When Mel Wong rebuilt my 50- year-old (at least) Wandervogl lute (it
sounds identical to yours except the scalloped frets) he mentioned the
top had probably needed telephone wires to activate the top. Previously
it had always been strung in nylon and wound and was pretty quiet.
After a new top, neck and pegbox it's actually an acceptable lute 68cm.
On Nov 30, 2017 11:09 AM, "G. C." <[1]kalei...@gmail.com> wrote:
Metal will put more preasure on an already weakened and
deteriorating
German old glute. My advice is nylon, fishing line, gut, or other
low
tension options. Speak to Mathias Rà ¶sel, he has one.
I believe, these were originally stringed with metal strings. But
though loosing some volume with nylon etc. I imagine a sweeter
(?)
sound would be reached? Any feedback from the cognoscenti?
G.
On Thu, Nov 30, 2017 at 7:57 PM, Tristan von Neumann
<[1][2]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de> wrote:
Hi there,
I'm currently repairing my old German Lute (6x1, 62cm),
previously
decorative only. Some ribs have come apart. I managed one
connection
already.
I noticed that it has very thin ribs (about 1-1.5mm), however the
soundboard is quite thick judging at the rose (about 4-5mm).
There is one leftover string attached on the 4th course, it seems
contemporary and is wound metal.
The lute has a one piece carved pegbox with ornamented back plate
and
flowerhead, and mechanical pegs. The fingerboard has metal frets
with
arches in between. The strings are attached with wooden pins into
holes
in the bridge.
It seems about 100 years old. No maker's plate is visible inside
the
bowl.
After having it in ok condition I plan to string it -- what would
you
suggest? Metal or nylon (in the latter case I'll use my fishing
line)?
Is there a way to tell if it was metal or gut strung?
Personally I would prefer metal for more cittern-like sound,
unless
anyone advises strongly against it.
Cheers
Tristan
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References
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References
1. mailto:kalei...@gmail.com
2. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de
3. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de
4. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
