wire chanter strings

[MITC...@aol.com]

I had the chance briefly to try out one of Mel and Ann's (Hurdy Gurdy Crafters) kit-built gurdies earlier this week in the process of evaluating it for a friend to purchase. Overall I was impressed with the instrument for its use by beginning to intermediate players -- very solid, nice full sound, excellent trompette. But I've never played a gurdy with steel chanter strings before. At first I thought this was a bad idea, and wanted to replace them with the usual gut chanters before sending it on to my friend. But the sound was pretty good, and the pressure on the wheel wasn't unreasonable, so I left it alone. I'm just wondering what others on the gurdy list think of steel chanter strings. Are there problems with using them? Advantages? In particular, for an instrument such as this one with metal tangents, are there good reasons to use steel chanter strings, or is it best to replace them with gut? And what would you buy, if you needed to replace the steel strings with other steel strings, for D/G tuning in particular?

 

Thanks,

 

Mitch Gordon

Guerneville, California, US

[Kevin Hughes]

When you say "steel strings" are you talking about a wound string? Or just a plain metal string like an unwound guitar string?  
 
I've used violin strings on a D/G HG, particularly for the lower chantrelle.  I used a Thomastic Dominant violin D string, which has a perlon core and aluminum winding.  Usually I've used a gut string for the high chantrelle.  I did have a case where the high chantrelle broke and I used a wound violin E string to replace it.  I've never tried a plain unwound string, mostly because I felt the tension might be too high, nor a steel core violin string for the same reason.
 
Kevin
 

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From: MITC...@aol.com
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:14:09 -0400
Subject: [HG-new] wire chanter strings
To: hurdy...@googlegroups.com

[Simon Wascher]

Hello,

Am 27.04.2011 um 20:14 schrieb MITC...@aol.com:
> I'm just wondering what others on the gurdy list think of steel chanter strings. Are there problems with using them? Advantages? In particular, for an instrument such as this one with metal tangents, are there good reasons to use steel chanter strings, or is it best to replace them with gut? And what would you buy, if you needed to replace the steel strings with other steel strings, for D/G tuning in particular?

what type steel strings is it in his partiular case? there are several types of core construction that also have different qualities: metal rope core, braid core and solid core.
Also the material of the outer coating: tungsten, aluminium, steel, silver has a strong influence.

So it matters what brand it is. I use Thomastik's brand Spirocore, and used to use Pirastro's Eudoxa violin e' for d' on a 34.5 cm D/G (Christopher Eaton luteback; low d was Savarez's nylonfiber core Corelli Chrystal Violin d)

For my taste and purpose these strings are best value, reliability and accessabillity.

S.

[MITC...@aol.com]

Simon and Kevin -

 

I'm asking about the metal strings out of total ignorance -- I've only used gut strings. These were definitely not wound, other than that I don't know what they were. Both chanters were the same gauge, presumably for tuning both to the same note. I tuned them to the usual D pitch for a low chanter on a D/G, and the tension seemed ok. 

 

From your comments, I'm guessing that my friend needs to replace these strings in order to bring it into conventional D/G tuning, and that either wound wire or gut is fine for the low chanter but that the high chanter should definitely be gut. Subject, of course, to using the correct type and gauge of string for each of these purposes...

 

Is that right?

 

Mitch

 

 

 

brun...@hotmail.com writes:

When you say "steel strings" are you talking about a wound string? Or just a plain metal string like an unwound guitar string?  
 
I've used violin strings on a D/G HG, particularly for the lower chantrelle.  I used a Thomastic Dominant violin D string, which has a perlon core and aluminum winding.  Usually I've used a gut string for the high chantrelle.  I did have a case where the high chantrelle broke and I used a wound violin E string to replace it.  I've never tried a plain unwound string, mostly because I felt the tension might be too high, nor a steel core violin string for the same reason.

[Simon Wascher]

Hello,

Am 27.04.2011 um 21:03 schrieb MITC...@aol.com:
> From your comments, I'm guessing that my friend needs to replace these strings in order to bring it into conventional D/G tuning, and that either wound wire or gut is fine for the low chanter but that the high chanter should definitely be gut. Subject, of course, to using the correct type and gauge of string for each of these purposes...
>
> Is that right?

my recomandation for D/G would be:
for the d'' (the higher): Pirastro's Eudoxa violin e'' for d'' (solid steel core, coating: steel flat steel wire wound)
for the d' (the lower): Savarez's Corelli Chrystal Violin d (nylonfiber core, coating: flat silver wire wound)

that is wound strings for both chanters. I used this on a 34.5 cm Ch. Eaton Luteback.

sorry for indicating te octaves wrong in my first mail

S.

[Judith Lindenau]

I agree with Simon: both of these strings are excellent choices...

Judith

Judith Lindenau JWL Consulting and Coaching www.judithlindenau.com
231-715-1416

[kevin hughes]

Another alternative for the high chanter is Neil Brook's wonderstring:

http://www.hurdy-gurdy.org.uk/accessories.html (it is a about 2/3ds of the
way down the page.

[Melvin Dorries]

Wow! We never cease to learn from our Hurdy-gurdies! We haven't  tried steel chanter strings but may in the future. Building gurdies as well as putting together the kits for others is certainly a never ending adventure bringing new people and ideas into our shop.

Thank you. 

 Mel & Ann Dorries

From: "MITC...@aol.com" <MITC...@aol.com>
To: hurdy...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 2:14 PM
Subject: [HG-new] wire chanter strings

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[MITC...@aol.com]

Mel, since my friend's new instrument was one of your kits originally, I'd be curious to hear what strings you'd normally have used (for both the G/C and D/G tunings). That might be useful information for him, since he has to replace the existing strings anyway. (By the way, I don't think your "no strings attached" offer to Sally makes sense, because she won't get any sound from the instrument without strings...)

 

Thanks, Simon and Kevin, for detailing the metal strings you'd use. I might try these myself someday, although I'm pretty happy with using Savarez gut strings on my gurdy. I usually go with Alden's recommendations for gut chanter and trompette strings, which (for D/G) are something like .074 for the high chanter, .095 for the trompette and a really fat .122 or something for the low chanter. I like the big string on the low chanter a lot, since I play low chanter and trompette (without high chanter) a fair amount, and a thinner low chanter tends to get drowned out. Both Roz and I use this string setup for D/G, on my Gotschy Phoenix and on her Boudet luteback. But it's interesting and useful to know that there are some good wound wire string options out there, especially for that low chanter.

 

Mitch Gordon

Guerneville, California, US

 

[Melvin Dorries]

Hi Mitch,

 

Yes,  we do need some strings attached don't we!

 

The Monarch kit is designed and built on the heavy side so that builders do not have to have the best woodwoking skills or joints to insure that they have a solid HG.

It is offered with natural gut chanters of .038" or .97mm for unison g/c tuning & natural gut for unison D/G in .040" or 1.04mm, we also offer the high d" in synthetic (wonder string or badminton string) in .027". This is what I recommend for replacement. Guts are good.

 

mel

From: "MITC...@aol.com" <MITC...@aol.com>
To: hurdy...@googlegroups.com

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[MITC...@aol.com]

Sorry, Mel, my numbers were intended to be in mm, but were off by a decimal point. Your high D at .027" works out to around .70 mm, which about the same as the .74 mm I use. But for the low D I used to use the 1.05 mm, but have gone to a fatter string at Alden's suggestion, and love it. Really rich, full sound. I don't have my gurdy or my notes handy, but I vaguely recall that it's something like 1.15 or 1.22 mm (unless I'm confusing it with the mouche). Alden, if you're out there, what's your recommended low D chanter gut string thickness?

 

Mitch