David I play a S&S theorbo like yours: 76/140cm, build for me in 1988. Current set-up is 6+8. First two strings re-entrant, tuned in a. 415/440 as required with the same set of strings. I've had all sorts of tensions over the years, but this is what it is at the moment: All-gut, obviously. 76cm 1 = a 0.62mm 2 = e 0.78mm 3 = b 0.58mm 4 = g 0.66mm 5 = d 0.88mm 6 = A 1.16mm 140mm 7 = G 0.74mm 8 = F 0.82mm 9 = E 0.86mm 10 = D 0.97mm 11 = C 1.09mm 12 = B1 1.14mm 13 = A1 1.28mm 14 = G1 1.44mm (Or the nearest available diameter, of course.) Strings 1 to 5 are plain gut by any maker. 6 is a bit of a bother, but I'm reasonably happy with Aquila's loaded gut at the moment. Strings 7 to 14 are Gamut Diapassons, the best I've played so far, but fret gut will do if in trouble (still better than nylgut ;-).
I used to play it with a much higher string tension, but have gone down over the years: less punch and more resonance, less metallic sound and more warmth. It would be nice to have the instrument in balance: top set in a tension that is comparable to the diapassons. If you like the tension of what you're having on the instrument now, just replace the top seven strings. The carbon you can measure. There are lists around (or ask this list) that translate carbon diameters to comparable gut diameters. If you ever decide to change to a different tension, you'll be able to reuse most of your diapassons by moving them up a place, and just buy the missing one string. No need to replace good diapasson, and some of these thick basses get better over time anyway. On a side-note. I've noticed string makers tend to advice rather high string tensions. Better ask a player. I'm sure the string makers know best at what tension their strings give optimum performance, but I think players tend to give a more informed, and more varied!, answer to the question of ideal string tension for actual playing. enjoy your new toy! David -- ******************************* David van Ooijen davidvanooi...@gmail.com www.davidvanooijen.nl ******************************* On 10 August 2011 19:22, David Smith <d...@dolcesfogato.com> wrote: > Greetings, > > I have a Barber and Harris Lesser French Theorbo with 14 strings (7x1 > and 7x1) with lengths of 760mm and 1400mm. The 7 diapasons are gut but > the other are carbon fiber and silver wrapped. I bought the instrument > used and would like to convert to all gut. > > > I have looked at Arto's string calculator and am stumped as to what I > should use for the tension on the strings. The I am not sure what the > current set of gut diapasons are either. > > > So a couple of questions: > > 1. Should I replace all the strings in order to get the correct > balance on the instrument? > > 2. What tension for the strings should I be looking for? > > 3. Is the best approach to just go to Aquila or Gamut and ask > them to figure it out? > > > I would appreciate any guidance I can get. I have read through some of > the other discussions but have not come to enough understanding to know > how to proceed. > > > Thank you in advance. > > > Regards > > David > > -- > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >
