Hello Herbert, A
I have been using gut strings for the past 30 years on my lutes, although I do not use them for all strings, for various reasons.A A lot of it is trial and error unfortunately... A there area a lot of things to consider when using gut strings: string length ( space between bridge and nut), tuning, are you tuning in octaves starting at 4th course or unison throughout?, price..A A also my experience for short lutes is that 5th, 6th and 7th course are difficult to string in gut, as the string length is not long enough to use a string of less thanA 1mm in guauge.. and 1 mm in guauge is just too twangy.... plus it doesn't fit in your bridge..A A A also for chanterelles, use a nylon string and only put a gut string when you perform... cheaper..and less frustrating, othewise you will change strings often. A it is a misconception that you need to tune gut more often. As a matter of fact I find that if you need to change a string, a gut string will tune up to pitch and stay there much longer than a nylon string.A Gut strings react more to temperature changes and humidity changes however. A I use the following for my 8 course lute tune at A440 , 59 cm string length: A 1st: .45 mm 2nd: .50 mm 3rd; .60mm 4th: .70 or .76A cant' remember off hand..( in unison)A 5th: wound string ( or Savarez wound gut) + .50 for the octave 6th wound string ( or Savarez wound gut) + .70 for the octave 7th, wound string ( or Savarez wound gut) + .76 for the octave 8th, wound string ( or Savarez wound gut) + .80 for the octave A A the best is to order various guauges at first for your tests. Of course , easier said than done, since the price of gut strings is not exacly cheap...A I used to get my strings bulk from SOFRACOB in France, but they have gone out of businessA a few years go. A Ed Martin, would be a good resource to offer more advice, Dan Larson who makes the Gamut Gut strings, lives down the street from him and they have collaborated a great deal together. A Bruno A A A A 2014/1/14 Herbert Ward <[1][email protected]> Can someone write up a list of things you need to know to try gut strings for the first time? I know gut strings need tuning more often. A And I know you need spare chanterelles and maybe also spare octaves for the fourth course. What is the max nut-to-bridge distance for gut strings at AA5? I have a 7-course Renaissance lute. A I guess all 13 strings should be gut? To get on or off this list see list information at [2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- A Bruno Cognyl-Fournier A [3]www.estavel.org A -- References 1. mailto:[email protected] 2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html 3. http://www.estavel.org/
