Jon, Another thing to bear in mind is that a string, when pressed against the fret, never makes a perfectly straight plane. I mean that when your finger presses the string down in back of the fret, it produces a slight arch, not a straight line. Michael Thames www.ThamesClassicalGuitars.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 12:56 AM Subject: Re: Built-in action?
> OK guys, > > I'm thoroughly confused. Someone said that the "action" is the height of the > string above the fret, others have other definitions. To me the action is a > subjective thing - the pressure needed on the string to make a clean sound. > That can vary on the same instrument with different players depending on > finger placement - close to the fret or in the middle. And on the distance > between the frets. (That may not be so clear on a lute, but on an > Appalachian dulcimer which is diatonic - so the low frets are very far > apart - it is clear. When one fingers a string one is making a small > triangle between the fret and the fret below, a bit of local string stretch > involved, and it is easier to fully depress at the midpoint between frets, > although not musically advisable). > > So my point is that action is a complicated interaction of string height, > string tension, and fret separation. And that is complicated by the large > "triangle" between the bridge and the nut, the middle of the string is > relatively "softer" than the nut or bridge ends - yet it has the greatest > range of vibration when played open, so has to have the greatest spacing > above the frets to avoid buzz (these latter have contradictory effects, so > the string should be higher above the fret at mid range - except that the > frets are closer spaced there, so they have a stiffer action due to the > "fret spacing effect".) > > Wow, what a lot of stuff to think of. Maybe we should have a multi-contured > neck? I don't think I'll try that. I'm over my head. This is a physics of > counter effects, and all must be considered. I think I'll let it stay > subjective and experimental. > > Best, Jon > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >
