Strings...

[Felicia Dale]

Hi, all-
I am facing string changing on my Volksgurdy (g/c) and thinking it
might be time to try a new kind of string. I've been using Savarez
forever- but I'd like to know what strings you use and why, how much
they are and where you get them, why you like or don't like the
strings you use, etc., etc., etc.

Thanks for any input.

Felicia.

[Martin Lodahl]

I seem to have a very forgiving instrument and it's happiest in D/G, but
for my starting points I've just used the string diameters from Muskett
and from Destrum & Heidemann in ordering strings from my regular
supplier, Gamut (http://gamutmusic.squarespace.com/). Dan Larson makes
superb strings and for some years I've only in times of dire emergency
used anything else on my violas da gamba, so it seemed natural to use
them on my vielle too. From the website you can shop for the diameter,
material, twist and finish that you want, and "dial in" the combination
that best suits your instrument.

The one exception is that I use Neil Brook's "Wonder String" (synthetic,
I suspect) for the high d' chanterelle. I never did come up with a way
to keep a Savarez string from burbling in that assignment, and was
considering experimenting with thinner strings when I hit on the
combination of the Wonder String and his recommended merest wisp of
cotton. Works for me.

For the wire-wrapped drone strings the substitutes given in the
references above seem to work well enough.

- Martin

--
Martin Lodahl of Auburn, California
UNIX Pro, Musician, Motorcyclist

[Felicia Dale]

Thanks a lot, Martin. Now I'm going to have to (finally) really
educate myself on gut strings so that I can actually do what you
recommend properly.

Thanks again!
Felicia.

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[Drewstix45]

On Oct 10, 6:48 am, Felicia Dale <cruikshan...@pintndale.com> wrote:
> Thanks a lot, Martin.  Now I'm going to have to (finally) really  
> educate myself on gut strings so that I can actually do what you  
> recommend properly.
>
> Thanks again!
> Felicia.
>
> On Oct 9, 2011, at 1:52 PM, Martin Lodahl wrote:
>
>

Felicia,

It may be of some interest and use

> http://www.gurdypedia.com/Gurdypedia/Maintenance/Entries/2011/5/27_Gurdy_String_Calculator.html
>
This may not answer all your questions, but it will give you a very
good insight.

Any questions regarding this and just ask. I will be happy to answer
them

Andrew

> > found athttp://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm.  To reduce  

[Augusto de Ornellas Abreu]

If you want to try a different sound for not so much money, give the viola strings by Corelli Crystal a chance

you can buy a set for 30 dollars, each string for about 6 to 8 dollars. Counting from the lowest (thickest) string, I use the first and the third for my octave G's (you can use the other two for octave D's).

I like them a lot.

Augusto

The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm.  To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster.

[Felicia Dale]

Thank you so much, Andrew! I'm sure I'll have questions as I go along.

Felicia.

> found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce

[Felicia Dale]

Neat!  Thank you for the suggestion.  What do they sound like and what kind of gurdy are you using them on?  

Felicia.

[Augusto de Ornellas Abreu]

I'm not good in describing the quality of the sound, but they do sound quite well to me.

I use it on a gurdy by Galician (NW Spain) maker Jaime Rebollo. He is a young maker but that has gurdies all around Spain, Argentina, etc. One of his great inspirations is Weichselbaumer's HGs, as can been seen by inspecting his instruments (I've taken mine apart when I visited Mel Dorries last month and we saw how it is made). Here is his website with his current models. Mine is not there, but is quite similar to C37

http://rebolloinstruments.com/instrumentos.

It does sound big, and like a alto/tenor gurdy - the vibrating length is something like 39cm if I remember well.

[Felicia Dale]

Thanks for the link, Augusto- those are some mighty pretty looking gurdies!

[Peter Hughes]

I'v been using Corelli Crystal viola strings in my Eaton gurdies for a while now - D works well for a low D chanterelle (though i do use gut most of the time), G all the time for the low  G chanterelle.   In fact  Nigel Eaton used to recommend them, so presumably they're what he used in some of his recordings?

They do come in different weights though.  I use the heavier one.

Peter.