Strings

Strings:

Dan Trueman did extensive string tests when he got the first hardanger d'amore. The strings he uses are, as of August 2019:

C: Chorda silver viola 22

G: Eudoxa G 15.25

D: Eudoxa D 16.25

A: Eudoxa A 13.25

E: Gold Label E thin ball end

Some background by Salve Håkedal:

When I made that first hardanger d'amore for Dan, I put on traditional hardangerfiddle strings, gauge 11 with a G-string 11,5 to give better balance to some viola C for the 5th string. Hardangerfiddle strings are thin compared to violin strings, and the thinnest viola C that I could find was Dominant light gauge. This worked OK, but (for players with little previous hardangerfiddle experience,) this can feel rather soft and flimsy.

After Dan did his testing, I started to use what he had picked and put on traditional hardangerfiddle strings only for players who's main instrument I knew was the normal hardangerfiddle.

Hardanger d'amores are relatively light and thin to keep them in the hardangerfiddle tradition with that charateristic sound and feel.. I encouraged the players to experiment with strings, but stick with light gauge, because I was afraid that the instruments would not take too much tension. After 10 years, I've seen that they can probably take medium gauge too; they seem to stand up to aging rather well. But I'd still avoid heavy gauge: hardangerfiddles as well as hardanger d'amores are built for a full and rich sound. Not for maximum decibel!

Sympathetic strings: If you attempt to fit normal hardanger fiddle sympathetic strings to the hardanger d'amore, you will probably struggle to attach them to the two pegs closest to the head. I have made Knut Oppheimsbakken at Valdres Folkemuseum make longer sympathetic strings and I keep them in store. But you won't have to change them often. (Just keep them clean.)

String preferences of all players

(automatically generated from the info on each player's page)

players	Strings
Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh	C: Chorda silver viola 22 G: Eudoxa G 15.25 D: Eudoxa D 16.25 A: Eudoxa A 13.25 E: Gold Label E thin ball end
Dan Trueman	C: Chorda silver viola 22.5 G: Eudoxa G 15.5 D: Eudoxa D 16.5 A: Eudoxa A 13.5 E: Gold Label E medium ball end
David Boyden	C: Chorda Silver viola 22 G: Eudoxa G 15.25 D: Eudoxa D 16.25 A: Eudoxa A 13.25 E: Gold Label E medium ball end
Tadhg Ó Maolagáin	C: Chorda silver viola 22 G: Eudoxa G 15.25 D: Eudoxa D 16.25 A: Eudoxa A 13.25 E: Gold Label E thin ball end
Chelle Fulk
Heike h	C: Pirastro Chorda 22 PM G: Pirastro Eudoxa 15 3/4 D: Pirastro Eudoxa 16 1/4 A: Aquila whole unsplit lamb gut, gauge 62 E: Pirastro Gold thin
Dan Compton	C: Chorda viola C 22 G: Eudoxa G 15.25 D: Eudoxa D 16.25 A: Chorda plain gut A 14 1/2 E: Pirastro No. 1 light