Hurdy gurdy diagnostic - "shudder" on low A

(Added February 2008: This problem was solved within a very short time of when the video was first posted. The problem had something to do with the nut for the string in question and simply reseating the nut took care of it. It was not a problem with the string itself since changing strings had no effect. It was the nut.)

I have run into an intermittent problem with my C/G gurdy in which the low A (first diatonic key) on one of the melody strings (the top one in this image, which is the only string I am playing on in this video) has a "shudder" when the key is released. The entire string visibly shakes and has an unpleasant sound that sounds something like a stutter that tapers off over a period of about a second. (It also does it to a lesser degree on the A♭/G♯ key, but is not terribly noticeable). It happens only on one of the strings, not the other two, and is not caused by contact with a tangent and there is nothing obviously wrong with the string geometry. It does not happen with other notes, as is clear in the recording. When observing the string directly, it appears that the string shudders in a radius of about 1 mm greater than the normal vibrational envelope that is observed while playing, and it seems to shake back and forth in time with the shuddering sound (although I cannot confirm that it in fact does).

String is a twisted gut string from Gamut strings that is about a year old and that, aside from this problem, still plays admirably.

Sound quality of the video is not great, but I did this using my laptop's built-in microphone and video camera, so the weakness of the audio on the video is not indicative of the actual sound of the instrument and is not diagnostic for the problem. (The instrument is one made by Balázs Nagy, whose instruments are known for having a very robust sound.)

I welcome any suggestions for the source of this problem and how to fix it. I have tried to figure this one out for a while, but I cannot find any obvious (or unobvious, for that matter) reason for the shudder.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• hurdy
• gurdy
• troubleshooting

[1430sl]

ok, and the position of the notes into the keyboard? ist the same?

[fenevadka]

@1430sl It depends on the tuning of the instrument. This is a C/G hurdy-gurdy, which means the open string sounds a G and what looks like the C key on the piano sounds a C. But there are A/E instruments (typical in Hungary) in which case the “C” key sounds an A (the music is often noted in C, so it's a transposing instrument) and G/D instruments from France where the open string sounds a D and the “C” key makes a G. In terms of relative sales, it's just like a piano, but absolute pitches vary.

[1430sl]

hi! the metod playing of this instrument ist the piano notes position?

[fenevadka]

@1430sl It is similar, but the action is very different (pushed inward/upward) from a piano. But if you do play piano, the keyboard is very easy to get used to.

[buildsbest]

Thanks for sharing. Very descriptive

[fenevadka]

Thanks for the compliment.

[harrynicholas]

Is this a middle-eastern police siren.

[cammense]

kinda reminds me of a turret from portal :D

[1430sl]

OK, VERY INTERESANT! very thanzs! :)

[szerenyi1]

Hi , I am hurdy gurdy maker

If I can help for you , please write me.

you can see my hurdy gurdy modells and musik videos on szerenyi.hu

All the best

Szerényi Béla

[konstanosa]

I think this is is an ambulance.