Christian1095
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 4-29-2008
Location: North Carolina, USA
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Pyramid Strings....
Hey all, I had a string snap on me last night. I've been experimenting with a set of Pyramid strings for the past month or so... So last night I had
just set the oud down and after a few minutes I heard a loud pop. The top string on the d course snapped down by the bridge.
I had noticed some slight discoloration there when I put them on so perhaps I just got a defective string.
The question I have for the forum is this: Is this common?
My other two ouds have Aquilla Light tension strings (DGAdgc) and I haven't had this problem with them at all... Are Aquilla strings more durable
because they're copper and not silver wrapped? Or did I just get a freak set of strings?
Also, with the Pyramids, I had initally had them wrapped like this on the gg and cc courses.... Just like in the picture below... Intially, they
produced A LOT of buzzing that went away after about a week or so... Then a few nights ago, it came back.... At first I thought I had a loose
rosette When I put the gg and cc courses like the rest of the strings - just a loop, no twisting - the buzz stopped immediately...
Has anyone else had this experiance?
Chris Walters
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SamirCanada
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sorry to hear about that man...
its just a freak accident Chris. Nothing to worry about.
I find pyramid strings more durable in fact.
and also its a good idea to stick to the one loop knot for the wound string. I prefer it like that.
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Danielo
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I had the same misadventure recently.. Seconds after setting a new set of pyramid lute strings on my oud, one of the d-strings broke, despite the fact
I chose the tension quite low (around 3.7kg)  It was not at the bridge however,
but at the nut.
Fortunately I had a spare d-string pair from a kurschner set, they work well together. Incidentally I noticed that the kurschner oxydize much faster
than the pyramids.
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charlie oud
Oud Junkie
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Pyramid 'lute' strings are very finely and lightly wound, more so than nial gut basses or Pyramid 'oud' strings. The thinner wound string can break
easily if the nut groove is not very smooth and if the wound metal coil is not close bound at any point along the string (as can be seen at the string
ends) this also makes the string vulnerable to snap. All said, they still seem to be the most favoured choice. C
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jdowning
Oud Junkie
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I have used 'Pyramid' strings (on lutes) for over 30 years and do not recall having strings 'snap' at the bridge. I have experienced this type of
failure, however, with historical gut and silk strings. As a lute player - using 'finger style' technique rather than plectrum (risha) - and string
tensions between 2.5 and 4 Kg - the stresses on the strings are likely less than on an oud. Nevertheless, the string hitch at the bridge would seem to
be a particularly high stress point in either case.
I always tie the string to bridge with a few turns (as in g and c above). I suppose if there are too many turns this might cause an excessive stress
point at the bridge?
String breakage at the nut would indicate a sharp edge or lack of 'smoothness' at the nut as a cause - if string tensions are correct.
Pyramid over spun lute strings are not 'silver' but are silver plated copper or brass wire. The thin plating will wear off in use. An indication that
the strings need to be replaced perhaps?
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