Vincent, from your most recent post, I assume that the scale of your 
Italian harpsichord is 10.5". That is pretty much in the middle of the 
range for most C/E - c'" Italian harpsichords (10" to 11") and should 
stand in brass at A-440. I know that an 11" scale will stand in brass at 
A-415 and decreasing the scale by 1/2" should allow brass for A-440. I 
have worked on Italians strung in iron and from my experience with them, 
to my ears, brass sounds much, much better.

One must remember that the thinner gauges of wire are somewhat stronger 
than the larger diameters, so if you experience any breakage, it will 
likely be in the tenor. Italian scales remain /just/ all the way to c 
below middle c. As the diameter of the wire increases as one goes from 
treble to bass, the wire becomes commensurately weaker. So if the wire 
is close to the edge in the treble, it may pass the edge in the tenor. 
The bass is usually immune because the scale keeps getting shorter in 
the lowest octave.

If you do get some breakage in the tenor, do a little analysis. If a 
string breaks at a bridge, nut or tuning pin, either the brass wire may 
have had a fault at that point or the scale is too long there. If the 
breakage is at the hitchpin loop, you must make better loops, which 
usually means using a technique which avoids stress on the wire as the 
loop is made. Brass is considerably more fragile than iron and more 
susceptible to flaws in the making of loops. If a string simply won't 
stand, I have grudgingly replaced it with iron. If the scale really is 
too long for brass, iron doesn't sound all that bad, just as the 
transition from brass to iron in Franco-French instruments is unnoticeable.

All my instruments have transposing keyboards, 415 to 440, so I avoid 
the issue of "will it stand at A-440?" and the stringing is really A-415 
stringing.

I hope these observations  will help your decision. I have avoided 
telling you, "String it in brass!" but if it were my instrument, I would 
string it in brass without a qualm.

Best wishes for a successful outcome,

Rob

-- 
ROBERT BROOKE HARPSICHORDS
4214 18th Ave W
Bradenton, FL 34205

www.robertbrookeharpsichords.com

941-746-6725


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