On Thu, 10 Nov 2005 06:22:01 +0000 "saw 192837" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > Howdy boys > > > 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 > > 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.
Thie is the "other" Larry Brown, not Larry K. of Asheville NC > > 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?). > I agree with Howard -- guitar music on guitar, lute music on lute. Renaissance lute music, which is what you will mostly end up playing on this instrument, is a different world, much less brash and forward, much more intimate than 19th century and later guitar music. > 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? Some brief videos illustrating how several professional players hold their instruments and how the right hand can be used are found at: http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~lsa/download/index.html#video > > 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? > > 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?) Fretgut is sold separately from strings. You need to get ahold of a micrometer and measure the thickness of each one that is currently on the instrument and order the appropriate gauges. They are available from most string vendors, like Dan Larson ( http://gamutstrings.com/ ) or Olav Henricksen (email only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ). Worried about all this hassle? Do not fear -- frets should last for years. Short-term ":emergency" tightening of an existing fret that has stretched and is sliding around can be done by slipping a short section of flat toothpick or wooden matchstick under it on the back (thumb) side of the neck. Regards, Daniel Heiman > > Me no understand. Me stoopid. > > _________________________________________________________________ > 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 > >
