Mike's Oud Forums

question about string tension

juju - 5-30-2013 at 06:22 AM

Hi,
I bought a Kurschner "light" string set. Can you give me your comments about the tension of that string set (I calculated those tensions with the Beier string calculator) ?

My oud has a 61,5cm scale (high F tuning).

f' NR 5054 (rectified nylon) 4,67 kg
c' NR 5064 (rectified nylon) 3,75 kg
g NR 5085 (rectified nylon) 3,64 kg
d VN 5100 (wound) 3,53 kg
A VN 5136 (wound) 3,66 kg
E VN 5180 (wound) 4,04 kg (tuned in F)

I have difficulties to understand how Kurschner made his tension choice. For example, the lightest string of the set is the "d", the consequence of that choice is that my "g" string is thicker than my "d" ... is it normal ???

Thanks for your advices

best,

julien

Jody Stecher - 5-30-2013 at 08:46 AM

It is not unusual for an unwound string to be thicker than a lower tuned wound string that is the next string down. This is true on instruments other than oud as well.

Even if the tension of the third and fourth courses were identical or closer than they are on this set (which is not very different in tension between these two courses) it is possible that the d course would still be thinner than the g course. The tension of a wound string may be a function of factors other than overall diameter. A wide core and light winding may result in different tension than a string of the same diameter that has a narrow core and heavy winding. The materials of both core and winding have an effect as well.

If the oud sounds and responds well with this set then I would not worry.
Quote: Originally posted by juju  
Hi,
I bought a Kurschner "light" string set. Can you give me your comments about the tension of that string set (I calculated those tensions with the Beier string calculator) ?

My oud has a 61,5cm scale (high F tuning).

f' NR 5054 (rectified nylon) 4,67 kg
c' NR 5064 (rectified nylon) 3,75 kg
g NR 5085 (rectified nylon) 3,64 kg
d VN 5100 (wound) 3,53 kg
A VN 5136 (wound) 3,66 kg
E VN 5180 (wound) 4,04 kg (tuned in F)

I have difficulties to understand how Kurschner made his tension choice. For example, the lightest string of the set is the "d", the consequence of that choice is that my "g" string is thicker than my "d" ... is it normal ???

Thanks for your advices

best,

julien

juju - 6-4-2013 at 02:26 AM

Thanks for your reply Jody,
this is the first time that I use the rectified nylon for the "g" string. Normally I use PVF for that string, but I'm not really satisfied with the sound of that material. The main advantage I found with PVF is the thickness of the string. But in the other hand I prefer the sound of the rectified nylon.
I don't have any experience about strings. I imagine that finding the right strings for each oud is a real challenge.
Do you think that using a 0,79mm "g" string (instead of the 0,85mm used by Kurschner in its light set) would be a good option to reduce the difference of thickness between the "g" and the "d" strings ???
best,
julien.

Brian Prunka - 6-4-2013 at 06:00 AM

.79mm is totally fine for a g string, on 61.5 scale I would even go down to .75. The tension is lower, but it's okay.

juju - 6-4-2013 at 06:33 AM

Thank you Brian, I'll try it.
I recently discovered that my oud is sounding better with light strings.
If you have any recommadation for the others strings, I'm ready to experiment.

Julien.

Jody Stecher - 6-4-2013 at 07:14 AM

My opinion is that there is no reason to have concerns about a higher string being thicker than a neighboring lower one. A violin 4th string is typically thinner than the third string for instance. The real experts on oud strings on this forum are Brian and Matthias however.
Quote: Originally posted by juju  
Thanks for your reply Jody,
this is the first time that I use the rectified nylon for the "g" string. Normally I use PVF for that string, but I'm not really satisfied with the sound of that material. The main advantage I found with PVF is the thickness of the string. But in the other hand I prefer the sound of the rectified nylon.
I don't have any experience about strings. I imagine that finding the right strings for each oud is a real challenge.
Do you think that using a 0,79mm "g" string (instead of the 0,85mm used by Kurschner in its light set) would be a good option to reduce the difference of thickness between the "g" and the "d" strings ???
best,
julien.

Brian Prunka - 6-4-2013 at 07:30 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Jody Stecher  
My opinion is that there is no reason to have concerns about a higher string being thicker than a neighboring lower one


This is true, the transition from plain to wound string typically results in a decrease in diameter due to the increased mass/density of metal strings.

juju - 6-7-2013 at 12:57 AM

Thanks for your advices. I talked with Wolfgang Früh (our local string dealer). He told me that Kurschner (the son who replaced his father) is really influenced by Turkish players, even his arabic set light are not adapted to long scale ouds.

I followed your advice and I replaced all the plain strings of the Kurschner light set.
For the "g" string : I followed Brian's advice, the 0,76 mm nylon rectified is sounding great.
For the "c" string : I choose 0,60 mm, it's also ok.
For the "f" string : I choose 0,46 mm, it is a little thin but it sounds great; I'll try 0,48mm.