Yes Dan, V is for Very bad idea. Metal-wound would eventually cut their own channel though... maybe.
The best round channel is one that is a slightly larger diameter than your string. Think of a U-shape channel semi-circle in shape that may (or may not) include vertical walls. While it is as deep as you want it's the diameter at the bottom that is key. A nut harder than the string will retain its shape and depth. When using gut that shape will support its round shape but also give a little space for it to relax/deform under tension at the bend. When you switch to nylon/nylgut/etc for the upper pitch strings, the string is now as hard as the nut and it will cut its new shape at the further expense of depth - a hard string resting on one point and then rubbed into the bottom of the channel as you tune. Eventually, if you switch to a larger string it will grip the string. (If you switch to a larger gut it will grip that, too). Granted, it takes time but we're talking many lute ages in this thread. One thing I noticed about nylgut is that you end up with a smaller diameter working string than gut. Using the "old" white ng I would use the same diameter as gut but after getting it up to pitch I had taken up considerably more string. What happens to the diameter? It gets smaller. With the NNG I find I have to use a smaller diameter at the outset. Both of these nylgut situations (and nylon) are effectively creating a smaller channel making it a potential problem if you switch to gut for a period - or, to a larger plastic string. I've noticed that suggested diameters for nylon are also smaller than those for gut. For the 3rd course it's not so much a problem but it's a snake in the grass in the 2nd and a constant headache on the 1st and 4th octave. I think of it as using non-OEM parts on a Very picky old sports car. (They may work but at what expense to other systems?) Eventually I sold the MG and kept the lute because MGs are so difficult to carry around - even their descant models. And there is another comparison/metaphor* of gut strings to Lucas parts that needn't be made here, ok? Sean *comparison for our purposes; metaphor if John Milton had had an MG. On Nov 19, 2014, at 9:23 AM, Dan Winheld wrote: John- What technique? I was only joking; I simply count on a hard, highly polished nut- ESPECIALLY polished & smooth in the nut grooves, and the grooves themselves are as shallow as one can get away with to hold the strings in place; a deep "valley" can hold strings up by too much contact, and is also that much harder to make smooth. Obviously doesn't matter how slippery & shiny the nut surfaces in between the string grooves are. And if the groove is also "V" shaped rather than rounded, the string will stick no matter what string/nut materials or tension. All the other points have been covered by Sean. Dan On 11/19/2014 8:21 AM, John Mardinly wrote: Dan; Can you elaborate on this material/technique? A. John Mardinly, Ph.D., P.E. Principal Materials Nanoanalysis Engineer EMail: [1]john.mardi...@asu.edu Cell: [2]408-921-3253 (does not work in TEM labs) Titan Lab: [3]480-727-5651 NION UltraSTEM Lab: [4]480-727-5652 JEOL ARM 200 Lab: [5]480-727-5653 2010F Lab: [6]480-727-5654 Office: [7]480-965-7946 John Cowley Center for HREM, LE-CSSS B134B Bateman Physical Sciences Building Arizona State University [8]PO Box 871704 [9]Tempe, AZ 85287-1704 On Nov 11, 2014, at 4:33 PM, "Dan Winheld" <[10]dwinh...@lmi.net> wrote: Squirrels can't hold on to them- boxer shorts can't contain them- but lutenists LOVE them.... SLIPPERY NUTS! On 11/11/2014 8:14 AM, Sean Smith wrote: Hi Herbert, I have never heard of this problem on the 4th course with gut so I'll assume you use metal wound strings. I'll admit it's an assumption that could be false or you may be using a plastic of some sort. It would be helpful to know in any event. Using a string made up of coils that are harder than the nut material could well have printed those coils on the groove of the nut, especially if you have used a high tension or the nut is old or of soft material or it has sat a long time at tension. The nut we use for gut wasn't imagined to work this way with metal coils. The lute was designed with a bone/ivory/wood nut that is harder than the gut string. The gut spreads out to the smooth nut surface under tension and at no point does it "dig in" (I'm not sure a plastic string spreads like this but I doubt it). Using gut (and a little beeswax now and then) I have no trouble adjusting the pitch - assuming the strings and frets are true. Citterns, orpharions and bandoras that use metal strings have the lesser bend like the guitars you mention. It solves the bend/tension problem for the materials given. If you're inclined to use modern stringing and don't mind modern workarounds, you might consider a modern angle to accomodate it. Or maybe a steel nut ... and WD-40. It would be less colorful than 15 different loops of yarn though. Sean On Nov 11, 2014, at 12:46 AM, Herbert Ward wrote: The bent-back pegbox means that a lute has 7.5 times as much friction at the nut as a guitar, taking angles of 10 degrees for the guitar and 80 for the lute. For the strings attached to the farthest pegs (say, the fourth course) this friction causes trouble because the strings stick at the nut during tuning. Graphite lubrication never helped me much. Nor did tugging at the string, though it seems this should work when tuning downward. To fix the problem, I tied a loop of ordinary household twine around the string in the peg- box, and MOVED IT AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO THE NUT. Now I adjust the peg, and then give a momentary tug on the loop. The tug pulls the string almost completely away from the nut, and thus equalizes the tension along the entire length of the string. In response, the pitch immediately and reliably reflects the slightest movement of the peg (in either direction), as with a harp. A side-benefit is that the peg stays pushed in longer, since the peg is turned so little. Of course, if you put loops on multiple strings, then you have a mass of loops from which it is difficult to find the one you need. I've ordered a skein of multi-colored knitting yarn to see whether color-coding will reduce this problem. To get on or off this list see list information at [11]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:john.mardi...@asu.edu 2. tel:408-921-3253 3. tel:480-727-5651 4. tel:480-727-5652 5. tel:480-727-5653 6. tel:480-727-5654 7. tel:480-965-7946 8. x-apple-data-detectors://6/ 9. x-apple-data-detectors://6/ 10. mailto:dwinh...@lmi.net 11. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html