Ok, I probably can't contribute much but I take it you are saying that the instrument has been with you for a while and has been playing fine until now (rather than it only started after it came to you or it started doing it and was passed to you for fixing) ? As I have said, I use a rather softer rosin and my HG is a bit "off" at the moment as, here in the UK, the temperature has been much higher than is usual but you have answered that question. I suppose to newbies like me, I would still go for changes in the environment or the like rather than something that needs altering the instrument for - so that shows how much I know but, harking back to a previous thread, this is how we learn - by reading what people who DO know about the instrument say. Please keep the thread going and let us know if you find the problem. It's interesting. Colin Hill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matthew Szostak" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 2:59 PM Subject: Re: [HG] String setup / adjustment question?
> At 08:47 PM 7/26/2006 +0100, you wrote: > > >Ah, but this is why the gurdy is our chosen instrument; it is a living > >breathing thing with a temprement all it's own. Somedays it is best to > >leave it to it's own devises; I have had gigs where one of my gurdies has > >failed completely and the other has only just been playable, yet the > >following day all has been well. There are often days at Saint Chartier > >when you will never hear a gurdy played due to heat, humidity or too much > >dust in the air. When things are like this I have found that it's best to > >go with the flow and accept that the instrument knows best. Of course if > >you want consistancy may I suggest an electronic keyboard. > >Incidently, the effect you have heard on recordings may not be anything to > >do with the instrument. Many sound engineers have a tendancy to full back > >the faders as soon as the trompet kicks-in. Patrick Bouffard has > >incredible dynamics, I have recorded him in sessions and have often > >reduced the volume too far when the trompet comes in. > >Philip > > > Philip: I do not need an electronic keyboard. Perhaps my original posting > wasn't too clear... > > I'm not talking about a particular day of extreme "heat, humidity or too > much dust in the air" - no combination of these describes the current > climate in my living room. This is a hurdy-gurdy which has for years > played fine under the current conditions, and now does not. I'm sure that > many players on this list would agree that when things are not "like this" > that it is not "best to go with the flow", but to sort out and solve the > problem. > > In this case, the problem is the dropping of the trompette pitch, not the > volume level. This isn't a recording engineer problem, but an instrument > problem which a number of players have acknowledged. I was hoping that > there was someone here who had experienced it and somehow discovered the > cause, or at least "a" cause, and was able to take successful corrective > action, and that they would be able to describe the corrective action taken. > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > Matthew Szostak - Hurdy-Gurdies > 7 Grove Street > Camden, Maine 04843 > phone: 207-236-9576 > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > website: http://www.midcoast.com/~beechhil/vielle > -------------------------------------------------------------------- >
