You may recall my acquisition of a new 11c lute and experiments in pitch with all-gut strings. I really like the sound, for the most part, but the basses were impossible to tune or keep in tune, and first strings were an expense. Anyway, still experimenting, I thought I would try Nylgut - here are the measurements (A=392, string length 69cms):
1. 46 2. 50 3. 62 4. 75 5. 91 6. 124D + 60 7. 140D + 68 8. 185D + 76 9. 165D + 91 10. 155D + 75 11. 210D + 100D The sound is radically different. I have to say that when I first put them on I thought they sounded awful. The lute became a monster, out of control. But after a week they have settled quite a bit. The sound is still VERY different to gut, but there are aspects of them I find attractive - playing in tune for one! I use a few different tunings: F sharp or E flat in the basses, but I also play many pieces from Balcarres in D Major tuning - all the f strings become f sharp (including the first course) and a c sharp on the 11th. Tuning a gut first-string to f sharp was impossible. All the other strings would have to go flat. So, EASE OF USE is a big factor with nylgut. When I first put the nylgut on I had to adapt my playing style quite a bit. Slow movements like sarbandes, Tombeaux, allemandes, sounded very 'heroic', rather than intimate. But as the strings begin to relax, I feel myself being able to play the way I want to play, closer to how I played with gut. Overall, I prefer the sound of gut, especially at home, late a night, with candle light (it was Christmas, after all), but professional engagements in cold churches, air conditioning, warm changing rooms, etc. I think, ultimately, I want a bit of both, the warmth of gut, the convenience and stability of nylgut. I made new sound files this afternoon. See what you think: http://www.rmguitar.info/Maler.htm - scroll to near the bottom of the page. My wife says the lute sounds better 'live' than on the recordings.Comments welcome. And, yes, Anthony, you can accidently cross-post this to the 'proper' lute list if you want! ;-) www.rmguitar.info -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
