norumba
Oud Junkie
Posts: 220
Registered: 12-15-2003
Location: Taos
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
string tension: need opinions
okeedokee,
for all you string experts there.
am needing to restring my turkish oud, 59cm, at the following tuning: DABEAD.
have been reading for days and nights on newtons, tunings, etc, strings etc.
Im thinking of trying the aquilas and along with Wagners pdfs i came up with the follwing tensions in newtons hi to low:
d: 38
a:35
e:37
B:39
A:37
D:38
will this work, or should i go lower?
also Ronny, i saw on an earlier post youre using Pyramid lute strings from Matthias: what do you think of his custom bashir string tension
calculations?
they are a lot lower than what the daddarios produced...better? that ones next...
thanks!
|
|
|
samzayed
Oud Junkie
Posts: 485
Registered: 11-1-2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mashee el hal
|
|
Hi Norumba,
I am no means a string expert, but I was once in your shoes, studying about string length, Netwons, etc.
I am not familiar with Aquila strings, but your tensions seem reasonable. Generally, I've heard 33 N is low, 37 is medium, 40 is high. How did
you specifically pick these tensions? Did you pick certain gauges that produce these tensions?
When I configured my set, I picked 35 N as the ideal tension, then tried to find a Pyramid model number that fit my string length and tuning. I
posted this experience here http://www.arabicouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=267
I am not sure if you really want to go lower, the strings might sound too "floppy". I hear many oudists are using Pyramids and
D'Addario, using this tuning and length and their getting some tensions in low to mid 40's!
|
|
|
norumba
Oud Junkie
Posts: 220
Registered: 12-15-2003
Location: Taos
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Hi Samzayed,
thanks for the post, thats pretty helpful!
I used a number of resources: matthias Wagners oud pdf http://www.music-strings.de/kataloge/aoud_e.pdf is very helpful in giving a lot of tension measurements for various strings,as well as custom
setups. I was intrigued by the Aquilas, and they have diameters on their page at http://www.aquilausa.com/n_strings.html. this combined with the wadsowrth(?) string calculator, which has aquila nylgut densities on it, let me
figure out some close equivalents.
i came up with a lighter alternative to the set i posted, closer to your ideal of 35N, but im wondering if 35 is too low for a Turkish oud?
it ran, high to low, in newtons:
35 - 33 - 35 -36.5 -34.5 -34.75. the odd amounts are due to some of the string diameters wont hit excactly on the precise newton you want....
thanks! norumba
|
|
|
samzayed
Oud Junkie
Posts: 485
Registered: 11-1-2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mashee el hal
|
|
I am not sure what kind of sound your going for, but generally speaking, the higher the tension, the more piercing and loud the sound, the lower the
tension the delicate and soft the strings will sound. For me, it was my first attempt at customizing my strings, so I picked 35, in the low middle.
Most strings came to 36 - 37, and I think the sound was suitable for my 60 cm Arabic oud. Some also say that if you lower the tension, you get more
deeper vibrations, and more overtones. With my customized set, I definitely can tell a difference in the deep, warm hum. But I am not sure if this
because of the tension, or because Pyramid lute strings are higher quality strings, than regular oud strings.
Bascially, with all the science and theory, you'll never know until you try. Good luck!
|
|
|
norumba
Oud Junkie
Posts: 220
Registered: 12-15-2003
Location: Taos
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
hi, thanks for the tips - i know about the differences in tension in terms of sound quality ( have been a guitarist for 30 years) - i just know that
ouds are a lot more delicate, so im trying to not overtorque the turkish oud. ...
|
|
|
Ronny Andersson
Oud Junkie
Posts: 724
Registered: 8-15-2003
Location: Sweden
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
>D:38 ll this work, or should i go lower?
> also Ronny, i saw on an earlier post >youre using Pyramid lute strings from >Matthias: what do you think of his >custom bashir string
tension >calculations?
>they are a lot lower than what the >daddarios produced...better? that ones
>next...
Which calculation? Myself use the set for 57cm. This set is not calculated by Matthias Wagner and the tension is lower than d'addario. I prefer
them in front of d'addario when the string tension is little bit to high for some technique and also the eagle quill get broken to quick.
I used a different set for a classical oud with 58cm string lenght, based on Matthias calculations and I recommend them for ouds with a short string
lenght.
Best wishes
Ronny
|
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbprobrown/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
