adamgood
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 6-27-2005
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Daddario string size/tuning question
Hey all,
This maybe has been addressed before in another post.
Yesterday I had a look at a pack of Daddario ud strings (J95 if that means anything). I was surprised to see the tuning vs. the string gauge listed as
follows:
Note --- Diameter
G --- .022
D --- .028
A --- .025w
E --- .029w
etc....
So the pitches are what surprised me. G? do they mean concert D? Or is this really a pack of strings that are to be either cranked up or down to G for
the highest pitch string.
Or, do I correctly assume they are going by some sort of "Turkish musicians transpose up one fourth" theory? Which would be a really bad idea on their
part cuz it's confusing the heck out of me!
thanks!
Adam
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Jameel
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That's always bothered me about the DaDarrio strings. That info is confusing. But the gauges are fine, really. Your theory about the transposing is
correct, I actually talked to them about this at one time, and I think I remember this explanation, but it's been a while, I don't remember the
details of the conversation. Dont crank any string up a whole fourth, for goodness sake! You're pretty well-versed Adam, but for others (me included
when I was just starting) string gauges can be confusing. If you compare string sets from several manufacturers you'll find that gauges are about the
same, course-to-course. You know something is amiss if you see package like the Dadarrios showing .022" tuned to g. Now, an experienced player would
know that on a Turkish or Arabic oud (moreso), this would be way too thin, and they would definitely not tune it way up to the next g, since that note
is not even used on an oud. I'm planning to start carrying some Dadarrio strings, so I might give them a call about this. They must sell a lot of
strings in Turkey, probably why the package is labelled as such.
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adamgood
Oud Junkie
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Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Jameel, thanks for confirming. I'm not good at reading string gauges for nylon strings, steel guitar strings I have no problem with.
Yeah i think it's a bad idea of them to list the transposed pitches for the outside of the pack. Maybe I'll write 'em an email but I'll have to think
of the best way to present the most convincing argument.
Here's the thing, there are so many mis-conceptions about Turkish ud tunings, reading turkish notation and the like. Turkish music is not "written up
a fourth from where it sounds" as I've heard and read from so many people. This is the basis of the mis-conceptions. Simply put, for Turkish music,
the Turkish note name Rast will always be written as a G, second line of the staff. Then it's up to you to decide what pitch to assign Rast to. In the
West, many ud students learn to assign the pitch D to Rast but you can just as well play Rast from G or from C or from E.
When you assign D to Rast you're playing in Bolahenk tuning. then a concert D is written as a G, and that's how you get the listing on the Daddario
strings. But I've heard more than enough musicians and choirs play from Kiz tuning which makes Rast a concert A. Now a concert A is written as a G.
You still have your ud tuned the same and why should you bother calling your highest pitched string a G? Major confusion.
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paulO
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Hi Adam,
These are acceptable guage ranges for a turkish oud, tuned to A. The .022 (for the D string) could also be a .023 -- depends on how the .022 ends up
sounding...sometimes it can be a bit weak sounding.
Regards..PaulO
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adamgood
Oud Junkie
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Great Paul, thank you very much.
Do other types of ud strings come in different gauging schemes? Not that there are many options but say, PVF vs. non-PVF? Would you expect that the D
strings would be of different thickness? And this could be a really dumb question but, how about gut?
Adam
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paulO
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Hi Adam,
I've used the PVF stings that Hank Levin sells, since he's guaged them for tuning in A. The guages are smaller to compensate for the higher tension of
PVF. Check out http://www.musicaravan.com for the info and prices. I've found that the better quality guitar strings work well for the A and D strings --
rectified nylon sounds different than plain nylon. Check out Jameel's website for lots of different string options and info. Good luck.
Regards...PaulO
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