musicians, or teachers to support a point. Guidance about choosing an instrument is framed as factors to weigh, not as a single "best" recommendation.
Independence
Guntings String Guide is independently operated and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or representing any instrument manufacturer, music retailer, teaching platform, or streaming service.
Corrections
When we learn that something in our content is inaccurate or out of date, we correct it and note the update. See our Corrections page for details on how this works and how to flag something to us.