Dear friends,
here's a question that is actually regarding a harp problem I am assisting
someone with, but that may well apply to HG, so I post it here and now in the
hope of some assistance.
1. When a gut string becomes 'hairy' in appearance, does that necessarily mean
it is close to breaking point? (My gut feeling--pun more or less intended--is:
not necessarily. I have had strings, already stable, develop hairiness and
remain intact for a while, without being subject to any extra tension beyond
tuning.)
2. If the answer to the above is 'yes' or 'maybe', is there a way to make the
strings less hairy or stronger, perhaps by recoating with some kind of string
shellac? Since I am asking about harp strings, this is not totally unlikely,
since modern harp strings tend to be coated. But this harp in question is a
historical harp, so its default setting is uncoated strings.
anyhow, if there are any thoughts on the subject the advice is appreciated. let
me know what y'all think!
thanks,
Vlad
