Ah, "leaders". I got to know these very well in my early lute days
learning from Roger Harmon: A parsimonious master of careful string
husbandry. This is another reason we NEVER throw out old strings,
especially gut. Just find the closest in size to the broken string,
bend them together, retune and voila da mano, Bob's your uncle. This
also works for putting on new strings where they reach (or almost
reach; this is an artform in itself) the nut but not enough to get a
purchase on the peg. (Another trick is to wind the string on the peg
while not going over the nut, ie going off to the side; you can get a
just a few more cms that way. Soon as you get peg purchase, pull it
onto the nut by hand)
I've been doing this for 30 years now and slowly revising my bag of
tricks to stay one step ahead of string prices. Here are a few notes:
For a while I used rough hemp string for this but it's fallen out of
favor as it looks like rats made a nest in the pegbox. But it works,
doesn't stretch much and is cheap. Note that you can only use a hemp
leader once --if it breaks it will have stressed some internal fibers
more than others rendering it considerably weaker. Roger used to use
standard kitchen string (it's real cheap!) but I didn't get the hang of
it.
Attaching any two gut strings together is a snap (meaning "easy", :^).
If either are nylgut it's a problem of trying to outsmart the
slipperiness and its inherent weakness in tight bends. This is a little
easier to do w/ NG strings larger than ~.50mm, ie, not a chanterelle or
4th 8ve --for those I bite the bullet and go with a whole string. If
you do have to bend them together you can burn a small ball onto the
end of the nylgut as well so it won't eventually slip off the bitter
end. Prayer helps.
Some further observations: I have never gotten a nylon leader to work
w/ the chanterelle. NG leaders below ~.48mm are way too iffy. NG
leaders in general are stretchy and difficult to work with. In a pinch
fretgut works better. For a chanterelle try to use a slightly larger
diameter leader than the string.
For tying two gut thin strings together, I go w/ this method:
Burn a ball onto both the string end and the leader end. Make loose
overhand knot on the string end and pass the leader through it before
pulling it tight as close to ball as possible. Tie another overhand
knot on the leader also as close to the ball as possible.
If you are breaking strings here there there is a good possibility that
your problem is NOT in the string, ie DO NOT assume it's a string
problem. So I can't emphasize enough: keep your nuts healthy!
1. No sharp edges, especially the very last part where it leaves the
nut to the peg. If there is any kind of angle where the string leaves
the final flat surface to go to the peg it will put undo tension on the
underside of the string. If it is a NG it will use this to weaken the
string and you will be reminded of this weakness about 1/8 of a turn
before it reaches full tension. The certainty increases with the number
of spare strings you posess.
2. Make sure the channel is round and the diameter is larger than the
string. If it is good now DO NOT assume it will stay that way forever.
It may deteriorate quicker for synthetic strings and metal wound
strings and also if you change diameters. ymmv.
3. Lubrication helps immensely. Graphite may last a little longer than
beeswax but beeswax is invisible. If, when you incrementally turn the
peg, it shoots past the pitch you want then you need lube. Please,
please, please, set your, your bandmates' and your audience's, minds at
ease w/ this simple remedy. One more little trick: While grossly tuning
up a new string, set it outside the channel and when it's a semitone or
two away from designated pitch, put a little lube in the channel (and
if beeswax, rub a little on the underside of the string just south of
the nut) and then drop the string into the groove.
If you are using your last NG or chanterelle, you may want to leave a
little extra string beyond the bridge so that, if it breaks between the
nut and the peg you still have a little more string to work with. When
you feel confident THEN clip off the remainder.
Ok, as usual Herbert asks a good simple hypothetical question and I
write a novel. I'm sure there are many people w/ more practical
experience than I on this list. I would love to hear about your
observances in this area!
cheers,
Sean
On Dec 7, 2008, at 10:24 AM, Herbert Ward wrote:
Suppose a string broke betwen the nut and the peg, so you needed an
extension
to reach the peg. What material would be best for the extension?
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