LeLuthDoree is planning to offer a small theorbo that can be easily
strung as a baroque lute.
It actually might be a perfect instrument for a classical guitarist
making the switch.
RT
On 10/18/2017 5:59 PM, Daniel Shoskes wrote:
To answer your actual questions, I don’t think there are enough people who have
played the Luth Dore baroque lutes to really get a balanced opinion. You might
want to ask Rob MacKillop off line because he received an early model. Of
course once they start to be mass produced one hopes there will be consistency
between instruments. I don’t think you can make a blanket statement about
bridge length. It really depends on your personal anatomy and how well the
strings vibrate on the instrument. At that price point however there is little
competition.
There are people who have filed their nails on an angle, allowing flesh only
for lute playing and a flesh/nail interface for classical guitar and/or
theorbo. Pat O’Brien was a prime example of someone who easily switched between
all instruments in that way. It’s actually the theorbo that has the hand
position most similar to classical guitar, although there are differences for
all the plucked lute family instruments. The primary difficulty with nails is
cleanly striking both strings of a course together in unison. Especially that
striking involves equal depression of both strings towards the soundboard and
then follow through. A single strung theorbo avoids that problem, but you did
say you wanted a baroque lute. Congratulations on that choice BTW, there is a
surprising depth and breadth of music written in that tuning that traverses
countries and styles. It’s truly a wonderful instrument and it has given me
years of joy.
You didn’t say where you live. If in the USA or UK, the local lute societies
have lute lending programs that would allow you to try out a lute first. If you
could attend one of the many playing days in the UK or lute seminar in the USA
you would have the chance to try multiple lutes with different sizes and
configurations. More ideal than buying sight unseen, which sadly most of us end
up doing in the end.
Danny
On Oct 18, 2017, at 2:58 AM, Ido Shdaimah <ishdai...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello fellow lute players and enthusiasts, I have a fair amount of
money saved and I would like to buy a lute. Currently I am eyeing Le
Luth Doré lutes, what is your take on these?
I would like a baroque lute, but Roman Turovsky advises against them
because of the 140cm bridge length, but I would like to hear other
people on the issue too.
More on these lutes: What is the difference between the cheaper and the
more expensive versions?
And finally, I currently play the classical guitar, and I'm not
planning to give up on it. So what should I do concerning the
nail/nail-less dispute? Should I find a middle ground, play nail-less
on both or maybe play with nails?
Thanks in advance.
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