epokhe
Oud Addict
Posts: 35
Registered: 10-12-2013
Member Is Offline
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Another string-related question
Hi everyone,
I'm breaking in my new Shehata (this is week 3!) and I'm finding that whenever I try to tune the strings higher than {A D F# B e a}, they become so
tense they seem ready to pop. Which still leaves me a minor 3rd shy of the standard Arabic tuning that starts on C.
I'm using Pyramid orange label #650, and the oud has a normal 61 cm scale, 36 cm bowl width, etc. I thought that maybe the strings needed a week to
stretch out and settle in, but at this point something must be wrong, no? Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!
(If this issue has already been address, my apologies: I'll gladly accept links to the relevant threads!)
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2916
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Mood: Stringish
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You might be tuning a sixth high, not a third low?
The standard Arabic tuning, in scientific pitch notation (designating octaves) is:
C2, F2, A2, D3, G3, C4.
In other words, the highest string is "middle C". The lowest string is the same as the lowest string on a cello, or a major 3rd below the lowest
string on a guitar.
I can only guess that that is what's happening, because at 61cm a Pyramid should not even be close to breaking when tuned a min3 below C.
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epokhe
Oud Addict
Posts: 35
Registered: 10-12-2013
Member Is Offline
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Thanks for the suggestion, Brian.
I double-checked to make sure that I was in the right octave, and in the process I realized that it wasn't a matter of tension at all. The strings
were positioned poorly in the pegbox, making lots of contact with the inner walls and with each other, and so slipping out at various points during
tuning. After cleaning up the pegbox, the tuning issue resolved itself.
Thanks again!
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