saw 192837 wrote: >Howdy boys > > Now you've done it.
> >New boy here. I finally got my 1979 (?) Larry K Brown 8 course Hans Frei c34 >replica lute. Strung with nylon, cherry "ribs" (? what the hell is rib? >B-B-Q?) I assume the top is also cherry > > Jon's already given a concise definition of "ribs", so I'll just mention that the top is most likely some variety of spruce since that's the "standard" top/belly/soundboard material. Other materials that were possibly used in your lute ( i.e. pegs, fingerboard, etc. ) are: Rosewood, pear, apple, ebony, cocobolo, sycamore, walnut, pecan, maple, poplar, basswood, and a host of others. I suspect Larry's annual lute production , prolific though it is, probably consumes less trees than the text books for the average 1st grade elementary school class in the U.S. >The lute looks wonderful, and historically accurate. The action and sound >seem very good as well. It feels like a feather compared to my classical >guitar (which itself is light for guitars). The wood and craftsmanship seem >first rate. It sounds much brighter than the guitar, more biting and >quieter. The rose (based on the c33) looks beautiful. I looked into the rose >with a light and saw a handwritten (in pen) "Larry Brown, Washington, 8c >1979" on a tiny piece of paper. I was expecting a guitar like label, so that >was weird to see handwriting, but i guess that is a good sign its handmade. > >It was hard to tune until I got a hand of the friction pegs--you have to >push them in to keep them there. I managed to finally tune it. (I >considered tuning all courses down 1/2 step except the 3rd course, so I >could try guitar music on it--bad idea?). > > If you tune the third course up 1/2 step, the lute should then be in "guitar tuning". Sure. You could do it the other way around, but why would you want the extra work? >I like the string plucking though, the low tension is more enjoyable. When I >switched back to the guitar it felt like the strings were made of brick. > >Now I would prefer to dwell on the "bad" things because negative criticism >is always preferred: > >The biggest thing is it seems impossible to hold. The thing has no >guitar-like lap thing and just slides around. Do you use a strap? How do you >hold this thing? > > Here's a link: http://www.luteshop.co.uk/rhtech.htm >Second, I have never played double-strung courses before. I still have nails >for the guitar (and dont want to quit the guitar, nails make it 1000x better >and easier to play). First of all, how do you pluck both strings of a >course? I keep hitting only one, unless I use two fingers. Is this because I >still have right-hand nails? The person who sold me the lute says he plays >with nails. . . is this bad or not? Do I need to get rid of the nails (That >is a hard thing to do once you get use to them)? How do you pluck the >double-strings anyway? What does that thumb-under mean? > > "thumb under" kind of resembles plectrum playing. That's simplistic, but it looks that way when you're watching someone else do it. Again, go to the link above. Martin does an excellent job of laying out the right hand . >I wasn't expecting the spacing to be so different. Seems like it will be a >change and may interfere with guitar playing? I also have no idea how to tie >those gut frets, or indeed where you even get gut frets (do they come with >string sets?) > > Playing the lute shouldn't interfere with your guitar playing if you approach it the way it is: Playing two different instruments. Well, there is the nail issue. I used to play french horn, viola, upright bass, and euphonium in different bands/orchestras. It was many years ago, but I might play viola in the morning and french horn at noon . That might be followed by euphonium in the evening with a nightcap of upright bass. Granted I was not the best player in the world of any of them, but I was quite competent and I could make music on them. The big "secret" is: Except for physical limitations (e.g. nails ) approach each instrument as a different instrument. Lute is not guitar is not banjo is not viola is not... The nails need to go, though. http://www.gamutstrings.com/catalog/id66.htm Dan Larson's string catalog. There are others, of course. lose the nails http://www.vanedwards.co.uk/fretknot.htm David Van Edwards fret knot tying tutorial. nails delenda est Dana Emery also has excellent information on tying knots, so if he's not too busy and you ask, he might be willing to share as he's done so often in the past! no nails are good nails. >Me no understand. Me stoopid. > > Research all you can on the lute. Play the lute. Find a teacher. Ask questions. Trim your nails. "Stoopid" = greeting the list with "Howdy boys" again. >_________________________________________________________________ >Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! >http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ > > > >To get on or off this list see list information at >http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > >
