I have developed something I call the Weiss Guitar. It's a guitar with 13 or 14 strings tuned like a baroque lute or even a g archlute. It works quite well. There are a few other people making these multi-string guitars but they cost even more than lutes. Sterling
Sent from my iPhone On Aug 23, 2013, at 11:36 AM, Dan Winheld <dwinh...@lmi.net> wrote: > One more thought/question regarding the Liuto Forte; it seems that there > is/has been a trend for more single-strung archthings these days; I tried one > once- tension felt pretty tight, and the string spacing rather wide. Hmmmm!?! > > On 8/23/2013 10:29 AM, Dan Winheld wrote: >> Franz; >> >> Very well reasoned & eloquently written response- you have made me quite >> curious to see & try one of these things out. I have an instrument of my >> own that fits no historical classification but provides an alternative tone >> color; a seven string steel-string guitar acquired cheaply on a whim while >> awaiting the completion of my vihuela. I have it strung/tuned as a "G" tenor >> lute at a=415; it works best as a fake Orpharion (flexibility of modern >> steel strings allows tuning to the relative Bandora intervals, more creative >> fakery!) Of course, it is no closer to a real Orpharion/Bandora than the >> modern Classical guitar is to the lute, but it does provide that wire string >> sound- and is far more satisfactory for Renaissance music than the modern >> Classical guitar with its boomy, opaque bass response and dull lack of >> clarity (on most guitars) if played without nails. >> >> One more wrinkle about polyphonically oriented lutes- My Chambure model >> vihuela is strung with a doubled 1st course. This has the salutary effect of >> integrating that course with all the others in tone color; becoming the >> "soprano" section of the choir instead of the solo prima donna, singing >> alone above the chorus. But it took time to work out the best >> tension/diameter/pitch combination- and then, the very hard work (for me) of >> refining the right hand touch for clean sound without clashing or twanging >> of the strings- which then benefits good touch on all other courses as well. >> >> While done or at least attempted historically at certain times, the doubled >> 1st seems to have been mostly considered too troublesome (and probably too >> expensive!) to be worth while over the longest haul. But we do have >> Caravaggio's paintings showing at least one doubled 1st on a 7 course, and >> then on up to Dowland's and Robinson's clearly stated preference for this >> set up; and apparently even into the middle and later 17th century some >> players persisted with doubled 1st (Mace?) while the majority had already >> gone over to the single 2nd as well as 1st. Of course, all of this well past >> the time of the Renaissance ideal of polyphony. >> >> Dan >> >> On 8/22/2013 11:55 PM, Franz Mechsner wrote: >>> Dear Bruno, >>> >>> I own a guitar made by Mario Gropp and a vihuela by Alexander Batov and >>> am very happy with both instruments. I also had a Liuto Forte for >>> several years, which I unfortunately had to sell for financial reasons. >>> I miss that beautiful instrument a lot. >>> >>> First of all, it is a wonderful instrument in its own right, so I >>> estimated it highly such as I estimate my guitar and my vihuela. There >>> is no need to compare any of these instruments on the cost of the >>> others - every of these has something the others have not and the other >>> way around, which is trivial of course but has to be told to purists of >>> any sort. Recently I've had the privilege to host Andre Burguete who >>> invented the instrument. It was pure joy to hear him fill the house >>> with his beautiful and tasteful playing, still a wonderful memory. He >>> plays with nails but recently developed a playing technique somewhat >>> different from Segovia style to serve the possibilities of the Liuto >>> Forte best. >>> >>> So most importantlyl, the instruments of the Liuto Forte family are >>> beautifully crafted and sound beautiful. In that respect they can only >>> be praised highly. Really highly, to my humble judgment. >>> >>> If you have to classify the sound of a Liuto Forte on a scale between >>> early music lute (or vihuela, if you like) on one end and the guitar on >>> the other end, it would certainly be closer to the guitar than to the >>> early music lute or vihuela, while you can shift the position closer to >>> early music instruments when you play the Liuto Forte without nails. >>> But to leave it with that one-dimensional judgment of sound >>> characteristics would not really do justice to the instrument. >>> >>> It has to be said that the Liuto Forte has an astonishing range and >>> variability of sound characteristics which can neither be covered by a >>> modern guitar nor by a lute. When played with nails, the strings feel >>> somewhat softer than guitar strings and can be played with less force. >>> This is no wonder as string tension is lower than on a guitar. Overall, >>> to my impression a Liuto Forte sounds more transparent, which serves >>> polyphony. This is particularly so in the bass range where a guitar >>> often (or probably usually) sounds somewhat "thick" and "too strong" >>> while a Liuto Forte has more clarity here as well as a better balance >>> between bass and treble in my judgment. Not to forget the possibilities >>> that open up with the enlarged bass range and the variability made >>> possible by the family of instruments. >>> >>> One may well say, the lute family is all one needs and be happy with >>> this. I have nothing to say against such a stance except that this is >>> only spoken from a certain taste and viewpoint which is open to >>> discussion to say the least. I myself do much welcome a new family of >>> instruments which mirrors the world of lutes in a way the violin family >>> mirrors the viol family. I feel quite strange seeing them dismissed in >>> a sentence, called them "fake lutes" etc. Couldn't one call, with equal >>> right, a modern violin a "fake viol", or a modern guitar a "fake >>> guitar" as it is not a Renaissance or Baroque guitar, or a Bach concert >>> played by a modern orchestra a "fake concert". There are certainly >>> people who do so... I see no reason why I shouldn't love all of these >>> instruments and ways of playing music (if well done of course...). As >>> said, there's nothing to say against different tastes and viewpoints >>> here, but much to say against dogmatic and dismissing viewpoints. (By >>> the way, the Liuto Forte team was, awarded the European Innovation >>> Award for Musical Instruments in 1999 given by Robert Schuman >>> Foundation and the Europaeische Kulturstiftung. So it seems I'm not the >>> only one with my high esteem.) >>> >>> The Liuto Forte sounds well also without nails. Thus you can play >>> romantic music without nails to an astonishing effect. It sounds quite >>> intimate and soft. I never played a parlor guitar thus I cannot compare >>> but I loved the possibility to use the Liuto Forte in this way which is >>> not possible with the modern guitar. You can also play lute music >>> without nails which produces - in my view - a sound which quite >>> deviates from normal guitar sound and may give more justice to, say, >>> Renaissance lute music as a guitar would. I played some English >>> Renaissance music without nails in a room filled with about 200 not >>> always silent people sitting around tables, on the occasion of a >>> Christmas celebration. It worked really well. >>> >>> Professional guitarists seem to like, in addition, that Liuto Fortes >>> can be well heard in ensembles. >>> >>> In sum I would say: if you like the sound a Liuto Forte you can enjoyed >>> that beautiful instrument its own right and also play it in concert >>> simply because you like it. Depending on what your equipment and needs >>> are, there might be opportunities where you might prefer playing a >>> Liuto Forte not only for subjective taste reasons but also for >>> practical reasons. >>> >>> Please take this as the opinion and experience of a non-expert who >>> loves music and simply likes the Liuto Forte regarding sound and >>> possibilities as well as regarding design. >>> >>> Best >>> Franz >>> ----------------------- >>> Dr. Franz Mechsner >>> Zum Kirschberg 40 >>> D-14806 Belzig OT Borne >>> franz.mechs...@gmx.de >>> +49(0)33841-441362 >> >> >> >> To get on or off this list see list information at >> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > >
