We all know that wooden frets have largely been an optional extra on
lutes- indeed, I had none on my 6-course for years, no problem at all
going above the gut frets for melodic runs in Francesco, Milan,
Dal'Aquila, et al. In fact, provides a nice, different "3rd Register" of
sound in addition to unison & 8ve stringed fretted sound.
But it takes a far better lutenist than I will ever be in my wildest
dreams to play the 3, 4, 5, and even 6 note chords- including full bar
chords- that occur almost routinely, spanning 7th to 10th, even 11th &
12th semitones- that Melchior Neusidler puts in all his Fantasias &
Intabulations. Try the "Susanne Ung Jour" by Orlandus Lassus that he
intabbed in his "Libro Secundo" in Italian Tab. without 12 good frets.
Dan
On 10/31/2013 5:15 AM, William Samson wrote:
Funny thing - Although body frets were not unknown back in the day,
there's very little evidence of them actually being in general use.
Few surviving instruments show signs of ever having had them and they
are equally rare in the iconography. I wonder if the players back then
weren't as bothered as we are about sustain and they must have been
pretty good at planting their LH finger in just the right spot.
Bill
From: Dan Winheld <dwinh...@lmi.net>
To:
Cc: lute <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, 30 October 2013, 18:24
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Best body fret material?
Thanks all for the great replies. Lilac? That is the most intriguing of
all. Holly and bamboo sound like good candidates also.
Sterling- thanks for reminding me of those amazing frets! I must have
seen them at Cleveland some time ago. A top professional guitar builder
in my neighborhood recommends bone over ivory for strength &
durability- I am considering letting him do my body frets this time
around.
Dan
On 10/30/2013 9:23 AM, Eric Hansen wrote:
> A few years ago I was visiting luthier Joel Van Lennep, who showed
me
> his favorite material for fixed (body) frets: lilac. He said he
> preferred it because it's very hard, and yet still flexible.
>
>
>
> Best to all,
>
> Eric
>
> On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 6:21 AM, Sterling
<[1][1]spiffys84...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> I have body frets on one lute made of an ivory-ebony sandwich
and
> they sound great up to the 14th fret. Cutting ivory is not easy
> though as it tends to shatter. Another lute I have has
> holly-ebony-holly frets. I like these flashy frets, but my
friend
> Bob Hieronimus hates them and prefers that the body frets are
almost
> invisible.
> Sterling
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Oct 29, 2013, at 11:05 PM, Dan Winheld <[2][2]dwinh...@lmi.net>
wrote:
> > Talk of tastini has gotten me wondering, what is the best
material
> for body frets? I have been playing a lot of music recently that
dances
> around in the lute's stratosphere- Melchior Neusidler, Mudarra,
Milan's
> advanced fantasias, etc. The plain wooden frets I have now-
probably
> Maple, maybe Boxwood; sound pretty terrible compared to the gut
frets.
> I am thinking Ebony, some other dense tropical hardwood, bone, or
even
> some modern synthetic- but only if aesthetically acceptable &
sonically
> superior. If anyone knows of some magic non-metallic body fret
material
> I would really like to know.
> >
> > Part of the problem is the buzzing, unclean sound that results
from a
> squared off fret- an inevitable result of having to shave them
down for
> proper clearance after gluing down. Ideally, they should be
crowned- or
> at least rounded edges for best tone. Tough, fussy job to do even
> before installation for the non-luthier DIY amateur.
> >
> > Thanks all for any enlightenment on this bit of lute pain.
> >
> > Dan
> >
> >
> >
> > To get on or off this list see list information at
> > [3][3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
> --
> Eric Hansen
> Librarian & lutenist --
>
> References
>
> 1. mailto:[4]spiffys84...@yahoo.com
> 2. mailto:[5]dwinh...@lmi.net
> 3. [6]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
>
--
References
1. mailto:spiffys84...@yahoo.com
2. mailto:dwinh...@lmi.net
3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
4. mailto:spiffys84...@yahoo.com
5. mailto:dwinh...@lmi.net
6. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
