I think they only appear as 'equally' unstable because they would all
need to be tuned up but ... to the rather unequal degree. Being more or
less under equal tension, thinner strings would not only stretch more
but with each decrement of falling tension (as they get thinner) there
would be a wider drop in the "frequency per cent" rate as compared with
thicker strings across the instrument's range (i.e. as an example: g' -
g'# = 23.3 Hz, g - g# = 11.65 Hz, G - G# = 5.83 Hz etc). As a result
thicker strings would need less of re-tuning (peg-turning) to get them
back in pitch again. Does it make sense or did I get it wrong?
Alexander
Herbert Ward wrote:
One might expect that, during the period when new
strings are stretching, the thinner strings, having
less material* than the thicker strings, but
the same tension to support, would stretch faster.
However, this expectation is not born out by my experience.
In dealing with new strings, my perception has been that
all the strings are about equal in terms of tuning
instability.
* ie, a smaller cross-sectional area
To get on or off this list see list information at
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
