Think I found it... Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 21:57:05 +0000 From: Asier B.G. <asierdbg _at_ hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [HG] Question about wheel position I first put the wheel with the axis and let all in its position. After that, I put the top (only with hidden screws, not glued yet), and I let a space of 18 mm between the bridge and the wheel. Note that you can make this distance bigger just by making tension on the wire that holds bridge with the tailpiece. If this distance is bigger, sound is weak, and the 2nd octave normally goes out of tuning. If the distance is smallest, sound is too hard and it's easy to make horrible noises (more noises than a normal HG, I mean, ha, ha, ha...). Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 17:33:21 -0500 From: arle lommel <arle _at_ lisa.org> Subject: Re: [HG] Question about wheel position There was a thread on this topic a few weeks ago. (Does anyone archive the list in a publicly-available format?) I'll forward you the mails I still have on the topic. The short answer is that there is no way to calculate the "ideal" distance without knowing a lot more about your instrument, and even then it would depend on personal preference and what sort of sound you want. Your best bet would be to look at instruments that you like and that are somewhat like your instrument and see what they do. The problem is that no one position is ideal across the scale length. On a guitar or nyckelharpa (just about any string instrument but a HG) this distance is constantly being adjusted (generally without the player even thinking about it...). With a HG you're stuck with one position so you shoot for a happy medium and realize that no matter what you do it won't work perfectly for every note. Beyond that though, look through the mails I'll send you and see if you can make sense of them to try to figure things out. -Arle Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 23:06:57 +0200 From: Simon Wascher <simon.wascher _at_ chello.at> Subject: Re: [HG] Question about wheel position "Asier B.G." wrote: > Note that you can make this distance > bigger just by making tension on the wire that holds bridge with the > tailpiece. Hello, "Asier B.G." wrote: > I first put the wheel with the axis and let all in its position. After that, > I put the top (only with hidden screws, not glued yet), and I let a space of > 18 mm between the bridge and the wheel. Note that you can make this distance > bigger just by making tension on the wire that holds bridge with the > tailpiece. changing the distance between bridge and wheel by just putting tension on the wire that holds the bridge, is not a satifying solution for changing the place where the wheel touches the string (the distance between bridge and wheel). The reason is that the open lenght of the string is changed by this action which changes the positions for the tangents. This will lead to a situation where the instrument gets hardly tuneable since there is not enough space left to turn the tangents into a correct position. If you want to change the point where the wheel touches the string you have to move the wheel, normally by making the slot wider and moving the wheel on the axis or moving the whole axe system. Or you just change the cross section of the wheel so that the touching section moves. regards, Simon Wascher - Vienna, Austria http://members.chello.at/simon.wascher/ Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 21:29:37 +0000 From: Asier B.G. <asierdbg _at_ hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [HG] Question about wheel position Your explanation seemed correct, but I forgot to say that I do that BEFORE making the keybox :-) Of course, the better way is to glue the bridge on the correct position, after your prefered distance is choosen. I like it of 15mm. What about your distance preferences, Mr. Wascher?
Roy Trotter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: --- Seth Hamon wrote: > 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 position of the wheel for the best sound, Seth.... There was a nice, informative message on the HG list a few years ago about that. It came from Simon or Arle or one of those real brainy guys. There was something about the difference in sound quality as you move near the bridge, but there was also some difference in the way the ends came into tune, So there was a compromise position, but I only remember that it was somewhere between an inch and the width of my thumb... not much help, is it. Maybe the originator will step forward. It's pretty slow at work today and might be all weekend so, I'll see if I can exhume it from the archives.. Or maybe the originator will step forward... Or something.. Later, Roy
