Cross-tuning and stress

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Hi,

I am a fiddler who plays old-time, and thus I use odd tunings. My question: I often tune AEAE or ADAE (please don't poke fun), and so I leave one of my fiddles tuned to one of those tunings.

Question: Knowing how sensitive these instruments are, am I causing stress on my fiddles when I store them tuned "up" like that? Should I tune them back to standard when I put them away after playing?

thanks...mike

[MANFIO]

I would tune them back. It's difficult to evaluate the stress without seeing the instrument, but I would not do that with a fine violin.

[jackc]

With all due respect to MANFIO, I can't imagine that that would cause a problem unless you pass away suddenly and the violin has steel strings and is sitting in an attic for the next 20 years with an AEAE tuning.

Do you use steel strings?

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My instruments are not costly ones. My main fiddle (which I love and which has a terrific tone for old-time fiddling) is labeled 1921 Heinrich E. Heberlein Jr. My "beater" fiddle is your typical Stainer factory job from about the same time. So these are not what you'd call fine instruments, MANFIO.

I've been playing for many years, but I recently started wondering this about cross-tunings. Oh, and I use Prim steel strings on my good fiddle and Pirastro Chromcors on my "second fiddle".

[MANFIO]

If it's not a fine fidle and if you are doing this for year I think there is no problem.

[GlennYorkPA]

I once tried to play the violin of an Egyptian violinist in a Cairo string orchestra and it was tuned in octaves like this.

Apparently that's normal for arabic music so, from the violin's point of view, you're not doing anything too radical.

[Claire Curtis]

Actually I'd recommend leaving it tuned up. The strings deteriorate very quickly if you keep tensioning and un-tensioning them, and I think the instrument itself ismore stressed by changes in tension than by static levels of tension.

[muddycreek]

I also keep one fiddle tuned to AEAE and haven't seen any damage and I agree with Clair that it would put more stress on the instument and the strings by continually changing them.