It depends on the player, the technique and the size of the hands, the width of the fingers, etc., but in the critical spacing of the first three courses I would not go below 5mm center to enter between pairs and below 11.5 between the chanterelle and the next string over, if the top string is single. There is a cross point at the plucking point that is the real figure, that is, the width where the string plucked. As for the other courses, it also depends on the string material. For an early style lute, you can also use a "close parallel" spacing, but unless the maker knows how to do it, I would not try it. The reach of the hand is important in an eight course instrument, but that depends on the hand. So at eight courses, you may have to compress the spacing slightly if reach is an issue. If they live in California, I can take a look, but otherwise you may have to rely on a generic pattern, or borrow a few instruments to see if they fit. It's like buying shoes. You can ask what shoe size you need, but you still have to wear them. Ninety percent of lutes have the wrong spacing, so it is worth getting it right when it is built. dt --- On Sun, 11/4/12, Jerzy Zak <jurek...@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Jerzy Zak <jurek...@gmail.com> Subject: [LUTE] 8-ch lute strings spacing To: "lute mailing list list" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Date: Sunday, November 4, 2012, 5:06 PM Dear Lutelist, A student of mine is expacting a new 8-ch lute. The maker has little experience with an instrument of such number of courses. So we all need some advice from you. We need a typical spacing on both sides of strings, aEUR|if there is such "typical" spacing, of course. Anyway, at least a distance between the outer strings would be of help, if not all measurements. Thanks in advance! Jerzy Z --- To get on or off this list see list information at [1]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html