Category Archives: strings

Effect of String Tension on Archtop Guitar Action Height

2023
AL#150 p.14               
Sjaak Elmendorp                                                                                           

▪ When you tighten the strings on an archtop guitar, the neck lifts forward and the action height increases. At the same time, the bridge pushes the top down and the action height decreases. It’s a win-win! So you can just feel lucky about it and proceed naively along your life path, or you can do what Elmendorp did: get a bucket of water, a piece of wire, and a dial indicator; collect some data; then crunch the numbers.

Reducing Frequency Error in Electric Guitars

2023
AL#150 p.38               
Mark French   Devon Pessler   Alyssa Fernandez                                                                                   

▪ Ya talk about rabbit holes. Research into guitar intonation just gets deeper and deeper. This article homes in on individual string compensation at the nut, plus small adjustments to the position of the 1st and 2nd frets. Industrial strength data collection. Heed the eggheads.

Guitar Evolution’s Missing Link: The Early 5-String

2022
AL#147 p.28               
James Buckland                                                                                           

▪ Baroque guitars were 5-course instruments. That is, they had ten strings in five pairs. Then suddenly here comes the 19th century and guitars had six single strings. Yadda yadda, now it’s today and everything is normal. The real story is a lot more interesting than that and it actually involves a “missing link;” the 5-string guitar. Luthier, guitarist, and scholar Buckland lays it all out for us.

Earidescent Nightingales: A New Instrument Family

2022
AL#146 p.50               
Richard Bozung                                                                                           

▪ Here’s a new kind of autoharp that can change keys in seconds without retuning or switching chord bars. It’s easy to build, and sounds great because you play it with your ear pressed to the side.

Small is Beautiful: the Piccolo Balalaika

2022
AL#145 p.42               
Sjaak Elmendorp                                                                                           

▪ Here’s the story of a big guy and his little balalaika. After rashly promising a friend that he would make a balalaika although he knew nothing about the distinctively triangular Russian instrument. We’ve all been there, right? Sjaak went on to explore and build the rare descant member of the family. Mentions balalaika player Jan Van der Hoogt.

Delving into the Vagaries and Mysteries of Early Gibson Guitar Strings By Way of the Harp Guitar

2019
AL#137 p.32               
Gregg Miner                                                                                           

▪ Ready for an Americana-infused, vintage-lutherie, history-detective-style nerdfest? Yes, that old joker Orville Gibson is still full of surprises, even now, a century after his death. We have a lot to learn about string material, tension, intention, and nomenclature. Not to mention marketing and musical snobbery.

Meet the Maker: Mark French

2018
AL#133 p.22               
R.M. Mottola   Mark French                                                                                       

▪ Mark French was a kid who took guitar lessons and paid the guy at the music store to change his strings. He went on to be an aerospace engineer, but with all that book learning he still did not know how guitars worked. Now he teaches college courses on guitar making and hangs out with captains of industry at Fender and Taylor.

A Field Guide to Mandolins

2017
AL#132 p.30               
Graham McDonald                                                                                           

▪ Mandolins have come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and styles in over 350 years of history. And while you are not likely to stumble upon the kind of mandolin that Vivaldi wrote for, you may find yourself looking at a century-old American factory-made cutie like this Smurf-head Regal, resplendent in muliple pearloids. This article gives you a quick introduction to the rich diversity in the great Family of Man(dolin).

Questions: Does it make an instrument louder to add unison strings?

2015
AL#124 p.71               
David Cohen                                                                                           

▪ Would a guitar be twice as loud if it to be all strung in double unison courses? The short answer is no. Dr. Dave gives the long answer.

Inharmonicity of Guitar Strings

2009
AL#100 p.48               read this article
Mark French                                                                                           

▪ Guitar strings need to be the “wrong” length in order to sound “right.” The gloriously simple math of Pythagoras doesn’t accomplish this. French uses lasers and spreadsheets, more numbers, and Greek letters to attempt to get closer.

Questions: String Tension

2008
AL#95 p.67               
Thomas Knatt                                                                                           

▪ Proportional deformation of an instrument in relation to the amount of time the instrument is under tension and the effect of strategic de-tuning on this.

Harp Guitars: Past, Present, and Future

2008
AL#93 p.20      ALA6 p.64         
Mike Doolin   Kerry Char   Gary Southwell   Fred Carlson                                                                               

▪ Harp guitars have undergone a renaissance of sorts, in construction alternatives as well as the music that is being invented for them. Players want banks of super treble strings as well as an extended bass range. Luthiers have responded with new designs and different string configurations that make newer harp guitars more user friendly, more graceful, and musically more pertinent. The four members of this panel discussion are among the leading small builders of these interesting mega-guitars. With 53 photos and 2 sketches.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Questions: Vintage Strings

2007
AL#91 p.68               
Fan Tao                                                                                           

▪ Obscure information on original string types as fitted to early Orville Gibson archtops.

Questions: 17″ Scale Length String

2006
AL#87 p.65               
R.M. Mottola                                                                                           

▪ A string that can be put on a 17″ scale length instrument with an after length to the tailpiece of about 6″ that is strong enough to reach a mandolin E tuning without breaking.

Review: Folk Harp Design and Construction by Jeremy H. Brown

2005
AL#83 p.52   BRB7 p.532            read this article
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer notes that this book is more about harp construction theory than about actual construction techniques, but decides that that is where the emphasis should be. He notes that the section of string length vs. string tension is especially useful, and that the book as a whole should have an important place on any harp makers’ reference shelf.

Eight Concerns of Highly Successful Guitar Makers

2004
AL#79 p.6   BRB7 p.206            
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ In a sense Brune is laying down the law for successful classical guitar making. Much of it will be useful to any builder, and all of it is interesting because Brune is an interesting man who has his thoughts together. Not to mention that he’s a heck of a luthier with a deep background in the history of his craft. With 30 photos and 8 diagrams. Mentions Santos Hernandez, Marcelo Barbaro, Ignacio Fleta, Hermann Hauser, Sr.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.

Forces on Archtop Guitars

2003
AL#74 p.30   BRB7 p.56            
Franz Elferink                                                                                           

▪ A variety of forces begun by simple string tension not only make our instruments function but may eventually tear them apart. With a little math we can determine what those forces are and sort of decide if our archtops are beefy enough to withstand them. With 3 drawings.

What Happens If I Make It Bigger?

2003
AL#73 p.36   BRB7 p.14            
Jon Sevy                                                                                           

▪ This piece is aptly subtitled “Rules of thumb for approximating changes in the size of braces, tops, and strings,” which sums it up nicely. Our teachers promised us that math wouldn’t be irrelevant in our futures, and here their words come back to bite us. Sevy obviously believed them, and here presents some “easy” formulas for calculating the results of changes in size we might make in our instruments.

Meet the Maker: George Wunderlich

2003
AL#73 p.50   BRB7 p.24            
Nathan Stinnette   George Wunderlich                                                                                       

▪ Wunderlich builds minstrel banjos, recreations of banjos made before the various factories turned them into standardized items that standardized the way we all think about the banjo. With 6 photos.

Questions: Flamenco Strings and Setup

2000
AL#61 p.64   BRB6 p.113            
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ Info on typical string clearances at the 1st and 12th frets on a flamenco guitar, based on GAL plan #42 (1951 M. Barbero) by R.E. Brune.

Questions: Playability Variables

1998
AL#56 p.64   BRB5 p.309            
Jeffrey R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ The variables that influence the ‘feel’ or playability of instruments with the same scale length, string gauge, and setup.

Scale Length and Tone

1997
AL#51 p.6   BRB5 p.86            
Ralph Novak                                                                                           

▪ Scale length is seldom used as a design criterion to achieve a given tone, but Novak shows that a given set of strings behaves differently according to the scale length it is stretched over. There are reasons to change other than player comfort. Impress your friends with your knowledge of the evil clang tone. With 6 graphs and 2 photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

GAL Instrument Plan #39: Hammered Dulcimer

1995
AL#41 p.29   BRB4 p.137            
Debbie Suran   Nicholas Von Robison                                                                                       

▪ Suran’s design allows for the least amount of tension over the side bridges, which contributes to instrument stability. A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.

Violin Q & A: E String Breakage/Neck Removal

1994
AL#39 p.58   BRB4 p.442            
Michael Darnton                                                                                           

▪ Darnton tells what to look for if a certain string breaks consistently, and how to remove a firmly attached violin neck.

Violin Setups, Part Two

1994
AL#37 p.26   BRB3 p.352            read this article
Michael Darnton                                                                                           

▪ And you thought you knew all there was to know about making that fiddle play. Darnton continues his instruction from AL#35. This time he tunes and fits the bridge, strings, tailpiece, saddle, and end button. With 13 photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

What You Should Know About the Hardanger Fiddle

1993
AL#36 p.26   BRB3 p.410            read this article
David Golber                                                                                           

▪ The chief difference between the Hardanger and a normal violin is its use of sympathetic strings, though other differences abound. Ornate decoration is also usual. Golber offers a good description of a typical Hardanger and how to set it up.With 9 photos and a number of drawings.

Violin Q & A: String Recommendations/Purfling Grooves

1993
AL#36 p.58   BRB3 p.446            
Michael Darnton                                                                                           

▪ Darnton discusses classical violin strings and a timesaving method of cutting the purfling slots.

Violin Setups, Part One

1993
AL#35 p.6   BRB3 p.352            read this article
Michael Darnton                                                                                           

▪ To the uninitiated, violin setup seems to have way too many steps for the small number of moveable parts involved. Taken one step at a time, the mystery falls away. Darnton explains the tools and procedures he uses to get the most out of a violin. This segment includes fitting pegs, correcting problems with the nut, making a fingerboard, and fitting a soundpost. Part Two is printed in AL#37. With 30 photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

A New Look at Harp Guitars

1993
AL#34 p.24   BRB3 p.334   ALA6 p.30         
Jonathon Peterson                                                                                           

▪ In AL#29 Peterson looked back at the harp guitar. This time he takes a forward look. A number of luthiers find fascination and a new potential in the big beast, and this is the best look at their results to date. With 28 photos and 8 detailed drawings. Also available is GAL full-scale Plan #34, the Klein solidbody electric harp guitar.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Building the Prima Gusli

1991
AL#27 p.26   BRB3 p.100            read this article
James Flynn                                                                                           

▪ This instrument is a unique and graceful-looking Russian folk psaltery, a sophisticated version of the lap harp grade schoolers play by sliding numbered sheet music under the strings.

The Portuguese Guitarra: A Modern Cittern

1991
AL#27 p.34   BRB3 p.108            read this article
Ronald Louis Fernandez                                                                                           

▪ This instrument is a lovely looking cittern, sort of a big mandolin with 12 strings. The traditional tuners are unique, compact, and distinctly ungraceful, but they allow—indeed, encourage—the use of a wonderfully distinctive headstock. With 16 photos.

String Making: Old and New

1989
AL#20 p.22   BRB2 p.320            
James Rickard                                                                                           

▪ Life inside the D’Addario company. With 25 photos and 3 drawings.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Harmonic Analysis of String Excitation Methods

1988
AL#13 p.40   BRB2 p.20            
J. Jovicic   O. Jovicic                                                                                       

▪ This is a scientific analysis of how variations in picking a note change the response of the classical guitar. Translated from the French.

Musical Strings

1987
AL#9 p.36   BRB1 p.334            read this article
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Have you ever wondered how cat gut strings were named? This article suggests an answer as it delves into some string facts and fictions.

Nylon/Steel String Guitar

1986
AL#8 p.35   BRB1 p.463            
Francis Kosheleff                                                                                           

▪ Kosheleff changes the treble quality of his classical guitars by using three steel strings run through the standard bridge and then attached to a tailpiece.

Fiddle Facts

1986
AL#8 p.47   BRB1 p.296            read this article
Al Stancel                                                                                           

▪ Stancel offers an interesting potpourri of violin information concerning steel wool, bow bugs, tuning pegs, appraisers and the IRS, appraiser scams, and the dangers of steel strings to old fiddles.

Letter to the Editor: Error in Letter of AL#4

1986
AL#5 p.7               
Michael Knutson                                                                                           

▪ Knutson makes a correction to his earlier letter about wire strength and string tension printed in AL#4 (which was a response to an article in AL#2).

Devolution of the Modern Lute

1985
AL#4 p.22   BRB1 p.116            read this article
Robert Cooper                                                                                           

▪ Cooper’s lecture tracks his own development as a lute maker and the instrument’s return to historically accurate models. Mentions Hermann Hauser II, a number of performers, which designs and glues are preferable, how to remove a neck when necessary, and briefly discusses strings.

String Tension and Gauges

1985
AL#2 p.42   BRB1 p.78            
Graham McDonald                                                                                           

▪ McDonald gives formulae and graphs to determine appropriate steel string gauges for nonstandard scale lengths.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Calculating String Tension

1980
DS#144   LW p.106            read this article
Max Krimmel                                                                                           

▪ To use this article you’ll need a gram scale, a Hz frequency chart, and a calculator. You can figure for yourself what some of the string makers won’t tell you.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

String Metals and Windings

1975
DS#17   BRB2 p.105            
Joseph Valentich                                                                                           

▪ The scale of instrument and string tension, string materials and string winding, core wire and wrapping wire size, and acoustic and electric strings for application to ethnic fretted instruments.