Squirrels can't hold on to them- boxer shorts can't contain them- but
lutenists LOVE them.... SLIPPERY NUTS!
On 11/11/2014 8:14 AM, Sean Smith wrote:
Hi Herbert,
I have never heard of this problem on the 4th course with gut so I'll assume
you use metal wound strings. I'll admit it's an assumption that could be false
or you may be using a plastic of some sort. It would be helpful to know in any
event.
Using a string made up of coils that are harder than the nut material could well have
printed those coils on the groove of the nut, especially if you have used a high tension
or the nut is old or of soft material or it has sat a long time at tension. The nut we
use for gut wasn't imagined to work this way with metal coils. The lute was designed with
a bone/ivory/wood nut that is harder than the gut string. The gut spreads out to the
smooth nut surface under tension and at no point does it "dig in" (I'm not sure
a plastic string spreads like this but I doubt it). Using gut (and a little beeswax now
and then) I have no trouble adjusting the pitch - assuming the strings and frets are true.
Citterns, orpharions and bandoras that use metal strings have the lesser bend
like the guitars you mention. It solves the bend/tension problem for the
materials given.
If you're inclined to use modern stringing and don't mind modern workarounds,
you might consider a modern angle to accomodate it. Or maybe a steel nut ...
and WD-40. It would be less colorful than 15 different loops of yarn though.
Sean
On Nov 11, 2014, at 12:46 AM, Herbert Ward wrote:
The bent-back pegbox means that a lute
has 7.5 times as much friction at
the nut as a guitar, taking angles of
10 degrees for the guitar and 80 for the
lute.
For the strings attached to the farthest
pegs (say, the fourth course) this friction
causes trouble because the strings stick
at the nut during tuning.
Graphite lubrication never helped me much.
Nor did tugging at the string, though it
seems this should work when tuning downward.
To fix the problem, I tied a loop of ordinary
household twine around the string in the peg-
box, and MOVED IT AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO
THE NUT.
Now I adjust the peg, and
then give a momentary tug on the loop. The
tug pulls the string almost completely away
from the nut, and thus equalizes the tension
along the entire length of the string.
In response, the pitch immediately and
reliably reflects the
slightest movement of the peg (in either
direction), as with a harp.
A side-benefit is that the peg stays pushed
in longer, since the peg is turned so little.
Of course, if you put loops on
multiple strings, then you have a mass of loops
from which it is difficult to find the one you
need. I've ordered a skein of multi-colored
knitting yarn to see whether color-coding will
reduce this problem.
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