Hi Craig My rule for un-cottoned string height over the wheel is just touching lightly enough to just trap a single cirgatette paper If there is rosin on the string then it will sound but not very nicely More importantly, the chanterelle string pressure MUST be even over the width of the wheel Trap a narrow strip of cigarette paper under the string and test the "pull out force" at each edge of the wheel You may have to adjust the height of the nuts and the depth of the bridge slots a little at a time to get it right
There is a simple rule on nut positioning Set the octave tangent to get a true octave note The tangent won't be square to the string unless you got lucky first time Move the nut in the same direction as you want the tangent to move Moving the nut causes the re-tuned tangent to move in the same direction for the correctly tuned note For example if the octave tangent when tuned is pointing towards the wheel, move the nut away from the wheel Hope this helps Cottoning is a skill that has to be aquired with practice, this link may help http://www.hurdygurdy.org/pdfs/cottoning_tips.pdf Graham -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]on Behalf Of Craig Currier Sent: 29 December 2008 14:43 To: [email protected] Subject: [HG-new] HG setup Greetings, all I am an amateur luthier in the final throes of setting up an 18th century French guitar shaped Bassot HG (one of only 3 we know to exist in the entire world) I have been restoring for my wife Barbara to play. I will have a few days off after the New Year and hope to be able to deliver her a playable instrument soon. A few questions: 1: How much does any uncottoned string actually touch the wheel? ie, does it skim the wheel barely touching upon it and producing sound? Does it ride ever so slightly above the wheel (perhaps the thickness or a zig zag paper) but no sound is produced? Does it ride upon the wheel so heavily that sound is produced and (possibly) the vibrating length of the string is shortened from bridge to the edge of the wheel? Or what? 2: Barbara's notes from an OTW class about HG setup and maintenance say: If the octave (ie the open g of a chanterelle against the octave g key with the tangents dead perpendicular to the string) is flat the nut should be moved toward the head. If it is sharp the nut should be moved toward the bridge. I'm just a guitar and banjo guy, but this doesn't make sense. Ie, lengthen the string to make it higher in pitch, shorten it to make it lower in pitch? HG musical physicists, can you make sense of this? 3: How much (if any) looseness is permissible in the keybox as the keys go though? We have at hand, among other sources, the Destrem/Heidemannn book, the Muskett method book and the new Neil Brook video. Any and all answers appreciated on or off list. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer. Craig Currier [email protected] "The entertainment business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -Hunter S. Thompson --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
