The string has the following benefits over the traditional 28 thou gut string :

1. Although the diameter is the same, the string is under less tension making cottoning easier.

2. The string surface is textured which again holds cotton better and the blue or black  colour makes it easy to see the cotton condition.

3. The tough outer covering resists wear at the nut, wheel and bridge far better.

4. "Warbling " tone at the highest notes is much less evident, vibrato and "bending" is easier.

5. The overall tone is warm and even -volume slightly less than gut but still brilliant.

6. No wear has been noticed after several weeks of regular playing.

7. Once settled down, tuning seems unaffected by humidity.

8. They cost a lot less and are ready to string having a brass ferrule tied on.

The strings are normally supplied at 55 cm, if you need a longer string for tekero or similar, please tell me when ordering.

Price £ 3.00 inc of UK p&p

  The main advantage of using liquid rosin is as a safe way to apply rosin to the string prior to the cotton. Rubbing the string with a rosin block probably causes more wear than anything else, particularly on the thin high d chanterelle.

The resulting fine and even coat of rosin ensures that the cotton wraps round easily and does not travel along the string as sometimes happens.

It can also be used on the wheel and once burnished, it gives a good shiny surface which lasts a long time.

  The bottles are available from me for £3 inc. of UK p&p.

Further details on application are included here: Sticky Stuff

Following on from extended discussions on the hurdy-gurdy list, I decided to try out  Teflon powder as a dry lubricant for key slides. The results are spectacular, making many techniques such as trills and ornaments far more precise. It is also a great lubricant for the manivelle.

The only drawback seemed to be the difficulty of applying the powder without it getting everywhere . My solution is to create a suspension of 1.9 micron Teflon powder in white spirit which can now be applied either carefully using the dropper bottle nozzle or with a fine artists paintbrush. The bottles are available from me for £3 inc. of UK p&p.

Further details on application are included here:           

Slippy Stuff

Straps.

 I have spent many years using guitar straps with the hurdy-gurdy and although they do the job, I couldn't help feeling there should be a purpose made strap available. I have come up with what I think is the perfect strap. Each one is hand cut from 4mm. premium quality leather and is a generous 70mm. wide. The treatment of the leather results in a highly flexible strap that has a tiny amount of elasticity. This means that the strap will take on the contours of the player for the ultimate comfort. As the straps are individually fitted, there is no need for a buckle or any other device which could scratch the instrument.

The straps are available in a range of lengths to suit all players. Simply let me know what the length of your current strap is ( from hole centres ) and the strap will be supplied with approximately that measurement  as the distance from the single hole at the crank end to the centre of the three holes at the keybox end. Three holes are provided to allow for costume/weight changes. 

Price currently £30.00