- or we use rather too large frets these days. Dowland's fret sizes are
small compared to present practice and, perhaps, were required to 'set
a lute fine' ie very small distance betqeen string and fingerboard even
at 8/9th fret.
I'm sorry, I don't understand your point about 'rubbery'frets.
Mh
--- On Fri, 19/2/10, chriswi...@yahoo.com <chriswi...@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: chriswi...@yahoo.com <chriswi...@yahoo.com>
Subject: [LUTE] Re: New frets
To: "Martin Shepherd" <mar...@luteshop.co.uk>, "Lute Dmth"
<lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>, "Martyn Hodgson"
<hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Friday, 19 February, 2010, 13:26
Martyn,
--- On Fri, 2/19/10, Martyn Hodgson <[1]hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:
> The continuing, if strange,
> fascination single loops seems to
> defy historical evidence and practical
> experience.
Time to wake up that sleeping dog! Once again I'll jump into hot water
and point out that the old gut material had quite different physical
properties than our modern reconstructions. This probably explains
Mace's emphasis on stretching frets before putting them on.
Perhaps modern gut is hard/stiff enough to maintain its shape and allow
for single frets. On the other hand, if period gut was sort of
"rubbery," it would therefore need to be doubled up in order to provide
enough of a substantial bump on the neck to effectively stop a string.
This would in turn account for the tiny, tiny double frets seen in
paintings.
Chris - has experience with both double and single frets.
> MH.
> --- On Thu, 18/2/10, Martin Shepherd
> <[2]mar...@luteshop.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
> From: Martin Shepherd <[3]mar...@luteshop.co.uk>
> Subject: [LUTE] Re: New frets
> To: "Lute List" <[4]l...@cs.dartmouth.edu>
> Date: Thursday, 18 February, 2010,
> 14:20
>
> Hi All,
> The breakthrough for me came when I
> changed my method of fret
> knotting.
> I used to tie a slip knot ("granny knot"
> - a reef knot with the second
> turn the wrong way). Works fine for
> thin frets, and with
> smooth-finished gut, but otherwise the
> slip knot is not so willing to
> slip. So I tried the method someone
> suggested to me (Pat O'Brien?)
> which is to tie a single overhand knot
> near the end and pass the free
> end through it - the ultimate slip knot,
> not really a knot at all.
> Surprisingly, the gut has enough friction
> that when you pull this up it
> holds without slipping back, so you
> tighten it nearer the nut than you
> want to end up (a choix), trim off the
> free end and burn it down to
> lock
> it, then slide the fret up to where you
> want it. It's very neat, too.
> But as for double frets.....
> Best wishes,
> Martin
> Martyn Hodgson wrote:
> >
> > The gut should be
> pre-stretched before fitting. Mace (1676 p 69)
> > confirms this and
> provides good practical advice:
> >
> > ' And you will find,
> that the first Fret, will be ever the hardest
> to
> > Tye well on, for two
> Reasons.
> > First, because it is
> the Thickest, therefore not so ready to ply,
> and
> > stretch.
> > 2sly. Because there is
> but a little narrower room above It, by
> reason
> > it is so near the Nutt:
> Therefore you must be the more careful ,
> to
> > stretch it very well,
> before you settle It.'
> >
> > He also recommends
> tying it higher (ie to wards the nut) and
> stretching
> > by forcing down to its
> alotted position a number of times: 'Thus
> do it
> > three or four times,
> till at last you find it stiff,....'
> >
> > Finally he suggests a
> second knot to prevent any possible
> slipping:
> > '... you are (after all
> stretching) to Tye it, of another hard
> Knot,
> > and then it is firmly
> fast'.
> >
> > MH
> > --- On Wed, 17/2/10,
> Christopher Stetson <[1][5]cstet...@smith.edu>
> wrote:
> >
> > From:
> Christopher Stetson <[2][6]cstet...@smith.edu>
> > Subject: [LUTE]
> Re: New frets
> > To: "Lute List"
> <[3][7]l...@cs.dartmouth.edu>
> > Date: Wednesday,
> 17 February, 2010, 20:35
> >
> > Neat
> tricks, Sterling and Leonard! They've allowed me to
> yet
> again
> > put
> > off
> refretting.
> > While
> we're here, does any have any tricks for getting and/or
> > keeping
> > the
> 1st fret really tight?
> > Best
> to all,
> >
> Chris.
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> > To get on or off this list see list
> information at
> > [4][8]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
> >
>
> --
>
> References
>
> 1.
[9]http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cstet...@smith.edu
> 2.
[10]http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cstet...@smith.edu
> 3.
[11]http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=l...@cs.dartmouth.edu
> 4. [12]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
>
To get on or off this list see list information at
[13]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--
References
1. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk
2. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mar...@luteshop.co.uk
3. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mar...@luteshop.co.uk
4. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=l...@cs.dartmouth.edu
5. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cstet...@smith.edu
6. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cstet...@smith.edu
7. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=l...@cs.dartmouth.edu
8. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
9. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cstet...@smith.edu
10. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cstet...@smith.edu
11. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=l...@cs.dartmouth.edu
12. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
13. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
