On Friday 13 October 2006 12:01, you wrote: > > Have you had any good result with so thin strings? Whenever I've tried a > > 0.38 it didn't last more that a few playing hours (3-4 hours). I guess > > that > > a 0.36 is even more prone to hairs and breakage. Perhaps a couple of > > hours can be enough for a concert, but... > > Francesco > > No, this is hearsay only. I use 0.40 for my trebles and 0.38 when I'm > forced to because of pitch (but I've avoided that by now by buying new > lutes for the other pitches ... that's one way of dealing with string > problems). Toyohiko uses 0.38 and even 0.36 these days. Taco, on the list > too, uses 0.36 occasionally, I believe.
Correct, but only on archlute tuned at @440. when tuned at 415 0.38 is fine. Archlute is very problematic anyhow in this. I also put on a PVF string until one day before a concert. I second the experiences below with kuerschner, sofracob and gamut. Taco > Universale is exceptionally strong. > Not particularly beautiful though. I put it on the trebles my archlutes for > continuo. When playing solo (Bach on double strung archlute in two weeks, > HIP-police alert!) I prefer Kathedrale. I have one archlute with the option > of a double first course. When single I use 0.40, when double 0.38, but I > found the strings to be lacking in mass to set the top in motion. Should > try again, because wen I tried for the first time the instrument was still > rather new. Anyway, the 0.38 strings did not break. I even use 0.40 > Sofracob without too much breaking these days. It depends also on the setup > of the lute: rider, smooth string path over nut etc. My really bad > experiences were with Kurschner trebles. Usually reliable, but prone to > sudden breaking. Sofracob and gamut at least give warning by fraying. > Kurshcner just suddenly snaps. Did I relate the horror story of 4 broken > first courses within 15 minutes before I had to go on stage? All Kurschner > 0.42 and 0.44 on a bass lute. Talking about raising stress levels in > advance of a performance... > > David > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
