Yes, he made strings for the 7th course of my bandora. He's on this
list so perhaps will add a comment on how many strands were in these
strings - I forget.
Nancy
Thanks for this word, Nancy. Do you know if he is making strings of
twisted
brass?
Eugene
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] [[1]
mailto:[email protected]] On
> Behalf Of Nancy Carlin
> Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 12:52 PM
> To: Eugene C. Braig IV; 'Lucas Harris'; [email protected]
> Subject: [LUTE] Re: Chitarra battente stringing
>
> Andrew Hartig, who edited the recent LSA Quarterly on
wire-strung
> instruments, in now making wire strings for things like
citterns,
> bandoras, orpharions and English guittars. I like his string
better
> than what I used to get from NRI and they are considerably
cheaper in
> you live in North America.
> Nancy
> At 08:50 AM 12/20/2010, Eugene C. Braig IV wrote:
>
> I do have experience with using brass wire on early
Neapolitan
> mandolins. I
> hope somebody with direct experience with chitarra battente
also
> weighs in.
> Given the similarities in construction between early chitarra
> battente and
> early Neapolitan mandolins, I suspect the stringing was
probably
> also
> similar. Some of the mandolin methods published in Paris in
the
> 1760s do
> prescribe stringing formulae.
> At a scale length around 310-315 mm, I use brass around
0.28-0.30 mm
> as a'.
> Using Arto's String Calculator, this estimates tension
equivalent
> (in kg)
> around 3.6-4.1 kg depending upon pitch standard, etc. Plain
brass
> is simply
> rather fragile, and I plan to replace my a' strings with
frequency.
> I
> simply buy substantial coils of the preferred gauge from a
local
> harpsichord
> maker to make mandolin strings (which involves nothing more
than
> cutting to
> appropriate length and twisting a loop into one end to fix
over the
> hitch
> pin).
> My d' strings are two similar brass wires twisted together.
Dan
> Larson's
> Gamut Strings in the US used to sell twisted-brass strings
for early
> mandolins as did NRI in the UK. Unlike plain brass, the
twisted
> brass is
> quite durable, so I haven't replaced mine for a long while.
I don't
> know if
> either entity is still selling it.
> The low octave on the g course is silver-wound silk, which is
a
> little
> "thumpy" in tone compared to wire, so it is paired with a g'
in
> plain brass.
> I use gut (or gut-like synthetic; quill can fray fine gut
rather
> quickly)
> around 0.50 mm on my high e'' course. I would imagine very
similar
> on the
> e' of early chitarra battente at around twice the scale
length.
> Luck,
> Eugene
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [email protected] [[1]
> [2]mailto:[email protected]] On
> > Behalf Of Lucas Harris
> > Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 10:19 PM
> > To: [email protected]
> > Subject: [LUTE] Chitarra battente stringing
> >
> > 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
> > [2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
> Nancy Carlin Associates
> P.O. Box 6499
> Concord, CA 94524 USA
> phone 925/686-5800 fax 925/680-2582
> web sites - [3]www.nancycarlinassociates.com
> [4]www.groundsanddivisions.info
> Representing:
> FROM WALES - Crasdant & Carreg Lafar, FROM ENGLAND - Jez Lowe
& Jez
> Lowe & The Bad Pennies, and now representing EARLY MUSIC - The
Venere
> Lute Quartet, The Good Pennyworths & Morrongiello & Young
> Administrator THE LUTE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
> web site - [5]http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org
> --
>
> References
>
> 1. [3]mailto:[email protected]
> 2. [4]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
> 3. [5]http://www.nancycarlinassociates.com/
> 4. [6]http://www.groundsanddivisions.info/
> 5. [7]http://lutesocietyofamerica.org/
Nancy Carlin Associates
P.O. Box 6499
Concord, CA 94524 USA
phone 925/686-5800 fax 925/680-2582
web sites - [8]www.nancycarlinassociates.com
[9]www.groundsanddivisions.info
Representing:
FROM WALES - Crasdant & Carreg Lafar, FROM ENGLAND - Jez Lowe & Jez
Lowe & The Bad Pennies, and now representing EARLY MUSIC - The Venere
Lute Quartet, The Good Pennyworths & Morrongiello & Young
Administrator THE LUTE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
web site - [10]http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org
--
References
1. mailto:[email protected]
2. mailto:[email protected]
3. mailto:[email protected]
4. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
5. http://www.nancycarlinassociates.com/
6. http://www.groundsanddivisions.info/
7. http://lutesocietyofamerica.org/
8. http://www.nancycarlinassociates.com/
9. http://www.groundsanddivisions.info/
10. http://lutesocietyofamerica.org/
