Thanks for this word, Nancy. Do you know if he is making strings of twisted brass?
Eugene > -----Original Message----- > From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On > Behalf Of Nancy Carlin > Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 12:52 PM > To: Eugene C. Braig IV; 'Lucas Harris'; lute@cs.dartmouth.edu > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Chitarra battente stringing > > Andrew Hartig, who edited the recent LSA Quarterly on wire-strung > instruments, in now making wire strings for things like citterns, > bandoras, orpharions and English guittars. I like his string better > than what I used to get from NRI and they are considerably cheaper in > you live in North America. > Nancy > At 08:50 AM 12/20/2010, Eugene C. Braig IV wrote: > > I do have experience with using brass wire on early Neapolitan > mandolins. I > hope somebody with direct experience with chitarra battente also > weighs in. > Given the similarities in construction between early chitarra > battente and > early Neapolitan mandolins, I suspect the stringing was probably > also > similar. Some of the mandolin methods published in Paris in the > 1760s do > prescribe stringing formulae. > At a scale length around 310-315 mm, I use brass around 0.28-0.30 mm > as a'. > Using Arto's String Calculator, this estimates tension equivalent > (in kg) > around 3.6-4.1 kg depending upon pitch standard, etc. Plain brass > is simply > rather fragile, and I plan to replace my a' strings with frequency. > I > simply buy substantial coils of the preferred gauge from a local > harpsichord > maker to make mandolin strings (which involves nothing more than > cutting to > appropriate length and twisting a loop into one end to fix over the > hitch > pin). > My d' strings are two similar brass wires twisted together. Dan > Larson's > Gamut Strings in the US used to sell twisted-brass strings for early > mandolins as did NRI in the UK. Unlike plain brass, the twisted > brass is > quite durable, so I haven't replaced mine for a long while. I don't > know if > either entity is still selling it. > The low octave on the g course is silver-wound silk, which is a > little > "thumpy" in tone compared to wire, so it is paired with a g' in > plain brass. > I use gut (or gut-like synthetic; quill can fray fine gut rather > quickly) > around 0.50 mm on my high e'' course. I would imagine very similar > on the > e' of early chitarra battente at around twice the scale length. > Luck, > Eugene > > -----Original Message----- > > From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [[1] > mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On > > Behalf Of Lucas Harris > > Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 10:19 PM > > To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu > > Subject: [LUTE] Chitarra battente stringing > > > > Hello, friends! > > > > > > I have a question for anybody out there that might have more > experience > > with metal strings than I do. > > > > > > I'm struggling to set up a new chitarra battente, which arrived > (as is > > the tradition) with the same thin steel string gauge across all > 5 > > courses. So, the first course (e) is super tense, and the > third course > > (g) is slack like spaghetti, and everything else is somewhere > in > > between. The problem is that the spaghetti courses go super > sharp when > > fretted, so it's really hard to tune any chords (i.e., even E > major has > > the G# on the first fret which is already screaming high). > > > > > > I put some brass strings (from my bandora case) on the G and A, > and it > > really helped the tuning and got the instrument through its > first > > concert. However, all of the brass strings have broken, one by > one. > > I'm really not sure why - the tension was not so high, and > although the > > coils are pretty old I wouldn't have guessed age to make much > > difference in a metal string. > > > > > > Anyway, I'm wondering if anybody has experience trying to > string a > > battente in a way that is more equal-tension-ish (like a lute > or > > Baroque guitar) perhaps with harpsichord strings, and if so if > they > > would share their stringing chart with me. Any prompt help > would be > > appreciated (the instrument needs to be playable by Sunday - in > a pinch > > I will just put the spaghetti strings back on). > > > > > > Many thanks!!!! > > > > > > Best, > > > > > > Lucas Harris > > > > -- > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > > [2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > Nancy Carlin Associates > P.O. Box 6499 > Concord, CA 94524 USA > phone 925/686-5800 fax 925/680-2582 > web sites - [3]www.nancycarlinassociates.com > [4]www.groundsanddivisions.info > Representing: > FROM WALES - Crasdant & Carreg Lafar, FROM ENGLAND - Jez Lowe & Jez > Lowe & The Bad Pennies, and now representing EARLY MUSIC - The Venere > Lute Quartet, The Good Pennyworths & Morrongiello & Young > Administrator THE LUTE SOCIETY OF AMERICA > web site - [5]http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org > -- > > References > > 1. mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu > 2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > 3. http://www.nancycarlinassociates.com/ > 4. http://www.groundsanddivisions.info/ > 5. http://lutesocietyofamerica.org/
