George--
My experience with nylgut on a lute: Light strings under tension
tend to thin. I had to use a size heavier to allow for eventual reduction
in diameter. Specifics in this case: instead of .42 mm gut, at about 4kg
tension, I used .44 mm at slightly higher tension (g' above middle c, 590 mm
mensur). Also, nylgut seemed to take much longer to play in and stop
stretching, but if the tension were suddenly reduced, as from a slipped peg,
it was like starting over again. I bit the bullet and spent the money on
gut, but I'm not vegan. Heavier strings at lower pitch/tension might be
less bothersome. That said, it's surely worth experimenting with. I used it
a long time on the lute because gut strings are pretty dear and go fast on a
lute. Find out how well it holds cotton!
If you're not sure what tensions you're working with, try using Arto
Wikla's string calculator at
http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/wikla/mus/NewScalc/
It includes nylgut as a material option.
Just my very inexpert 2ยข.
Regards,
Leonard Williams
On 5/14/11 2:51 PM, "Simon Wascher" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Am 14.05.2011 um 18:46 schrieb George Leverett-Altarwind Hurdy Gurdies:
>> I'm stringing up an instrument for a person who doesn't wan't gut strings
>> (vegan) and am looking for advice on stringing alternatives. I've heard of
>> 'nyl-gut' but have no experience with this. I would love to hear any
>> experiences/preferences you all have in this area.
>> ...
>> G/C tuning,
>> scale length 345 mm
>
> I tried nylgut for d'' (high d for G/D gurdy) and g' trompette.
> It worked well and is cheap. Its a bit more dense than gut: use a little
> lighter strings. Seemed still to be a bit louder than gut.
> Do n't remember why I did not continue using it besides the fact it was not
> easy to get.
>
> My general recomendation for "non plain gut" are viola strings of any kind.
> Related pitches and tensions. Use g for g and a' for g' .
> On a 345mm its sensible ti start with /use the heavier gauges ie strong, not
> medium or light.
> I myself used Thomastik Spirocore Viola G (silver) and A strong on my then 345
> G/C.
>
> kind regards
> Simon
>
>
>
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