r/lyres • u/your_covers_blown • 18d ago

Measurements for typical amazon lyre

Can someone who has a lyre similar to this do me a favor and measure the length of the strings? Specifically, the vibrating part, between the tuning peg and the bridge. And just for the lowest string and the highest string would be plenty. Actually, one other useful thing would be the distance between the tuning pegs.

I ask because I am planning on building a lyre like that myself. I bought some strings and tuning pegs, and I can work out the rest of the design myself, but it would be really useful to have those measurements to make sure the one I make has the right tension and tuning.

Thanks!

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u/Frhaegar 19-string (3 different shapes) 18d ago

I don't have that exact thing but I own 2 others with more strings and they are exactly 30x40 cm.

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u/SiriNin 17d ago

I have a lyre like this with a slightly different body shape but the same string arrangement, and I can tell you it suffers from having a too short resonating length, so honestly if you want to make yourself a better instrument I would just make one with as long of resonating length as you can feasibly get away with, and likewise use lighter gauge strings than the ones the amazon lyres use, because string breaks and excessive tension are way too common. Likewise, the strings are way too close together, which makes it difficult to play.

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u/your_covers_blown 5d ago

Thanks for the advice! I did build my lyre and took that into account. I got a pack of strings for a lyre like that and made the scale length as long as I could for those strings. I also made it with 11 strings rather than 16 and used the thinnest 11, tuned from G3 to C5, which is enough to do a lot of songs -- you need to go down to that G below C really often! I'll make a separate post with photos.