Hi Everyone, I gotta say I am really impressed with this group. I just signed up & posted a message and in no time I have a wealth of information and different things to consider. Thank you all so much! -plh
At Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:36:36 -0700 (DST), you wrote >Hello > > I must differ on some points: >In my experience, nylon frets are more difficult to tie and tend not to lie >flat if not tied tight enough - but (and this is huge!IMHP) they never ever >ever loosen. I just rebought for use as a loaner a lute that I had sold over >ten years ago the nylon frets were old when I sold it. They're still on the >instrument and still tight. I had a Donald Warnock lute made in 1967 with >nylon frets. The original frets are still tight. NEVER EVER LOOSEN. > >If you run the fret past a piece of sand paper a couple of times, nylon >becomes quite textured and holds quite well. > >There are people who will tell you that gut frets sound better than nylon. >These people have better ears than I. > >Most of my instruments have gut frets, but if I must retie one, the >replacement will be nylon for two reasons: 1) expense - it's far cheaper >than gut. And 2) I won't ever have to tie that fret again. > >Best, > >Joseph Mayes > > >On 4/28/08 2:46 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Dear All: >> One of my lutes had a flat fingerboard with edging that came to a rather >> sharp point, and I had trouble getting frets to lie flat, especially those >>made with larger-diameter gut. They did indeed exhibit some "daylight" at the >> edges. I had a luthier bevel the edges slightly, and now the frets all lie >> flat. >>I don't think nylon works nearly as well as gut for frets, for a veriety of >> reasons: >> 1) It stretches less once in place, and so stays tight longer; >> 2) It is a little "tacky" and stays in place better than the relatively >> slippery nylon; >> 3) It bends more readily than nylon, allowing it to lie flat more easily. >> Depending on the action of your lute, it also may help to graduate the >> diameters slightly, starting perhaps with 1 mm gut at the first fret and >> working down to 0.80 or 0.75 mm at the seventh fret. But if the action is a >> little high, you can use the same diameter throughout. >> Cheers and good luck, >> Jim >> >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Date: 2008/04/28 Mon AM 11:51:02 CDT >> To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu >> Subject: [LUTE] Tying on frets >> >> Hello Lutenists, >>I need some help. Not with the fret knot itself or the like, but please bear >> with me: >>I stripped the fixed metal fret fingerboard from my lute & replaced it with a >>fretless fingerboard. I am not a luthier, just very careful. I did not bevel >> or fillet the edges of the fingerboard, at least not yet. I notice that the >>stress resulting from the nylon fret trying to make the sharp bend is lifting >> it up near the edge. That is, near the edge of the fingerboard there is a >> small gap or "daylight" under the fret. It is actually not all that small, >> big >> enough so that I can see that it will be a problem. >>I know this is not a lute building list but you can help me get playing again >>by looking at your lutes (assuming you are using tie on frets) and telling me >> if the edges are beveled or filleted, and if so, how much. And here is >> another >> question: if you lay a straight edge on your fingerboard, is it straight or >> crowned? I was careful to get mine really flat but now I wonder. >>Another related question I have is, nylon or gut for frets? I only have nylon >> right now. Is this stress effect peculiar to nylon? I would not think so >> since >> I notice that wrapped strings lift near the edge as well. >> Thank You All Very Much, >> -plh >> >> >> >> To get on or off this list see list information at >> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> >> > >
