The issue George is referring to isn't the fundamental pitch of the instrument, but rather the mix of overtones that defines the timbre. George is perfectly right in what he wrote about overtones: the closer you move to the bridge, the more attenuated the sound will be. The optimal spot varies according to the vibrating length of the string. Violinists and guitarists can more or less automatically adjust by bowing/plucking closer or further from the bridge, but the gurdy has a fixed position, so the overtone mix does vary by the notes that are played. The trick on wheel placement is to get a position that delivers an acceptable sound over the entire range.
-Arle On Jan 20, 2010, at 2:48 PM, Anthony Shostak wrote: > George Leverett-Altarwind Hurdy Gurdies wrote: >> By increasing the distance between the wheel & bridge, you might gain a >> little in resonance (most noticeable in lower midrange frequencies to my >> ears), but then the arc of vibration of the strings increases too, and you >> may have issues of chatter against the tangents. > Really? It seems to me that so long as the scale length remains the same, > the distance from wheel to bridge should not make effect the viibrational > arc, because the scale length is determined by the distance from bridge to > saddle. Otherwise, the pitch of a violin would be different when bowing > close to bridge than when bowing closer to the fingerboard. No? > > Anthony > > -- > 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. To reduce spam, posts from new > subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster.
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