It's deja-vu al over again. Didn't we go through this once already ? "The LSO [Lute Shaped Object] is louder because its metal frets don't absorb energy like compliant gut frets" ?
In the words of Berke Breathed "another beautiful theory destroyed by ugly facts". It just doesn't stand up in practice and you can easily verify this: 1.) Unlike most people discussing this I once actually did the experiment. When I was in graduate school I purchased a 10 course lute made by Reid Galbraith. The previous owner had paid my friend John the guitar maker to put metal frets on it. After I bought it I paid John to remove them. It didn't make any noticeable difference in the instrument's volume. 2.) You *can* try this at home. Go to the hobby store and buy a piece of brass rod slightly thicker than the frets on your lute. Cut a short piece and tack it in place as a temporary fret with a bit of double stick tape. Play a few notes. Is your lute suddenly louder ? I thought not. 3.) Object that (2.) isn't valid because the metal fret isn't properly anchored in a slot ? Do the reverse experiment. Take a modern guitar and tie a temporary gut fret (nice and thick) somewhere. Play a few notes. Is your guitar suddenly vastly quieter ?? 4.) Too world wear to do either (2.) or (3.) ? Just pick up your lute. Play a few notes both open strings and fretted notes. There is a subtle difference in tone quality (as there is on a metal fretted guitar) but are the open strings (upper end of the string stopped by decidedly un-compliant bone) really a lot louder than than the fretted strings (upper end of the string stopped by finger against compliant gut) ??? As we say in the trade... "Next theory, please." --------------------------------------- On a different aspect of the same discussion - there is at least one case where the evolution of an instrument made it significantly *softer*. A baroque oboe is a much quieter beast than a soprano shawm. .....Bob To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
