No, it isn't a new problem. This is what Mattheson writes (1727) answering Baron in his book Ephorus, naming disadvantages of the lute: "Because of the many strings, and special strings (gut-strings) which depend more on stable temperature and humidity than other instruments (to stay in tune)." We don't know how gut strings of the past differed from modern ones, but just one thing shouldn't be disregarded - gut absorbs humidity from the air, synthetics do not. Why synthetics go out of tune? Because of the temperature differences and bigger elasticity. >From my experience I can only say that after changing a Nylgut string it takes >quite a lot of time before it can be used for a concert, however then it stays >in tune better than gut. But obviously it is possible to play a concert on gut >strings providing that it is not in a very humid place (or one with changing >air conditions). I wouldn't mix gut with synthetics though, as each material goes different way. So my advice is use either synthetics or gut depending on your wallet's size :)
Best regards Jaroslaw Wiadomość napisana przez Mark Probert w dniu 6 paź 2012, o godz. 04:17: > > > Then, isn't there the old adage of lute players spending half their > time tuning and the other half playing out of tune? This is not a new > problem, though I do believe that synthetics help. > > Kind regards > > -- > mark. > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >
