Re : Re : [tuning] Re: Sabat-Garibaldi's Dinarra (was: A new era in JI guitar design!)

>De : "Paul Erlich" <paul@stretch-music.com>
>À : tuning@yahoogroups.com
>Objet : Re : [tuning] Re: Sabat-Garibaldi's Dinarra (was: A new era in JI
guitar design!)
>Date : Ven 7 sep 2001 20:51
>

> --- In tuning@y..., "Wim Hoogewerf" <wim.hoogewerf@f...> wrote:
>> Eduardo wrote:
>>
>> > Wim,
>> > Merci beaucoup for your comments.
>> > We took two Dinarras to Microthon 2000.
>> > Alejandro Sanchez preferes strings "11" instead of the "9" ones.
>> > ("11" stands for 0.011 inches for the first string, E).
>> > Like you and me, all the other guitar players that have played
> electric
>> >
>> > Dinarra prefer strings number 9.
>> > I would like to know what do you mean by the word "bend",
>> > I guess it means bar of finger, am I riight?
>>
>> Eduardo, I don't remember trying bar-chords (using one finger on
> different
>> strings at the same time). However, I think that's very well
> possible on the
>> dinarra, since the strings are very close to the fretboard.
> By 'bend' I mean
>> moving a string sideways, in the same direction as the fret, so you
> change
>> the pitch. (This is what David Beardsley indicated.) I tried
> to 'bend' but
>> needed too much force, because of the 0.011 inch E-string. Strings
> had
>> really extremely heavy tension.
>>
>> -- Wim
>
> I find that strange because I have little trouble bending a 0.011
> inch high E string by a whole tone. Then again, I'm used to bending
> all the time, even on 0.013s; Wim, as a classical player, may not
> exercise the bending muscles much (Wim?)

You're right, Paul: classical players hardly ever bend the strings. However,
while I studied the Indian sitar in Amsterdam, long time ago, I learned a
very efficient technic, allowing bends up to a fourth. I decided to stop my
sitar studies then, but still continued to use this technic, especially in
contemporary guitarmusic. (To do even a real quartertone-bend on a classical
guitar you have to pull up the string much more than on an electric guitar.)

When I said that bends weren't possible on the heavy gauge string Dinnara, I
really mend to say that they were useless, since the expressive bend-pitch
could be perfectly achieved by a mere change in the finger-position, moving
some frets upward or downwards. I concluded that with heavy strings the
system was self-supplying, not needing any 'intruders'.
>
> I find that anything thinner than a 0.010 inch set gives poor tone,
> even on my nice electric guitars.

Agreed. Wim

On 9/7/01 6:26 PM, "Wim Hoogewerf" <wim.hoogewerf@fnac.net> wrote:

> When I said that bends weren't possible on the heavy gauge string Dinnara, I
> really mend to say that they were useless, since the expressive bend-pitch
> could be perfectly achieved by a mere change in the finger-position, moving
> some frets upward or downwards. I concluded that with heavy strings the
> system was self-supplying, not needing any 'intruders'.

I've been using the lightest strings possible for years, ever since my
non-growing hands decided to stay so small. I wasn't able to bend strings
too well without them. After having played so many fretted temperaments on
a guitar, I've noticed several times that after about 40 notes an octave,
not only what Wim said, that expression can be achieved, but also that I
completely lose the *urge* to bend completely. In the 20s and 30s even, I
still occasionally bend notes out a little to see if I'm playing in the
right temperament, I mean, if I'm trying to hit a note that's just not
there. In the 40s and up, I *always* feel an instinct to slide, never to
bend.

I've mentioned before my experience that differently tempered fretboards can
sound so different on the same guitar. The point? Well... thanks to this
post, I just realized that I've never once thought of using thicker strings,
just out of force of habit. I can now imagine, that all of the curious
microacoustic echoing around fret cavities that makes such distinct timbres,
would most probably be made richer by putting on thicker strings. The
thought just never occurred, "hey now that I don't have to bend strings
anymore, maybe thicker strings would add to the sound."

Thanks for posting (?!) Strange part of a strange thread to all of a sudden
have sparked a thought so profound to my current set up.

Most serendipitous.

Marc