Hello, friends!
I have a question for anybody out there that might have more experience with metal strings than I do. I'm struggling to set up a new chitarra battente, which arrived (as is the tradition) with the same thin steel string gauge across all 5 courses. So, the first course (e) is super tense, and the third course (g) is slack like spaghetti, and everything else is somewhere in between. The problem is that the spaghetti courses go super sharp when fretted, so it's really hard to tune any chords (i.e., even E major has the G# on the first fret which is already screaming high). I put some brass strings (from my bandora case) on the G and A, and it really helped the tuning and got the instrument through its first concert. However, all of the brass strings have broken, one by one. I'm really not sure why - the tension was not so high, and although the coils are pretty old I wouldn't have guessed age to make much difference in a metal string. Anyway, I'm wondering if anybody has experience trying to string a battente in a way that is more equal-tension-ish (like a lute or Baroque guitar) perhaps with harpsichord strings, and if so if they would share their stringing chart with me. Any prompt help would be appreciated (the instrument needs to be playable by Sunday - in a pinch I will just put the spaghetti strings back on). Many thanks!!!! Best, Lucas Harris -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
