Thin: Dolce, Weich, Soft or Light

Thin-gauged strings are generally used by players who are more concerned with a clear beautiful sound when the instrument is played softly. Thin strings are not necessarily softer in volume, they just facilitate soft playing.  Adversely, they generally do not respond well when played very loudly.

Medium:  Mittle

Most players use a medium gauge string.  Medium-gauge strings are generally sufficient on most instruments for any kind of playing style.

Thick: Forte, Stark, Orchestra, or Strong

Thick gauged strings are preferred by players who use more weight in their bow strokes and who do a lot of playing where increased volume is needed.  Thick strings are not necessarily louder in volume, but they do facilitate loud playing.  They generally do not respond well when played softly.

Darkest/slowest response   —————————-> Brightest/quickest response

Gold     Silver     Aluminum     Chromium     Steel     Titanium     Tungsten

Gold

Since gold is the softest of the winding metals, it has the darkest sound.  It is occassionally used for some violin E-strings, and the winding is generally gold-plated rather than pure gold.

Silver

Silver is a much more common winding material than gold. Silver will usually create a richer, rounder sound than Aluminum or Chromium.  It has a slightly slower response time than Aluminum.

Aluminum

Aluminum is probably the most common winding material.  Aluminum gives a fairly bright sound without too much surface noise.

Chromium (aka. Chromesteel)

Chromium has a bright sound and a quick response.

Steel

Steel has a very bright tone.  It is more commonly us as a core material than winding material.

Titanium

Titanium is rarely used as a winding, though it projects well.

Tungsten

Tungsten is the brightest of all the windings.  It is commonly used on rope core strings for cello to give the lower strings more projection and clarity.