Michael, I haven't properly followed what the Liuto Forte is, so this is an uneducated comment.
> I think everyone is missing the the main appeal that this kind of > instrument offers, that being a crossover for a guitarist wanting to play > the lute without changing guitar technique,( I know hundreds of them) that > at least in my mind is all this kind of instrument can hope to offer. > Whether or not the Luito Forte is louder and sounds better is crazy, of > course it can't sound as good as a real lute. > Michael Thames > Luthier I can see no reason why one would want to play the lute without changing from the guitar technique (and please note that some here have said that the "flat back" I'm making isn't a lute). Fifty years on the guitar, and two months practicing lute music on a retuned guitar, have given me a better callous on my little finger and a ravaging desire to complete my seven course flat back "lute". The perfection of the historical accuracy of the instrument isn't the purpose, it is the attempt to duplicate the sound and fingering. Were I only to want to play the lute music that is in my only book (the McFarlane Scot's Lute) I'd use his modern notation transcriptions and play them on one of my harps. And in fact I could probably better duplicate the lute sound by gentle fingering of the harp than on the guitar. (For those of you whose only knowledge of the harp is the glissando in orchestral music on the big pedal harp played by the lady in the long dress with her hair in a bun, the traditional harp is much older - it has a variety of tones and is a versatile instrument). I wonder why this Luito Forte isn't getting the same reviews as my friend Jerry's flat back that I'm building. About three more days and I'll have it strung, then we'll find out if it has the sound of the lute (I know it has the fingering). And the wide wooden frets apparently (won't know until I try them) offer the opportunity to "bend" a note so that the temperament may be variable. I shouldn't tout this machine until I play it, and until a Lutenist gets to see and play it, but it is fun to keep on thinking of it. I see it as a low end entry to the lute for guitarists like myself who would prefer to treat it as a lute, rather than a guitar playing lute music. Trust me, I could recast the lute music for the small harp and you might not hear the difference, but I want it to be on a "lute". Best, Jon
