OK, this is all from my head, and not from experience. At 345, there is a range of string pitches that can be achieved 'successfully' (that means not just sounding on the open, but being controllable by the tangents.)
You can either add mass to the string to lower it's tone, or add length, or drop tension. Since you can't add length, you have to add mass or drop tension. And when you add mass, you get a bigger spatial displacement of the strings at a given tension. You can compensate for this in some ways by getting a bigger string and raising it to a higher tension, or getting a smaller string and running at the same tension. Sometimes the material of the string is key - but not above physics. So if you find a string that masses less, can take a higher tension, and still remain at the desired pitch, you might want to try it. I have had luck on some of my other insttruments dropping pitch by using Savarez Alliance harp strings - the carbon fiber ones. They are lighter and smaller than equivalent toned strings in gut or nylon or whatever. Don't know if they would work for gurdy, but might be worth a try - they are only moderately priced so the experiment won't be a dreadful loss. Chris *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 5/28/2008 at 7:50 PM [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >Hi all >I'm not usually one to plead for help but this problem is costing a lot of >time and money so any help will be greatly appreciated. > >I've just built a three chantrelle gurdy 345mm scale length and am tuning >it >to normal D/G tuning . The third chanterelle is to be the next octave D >down. > >Has anyone found a string to achieve a reasonable result at this pitch ? >I've tried a lot of viola C strings with limited success. > >Regards > >Neil Brook
