Eric Stern Music
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Cumbus Question.
Hi. So I recently purchased a Cumbus and even after going online and searching this forum I'm a little confused about the tuning. I have my courses
tuned up one step from where my oud is so I am at DGBEAD from low to high. It sounds good there but I am wondering how high can I tune it (I'd like to
tune it at least a step higher) ? I would never tune my ouds higher than they are supposed to go but I've seen stuff online saying I could tune it
much higher than I have (and it's not the confusion about Turkish being a fourth difference). So is it a matter of getting different strings for
higher tunings or can you actually tune it up much higher? Is the action adjustment related to the tuning it...in other words if I tuned it higher
would I then adjust the action on the back? Thanks so much in advance and I appreciate this forum very much.
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Eric Stern Music
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For example on the "Tuning instructions" that came with it it says:
Standard: ABEadg or DEADGC. Those seem to me to be radically different. Are they suggesting you could us those tunings with the same string set? I'm
using the strings it came with.
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Jody Stecher
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These letters represent identical tunings that are one step apart. Remember: in Turkish music everything is written a fourth higher than it is in the
rest of the world. So what is represented as "standard" means Turkish Standard.
A B e a d g means E F#B e a d, and that is one step higher than DEA d g c.
The instructions mean that the set of attached strings may be lowered a step from E F#B e a d.
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Eric Stern Music
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Oh I see that makes sense. They aren't giving you two alternatives they are representing an equivalence. Maybe the higher tunings I am seeing (here's
a whole conversation about it: http://tribes.tribe.net/cumbus/thread/be128389-3bb1-4d66-8426-fe67d... ) is the equivalent of F A d g c f for oud. I thought that perhaps the action adjustment mechanism allowed you to tune higher and then you'd adjust
accordingly. Sounds like higher tunings need lighter gauge strings.
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Jack_Campin
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Standard cumbus tuning is (low to high) ABEADG. Some people use ADEADG. Others take it a tone down from one or other of those. I have a small one I
keep a semitone higher than that, in B flat pitch. Taking it down to oud pitch will sound horrible. The STRINGS (if you buy Turkish ones) are
labelled DEADGC, but you read the string pitches up a fifth according to Turkish notational convention.
Explanations here:
http://ericederer.com/cumbus/cumbus.html
I have a cumbus page (predating Ederer's and less detailed, but with added cats) here:
http://www.campin.me.uk/Music/Cumbus/
Note: when you retune a cumbus, do it SLOWLY. It takes days for the instrument to adjust to the strings getting fully tightened. If you're shifting
the tuning significantly you'll need to use the neck adjustment screw.
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Eric Stern Music
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Thank you that's helpful. I think what confused me is that when tuning was listed as ABEADG or a similar variant I wasn't certain where that low A
was. Seems like it's the A below middle C on the piano, A 440? Thanks everyone. I guess I'll adjust the neck as I go, slowly, as you say. Thanks
again.
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Jack_Campin
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The A below middle C is 220Hz, but you've got the idea.
Getting good cumbus strings can be difficult. Fortunately they last quite well.
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Eric Stern Music
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I knew I was gonna get that wrong! Thanks.
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adamgood
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Jack I've always tuned my cumbus to (let's just call it) standard ud tuning and thought the sound and feel was just fine. I just spent some time
jacking it up to ABEADG at your recommendation (actually I'm a half step below at this point. Tomorrow is another day) and having found a few youtube
videos. Immediately broke one of my highest pitched strings which I know I've done in the past during similar experiments 
Just curious, do you pop many of those strings trying to crank up to G?
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Jack_Campin
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I've never broken a cumbus string in 20 years, even with the really cheap Turkish sets. They rust before they break.
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