I just took some gut about .90mm and sanded down a length long enough to be
the double side in back ( towards the nut).
In about 1 minute, I was able to sand off .10 mm. From .90mm down to
.80mm. The sanding changes the color of the gut so you can see where you've
thinned it down. I used 220 emery paper, or as we call it in the lute
world..... 220 grit shark's skin. It's nice because you don't damage the
gut in anyway. I mean as far as delaminating the string. or the twist etc.
I folded over the paper made a cradle with it, and sanded evenly the
whole diameter of the string.
Now, if only I can figure out how to tie a double fret!
Michael Thames
www.ThamesClassicalGuitars.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chad McAnally" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "lute" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 7:30 AM
Subject: Re: Built-in action? Double frets
> Hi Michael,
>
> I've used Spanish Cedar for harp backs. It is a lovely wood and smells
fantastic. Same effects on tone in harps as you mentioned with Hon. Mahogany
vs. Spanish Cedar in guitar necks.
>
> Likewise, In the past 30 years it was almost a standard to make early
harps, especially reproductions of Gaelic brass strung harps, entirely of
hard maple or sycamore. More recently upon further research on the Irish
antiques the wood of choice for the soundboard and box turned on to be
willow. Black willow is similar to Sp. Cedar in density and surprisingly
strong for it's weight, and its volume and clarity is much greater than
maple.
>
> The greater mass of the clavichord tangents made sense to me too; just
like a lute, clavichord bridges raise in height and width towards the bass
end. It's just one more bit of proof that the ancients knew what they were
doing and built these things to achieve the results they wanted.
>
> >> I also will inlay a piece of hardwood inside the neck not to reinforce
> it, but to kill the natural frequency in the neck, so it won't color the
> tone.<<
> Wow, I would have never guessed that, but this too makes perfect sense.
>
> It will interesting to see if I can get the same results you are seeing
and hearing with the double frets. Going to order more fretgut in the
morning!
> Chad
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Michael Thames<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: lute<mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> ; Chad
McAnally<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 11:17 PM
> Subject: Re: Built-in action? Double frets
>
>
> I just finished reading some Dalsa in Italian Tab. then tried to read
some
> French tab. Man, my mind stopped working for a moment. So I checked my
> Email.
>
> Chad,
> Interesting you picked up on this as well. 20 or so years ago, I
quit
> using Honduran Mahogany, for necks in exchange for a lighter wood called
> Spanish cedar ( cedro).
> H. Mahogany is the typical wood Hauser used, and the Spanish cedar
is
> typical for Spanish guitars.
> H. Mahogany is heavier, and gave the guitars more sustain,
especially in
> the bass, but less warmth and volume. S. Cedar gave the guitars more
> warmth, and openness in the treble, more volume, but less sustain, and
less
> clarity in the bass.
> I've always told guitarist's that the neck can make or break an
> instrument. Also, if you make a thin neck you get more warmth, ( up to
a
> point) and the opposite for a thicker neck.
> I also will inlay a piece of hardwood inside the neck not to
reinforce
> it, but to kill the natural frequency in the neck, so it won't color the
> tone.
>
> Chad as you mentioned adding heaver tangents, for the bass, this
makes
> perfect sense, as the bass needs damping which is mass. This same
principle
> can be seen on lute bridges. On the bass side of the bridge, it is
higher,
> and wider adding mass, but on the treble side it is lower, and more
narrow
> creating lightness, as well as stiffness.
>
> Anyway, in the next few days I'm making a neck for a baroque lute, and
> can't decide on going with linden (light ) or Spanish cedar ( a little
> heaver) for the core.
>
>
> Michael Thames
> www.ThamesClassicalGuitars.com<http://www.thamesclassicalguitars.com/>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chad McAnally"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>>
> To: "lute" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu<mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 8:06 PM
> Subject: Re: Built-in action? Double frets
>
>
> >
> > Michael Thames wrote: <<<If one really thinks about it, half the sound
> goes into the bridge, and half goes into the neck, via the frets. So to
not
> consider the effect the frets
> > contribute would be silly.>>>
> >
> > Now I know this is a lute list, not an early keyboard list, but I have
> come upon a direct parallel that may be of interest to lutenist and
luthiers
> alike. The same phenomenon mentioned above by Michael was recently has
been
> noted also on clavichords in an article by Martin Skowroneck in
"Clavichord
> Intenational" ( Vol 9 #1 May 2005)
> > ; Half the energy of the strings goes into the bridge and half into
the
> tangents, equivalent to the "frets" of a clavichord.
> >
> > It appear the some of the old builders realized this and made their
> tangents progressively heavier toward the bass end of the instrument, or
> tried to concentrate more the weight of the key levers closer to the
tangent
> end, both in an effort to make the key "reflect" more of the energy of
the
> string. Also critical to this was making the tangent more stable in the
key
> than the traditional hammering in of the tangent. Some makers used
addition
> small wooden wedges to tighten the tangent into the key to accomplish
this.
> >
> > So, I began to experiment with all this on an instrument I'm working
on.
> The result was not only a slightly louder clavichord but the tone was
> totally different. Very much like Michael's description of the impact
the
> double fretting has on Baroque lute tone, the sustain is increased, but
not
> so much as to muddy the instrument and the overall tone colour was
rounder,
> much closer to the antiques in good condition I've heard and played.
> >
> > So, I wonder if the stability of the frets via double fretting
transfers
> more energy to the neck resulting in a better tone or like the
clavichord
> tangent, the double frets help reflects the motion of the string better
into
> the air? A new puzzle for builders!
> >
> > Chad
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > To get on or off this list see list information at
> >
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html<http://www.cs.dartmou
th.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html>
> >
>
>
>
> --
>
