Hi, all, I received this from Alexander Vokaria, and he asked me to share. Hope it's useful. Best, Chris.
>>> voka <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 6/19/2008 11:17 AM >>> Please share: In response to the silk strings questions. I started making silk strings about ten years ago, as a process to discover rather then commercial enterprise. The initial push was a request from the Moscow University baroque orchestra director, looking for alternatives to gut violin strings, especially the top one. I suggested to him that Yasha Heifez always used the silk e string, and that may be the source for such strings could be found. On research, it turned out that the silk string industry in the West died out as recently as 1950s, with the advance of nylon substituting for silk in all areas of fiber needs. This did not leave much choice, but to start making the strings on my own. After a few years stumbling, i figured out the process the best i could. Since then i used the silk strings exclusively on my gambas, and yes, being a lute player, on my lutes, and as strange as it may sound, on clasical guitar, for performance of the 19th century music. The last one was extremely satisfying, i should say. In 2002 i made a few suggestions for discussion at the FoMRHI. >From the beginning it was clear to me that to recover a reliable string making "industry", there had to be other makers involved. The only one who contacted me, and actually applied his hands to the silk, was Peter Rea. As he was spending long periods of time in the field (Peter is a geologist to begin with), and then i had a serious health issues, i lost a track of his progress, but do hope the progress is very good. WIth the idea of spreading the word, i created a web site ( http://www.globalissuesgroup.com/silkStrings/ ). Now, to the lute strings. As i was extremely unhappy with the plastic lute strings, and really could not afford gut strings, making my own silk strings was a clear alternative. I have strung my own lutes and a few of my students and colleagues, that i have access to and can see the results. I did mail out some strings to european and asian lutanists, from whom i have little detailed information. I use on the daily basis an old ten course Laurence Brown lute (62 cm). There is a picture of the neck and the bridge on my web site. I continue using about the same arrangement. The top string is not practical above F sharp (a=415 pitch tuning). At least with the silk i have. (I know there are stronger silks, for example someone in Siberia apparently succeeded with the wild oak moth silk strings (they have written to me), which indicates it is possible.) But i play at the English consort pitch (a=392), which makes the top string nominal F. This strings last, depending on the amount of playing, from two to six weeks. I manage to put a new top string the day of the concert and have it stay in tune for the concert, but the knot has to be perfect (the silk is more slippery in the knots then gut), and a good stretching strategy applied. Right now the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings are twisted of 6 strands, not smooth gut like twisting. They are fine under fingers, on this particular lute absolutely fine, but on the light 69 cm Lundberg lute there was a perception of the finger noise (curtesy of Ron Andrico). The strand design increases the sustain of the strings. Smoothly twisted strings have less noise, obviuosly. Still the strings grab the fingers very nicely, a sensation absolutely missing when you play on plastIc. I do not use an octave on the 4th string. The fifth string is made from 2 to 6 strands. If there are fewer strands, there is some more "bumpiness" in the string (the silk string can not be rectified like gut or nylon), which does not affect the string balance, as to begin with there are continuos filaments from beginning to the end of the string, not like in the gut, which requires rectifying for this reason. But the 2 strand twist will create the longest sustain, which shortens with the added number of strands. The octave for 5th is smooth. The sixth is similar to the 5th. Starting from 7th i use twisted silk core, wound with a twisted silk wrapping, on the manner of the wire winding, except there is no metal involved. These string have a nice fluffy well sustained sound. One of the advantages is, with a proper octave string, they are perceived in tune in rather wide variation of "off pitch". These basses however are very sensitive to the temperature - humidity changes, as the tension is very low (it is difficult for any string tostay in tune under some optimal tension), plus my experience is that the closer in desity are the core and the winding, the more string micro shape is changed with the athmosphere. Personally i have no problem keeping the lute in tune after it is settled, and when the temperature and humidity are stable, you do get a "factory tuned" instrument right out of the case, but in a cold hall for example, the basses start drifting a bit from the warmth of the fingers. This is where the "off pitch" - in tune perseption that i mentioned above, is great. The instrument from the point of the player seems to sound softer then with gut or plastIc, but qualified listeners in the same hall - same instrument - same performer - different strings claim that the lute carries much better with the silk and sounds stronger against voices or othe instruments. I have the same feeling. But this sound is deeper and more "dignified". Here are a couple of MP3s. Recercar 1 is played on a Crocker 7 course 61 cm lute, recercar 12 on my 10course (i know, too many...) 62 cm L. Brown. Please wait about 8 seconds for the Download link to appear, they want you to look at the ads... http://www.4shared.com/dir/7707172/f9e581d0/Lute_Silk_Strings.html for curiosity, here is the classical guitar with silk strings, the 5th and 6th wound with copper. This is a life performance, keep in mind. http://www.4shared.com/file/32584845/bd20b9a9/AhTy_Matushka.html Now to the practical side. I do not feel like being a commercial string maker, for many of my own reasons. Ideally i still hope for a young energetic person with a smooth hands getting into this business. But i do make strings for other people when i can, sometimes asking for a small donation, to be able to buy the silk and supplies. In the last few years a threatening problem developed, which is - the us postal service. In the past the strings mailed in a normal way, usually insured, reached their destinations in Europe (it is much better in the states selves). I lost may be 1 or 2 mailings. But the more expensive their services grew, the less likely it became that the strings find their destination. Now only the registered packages make it, though not in a hurry often! This service runs about 40 green ones, and i just refuse to pay it. They seem to just sabotage (plus there are probably the burocrats "protecting" the borders from insidious silk strings) low rates mail from private citizens. I hope it is better with the businesses, but i'm not a one. When possible i send strings with the travelers between the USA and Europe, and they mail locally. This seems to be the only feasible alternative right now. It takes me a couple of days to make a lute set (and probably a couple dozen dead caterpillars...), and it is thoroughly frustrating to just have them thrown away. If the lute community is interested in trying silk strings, we need travelers to carry the contraband lute strings. Then i can try my best to make as many as i can. A. Rakov http://www.4shared.com/file/51917674/7474e908/recercar12.html -- alexander <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
