Taco
It would be better, if Mimmo Peruffo would answer this, and perhaps
he will.
However, I heard them and saw them on Mimmo Peruffo's bass lute,
through Skype, and as far as I could hear and see in such a context
they did seem good.
I have an M-Audio Transit plus JBL on Tour speakers connected to my
computer, which is not hifi by any means, but with a decent MP3
Stream such as the examples on Aquila's site, or Dan Larson's
recordings of his lutes, it is quite reasonable.
The previous type of loaded strings were easily damaged, being on a
treble type string base. Now they are loaded Venice, which are a sort
of twine. In particular they can be screwed up into a little ball and
still come out looking like an unbroken string, which was not the
case with the original ones. Mimmo demonstated that to me infront of
the computer. He also did that trick of having the string vibrate
between both hands, so that you can see that the vibration is even
and regular.
I understand that as they are almost "tanned", they are more immune
from the effect of humidity than a normal string. I think MP will be
introducing them to the lute world at the Greenwich early music
festival this month, November 2007
However, that does not mean they are about to be commercialized. As I
understand it, the method for producing them is highly complex and
rather long (and there will have been many hours/days/years?
research). It may then be, that only a small number in the production
will be up to standard. Thus how do you commercialize such a product?
It is a little like those wines made with a few of the grapes in each
bunch, hand chosen at the end of November when the grapes have almost
dried out, and then laid down in casks for 10 years.
I tasted such a wine recently, at £90 a bottle. I did not actually
buy it, but was allowed to taste it as a favour by the wine producer,
because he knew I would appreciate it.
It was an extraordinarily complex taste, but if I did not buy the
wine (although I was sorely tempted) who is going to buy a string at
£90 a go, and yet, when you think about it, that bottle of wine was
only 375 ml, and would not have lasted an evening. A lute bass lute
string will last several years. I am not saying that would be the
price of such a string, but I can easily imagine that the production
might take the same pains taking work and time as that wine.
Regards
Anthony
Le 3 nov. 07 à 18:53, Taco Walstra a écrit :
Dear all,
just a new work on the lute historical stringings:
http://www.aquilacorde.com/lutes.htm
Maybe it help to open some new excange of ideas...
Ciao
Mimmo
Interesting article and I'm very much interested in the new
production of the
loaded gut strings even after yesterdays experience with a small
concert with
a soprano in amsterdam: after a walk through drizzling rain, tuning
in a
relative warm room which was filled later with people wearing wet
clothes and
temperature rising to a hot and super humid level. I think that not
many
people understood my frustration when I answered a question from a
listener
why I had to tune after every song.
When are these loaded gut string available? Anybody already
experience with
these strings from Aquila. (especially: How do they stay?)
Taco
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