calculate the exact positiono of the wheel for the best sound You don't calculate it, you ask a luthier I guess that around 18-20mm wheel centre to front edge of bridge is normal
Wheel width is another issue but in my experience not a big deal In general as with any bowed (or plucked) instrument Putting the wheel (bow, plucking point) closer to the bridge gives a dryer, brighter, sharper, possibly louder sound Putting the wheel (bow, plucking point) further from the bridge gives a sweeter, richer, more mellow, possibly a little quieter sound My antique Colson HG (restored by Cali and Alden) has a narrow wheel (9mm) quite far (26mm wheel centre to front edge of bridge) from the bridge Is the sweetest sounding HG in many people's opinion (including Patrick Bouffard who played it for several hours and described it as "parfait") pic at http://www.altongate.co.uk/colson/PBColson.jpg Colson made 2 guitar shaped models with the wheel at different spacings from the bridge Chris Allen has an example of each (one exacly like mine) The key boxes have slightly different spacings also Neither are playable unfortunately (unless anyone would like to fund the restoration) You can see them and my 2 (at the bottom) at http://www.hurdygurdy.org/historical.htm Graham -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Seth Hamon Sent: 09 March 2007 18:06 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [HG] Key placement One of the queston's I've had is.... I know where the tangents, nut, and chanter bridge go, but I'm still not sure how you calculate the exact positiono of the wheel for the best sound, Seth.... Graham Whyte <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Patrick, The "swinging tangent" on an Equal Temperament HG only just allows the setting of Just Temperament I suspect you have not actually done it Tangent angles at the low end can approach 45deg It is normally necessary to move the nut to reduce these This means that the octave tangents are not at right angles This is not a problem Setting the key positions halfway between Equal and Just is a good solution You can then set either temperament with minimal tangent angles Please don't refer to Equal Temperament as "the tempered scale" Almost all scales (temperaments) are tempered Equal Temperament is just one of several THOUSAND named temperaments Each of these has 12 possible root notes Equal Temperament is more accurately described as Twelfth Comma Meantone Temperament This means that the ratios of all the intervals in every key are identical Hence the name "Equal" Although this allows playing in all keys it does serious musical damage to some intervals In paticular major thirds are 14% of a semitone (half step) out of tune (sharp) One reason for the need to temper is that 3 sucessive pure major thirds don't make an octave Try tuning an E true to a C Then tune a G# true to that E Then tune a C true to that G# You will end up with a C which is almost 1/2 a semitone flat (midway between B and C) It is the distribution of this 42 cent error called "Diesis" that is known as "tempering" Different temperaments distribute this error in different ways Read my paper at http://www.luthiers60.freeserve.co.uk/pdfs/tuningandtemperament.pdf Graham -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Patrick Brown Sent: 09 March 2007 00:14 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Re[2]: [HG] Key placement calculator Long time ago, at least as far back as fretted instruments conforming to the newer than fretted instruments 'tempered scale,' which tempered scale goes back to the ca 1600's(?) and placed in our laps by a fellow appropriately named Werckmeister(sp), (and fretted instruments going back to the 1400's or earlier, depending on where you were),,,derived, as Alden says, from using the 12th root of 2,,was known as the 'Rule of 18,' which means that each successive distance for each next fret, or tangent, closer to the bridge one goes, in order to find its placement, you divide that distance by 18, and that resulting distance by 18, and so on ad infinitum (literally,,like the frog jumping halfway across the pond,,then halfway again). The actual number is generally agreed among luthiers to be 17.817, if memory serves, though I've read 17.835, but that's an obscure and only one or two source memory,,but 17.817 is the divisor, if that's the right word. The number you use to divide, at any rate. This is, of course, assuming you are after a tempered scale. If you want just temperament,,then you'd use fractions of the fundamental. The swinging tangent should allow either choice. Pat
