Unfortunately there have been serious issues with the new loaded nylgut strings.
Availability has been erratic ( I believe that there have only been two batches so far, the second stiffer than the first) with promises of delivery of certain references delayed by several months. Some gauges break without warning between the nut and the peg, perhaps due to the fact that the surface is slightly rough and does not fare well on the passage in the grove over the nut. Strings are often false, especially when being stopped going up the fingerboard but also when used as diapasons; their inherent stretchiness gives them great amplitude so when they are plucked they can not only hit against the fingerboard but also against the string of a neighbouring course! I am sorry to be so negative regarding these strings. I had very high hopes and if Mimmo manages to get the formula right and overcome production issues, then they will probably become a lot of players' number one choice but we are certainly not there yet. Loaded nylgut strings are not inexpensive and it is frustrating to spend considerable sums of money before being forced to conclude that they are still at the experimental stage and that we are acting as guinea pigs. I use PVF strings on the 5th courses of renaissance lutes and as diapasons on theorbos. They work well and are incredibly long lasting. I have seen and heard them used very successfully on 6th, 7th and 8th courses of renaissance lutes. Tying them around the bridge is tricky (some luthiers such as Martin Shepherd suggest thinning the ends). I have no experience of using them on baroque lutes but I would have thought that the diameters for the lower courses would have been prohibitive. Best, Matthew > On Aug 29, 2017, at 1:26, Dan Winheld <dwinh...@lmi.net> wrote: > > A question for those of you who have tried, used, and been satisfied with the > Savarez KF (originally for harp) bass strings- the gut like one starting at > .90 or .95 mm thickness (losing memory here) and have also tried Mimmo > Peruffo's new basses- How do they compare? I am mostly quite happy with the > Savarez KF- VERY satisfied with the long single basses on my archlute- but > on my 10 course & 13 course bass rider style Baroque lute the very lowest > courses could use a little help; but if I change them I would want to go all > the way to the 6th course. > > One draw back to the KF is the stiffness, they can be very annoying to > wrestle through and around the bridge holes, worse as they get thicker. I > have heard that Peruffo's strings were actually too flexible at first and > that he had to "dial them back" a bit so that they would not fret flat going > up the fingerboard. Very counter intuitive to me after years of thick basses > fretting sharp! > > Thanks for any information. Dan > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
