Hi Elizabeth,

OK, so :

the chanterelle is the melody string.  in order to determine what
guauge you should be using, you will need to

1. determine the pitch at which you want to play: most hurdy gurdies
have a chanterelle starting on G, and drones at unison and 5th.   but
then again you might want have a melody string in D:  I'm not sure
what hungarian hurdy gurdies use for tuning.

2. you need to determine the vibrating string length, that is the
distance between the bridge next to the wheel and the nut.

3. get yourself a micrometer, and check the thickness of the string
you are using for the melody string.


get back to me with the information , and then I may be able to help you more.

The melody string should be gut, you can get some from various hurdy
gurdy builders or from lute builders such as Dan Larson

http://www.gamutstrings.com/catalog.html?Vl=21&Tp=2

I typically use lute strings ( since I am also a lute player) and even
second grade strings used for Frets on the lute.

Savarez also makes strings for Hurdy Gurdies:
http://www.savarez.fr/p-instanci-exp-vielle.html


Bruno




On 10/24/11, Elizabeth Gilmore <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hello Bruno,   I am new to hurdy gurdys.... I have a hungarian hurdy gurdy I
> purchased in 1987.. it has only 3 strings:  2 drone and 1 melody.   It is a
> pretty basic hurdy gurdy.... I am not sure what you mean  by
> chantarelles.... are those the drones?  Dont cringe.....when I first got it
> they told me to use tennis racket gut....  they liked the sound loud (eros,
> in Hungarian)  So I am not too familiar with buying strings for it
> either..... I am newly playing music again after a long dry spell of no
> music....
> Where is a good source to buy said strings.... the smaller the number... the
> lighter the guage and the gentler the sound?   is that how it works?
> I am looking at a local hurdy gurdy maker and am considering buying a new
> one, more to my liking.... but for now.... I need new strings for the one I
> have.
> thank-you for your response!
> Sincerely Beth Gilmore
>
> On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 3:12 PM, Bruno Fournier <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> get a lighter gauge string, or play only on one chanterelle instead of
>> two...( assuming you have two chanterelles). A 1.00 mm gut string will be
>> quite loud, as it will tightened more than a .80 mm string to obtain the
>> same pitch.
>>
>> Bruno
>>
>>   On Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 6:48 PM, Elizabeth Gilmore
>> <[email protected]>wrote:
>>
>>>  Is there a string that you can get that will make the voice of the
>>> instrument gentler and quieter... or is that just a function of the
>>> shape of the instrument?  Mine is fairly loud and I wish to make it
>>> quieter and gentler cause I want to play with others and dont want to
>>> overpower them.
>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Bruno Cognyl-Fournier
>>
>> www.estavel.org
>>
>>
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