[LUTE] Re: Howard Skempton: Prelude 5 from 'Images', played on a lute

2013-10-30 Thread David van Ooijen
   Such an interesting pieces, and so effective on lute. Weird ending,
   though.
   Thanks for the gift.
   David

   ***
   David van Ooijen
   [1]davidvanooi...@gmail.com
   [2]www.davidvanooijen.nl
   ***
   On 30 October 2013 23:10, WALSH STUART <[3]s.wa...@ntlworld.com> wrote:

 Here is a version of Howard Skempton's Prelude 5 from 'Images',
 published 1994.
 [4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k4hrIXnG24
 Skempton is a minimalist, miniaturist.
 Stuart
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References

   1. mailto:davidvanooi...@gmail.com
   2. http://www.davidvanooijen.nl/
   3. mailto:s.wa...@ntlworld.com
   4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k4hrIXnG24
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[LUTE] Howard Skempton: Prelude 5 from 'Images', played on a lute

2013-10-30 Thread WALSH STUART
Here is a version of Howard Skempton's Prelude 5 from 'Images', 
published 1994.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k4hrIXnG24

Skempton is a minimalist, miniaturist.


Stuart

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is active.
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[LUTE] Re: Best body fret material?

2013-10-30 Thread Chris Barker
Rock Maple, used primarily for the bridges of bowed instruments, would work
nicely.  It's very very hard, and very light in color.

Chris

-Original Message-
From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf
Of Dan Winheld
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 1:24 PM
Cc: lute
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]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]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]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
> --
> Eric Hansen
> Librarian & lutenist --
>
> References
>
> 1. mailto:spiffys84...@yahoo.com
> 2. mailto:dwinh...@lmi.net
> 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
>





[LUTE] Re: Best body fret material?

2013-10-30 Thread Dan Winheld
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]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]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]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html

--
Eric Hansen
Librarian & lutenist --

References

1. mailto:spiffys84...@yahoo.com
2. mailto:dwinh...@lmi.net
3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html







[LUTE] Re: Best body fret material?

2013-10-30 Thread Eric Hansen
   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]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]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]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html

   --
   Eric Hansen
   Librarian & lutenist --

References

   1. mailto:spiffys84...@yahoo.com
   2. mailto:dwinh...@lmi.net
   3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html



[LUTE] Re: Best body fret material?

2013-10-30 Thread Sterling
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  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
> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html




[LUTE] OT Looking for supporters

2013-10-30 Thread Stephan Olbertz

Dear all,

first, please excuse the off-topic. Two young students of mine are joining in a small 
commercial band contest and hope to win a professional recording session with their band 
project "Sweet Sounds". We need a few more votes until oct. 31 to win. So if 
you have a minute or two for visiting the contest's site and vote for the girls (if you 
like their self-composed song), that would be great:
http://www.clairefontaine-rocks.de
Click "Sweet Sounds" and then "Melde dich an, um deine Stimme abzugeben" to 
sign-in via Facebook (or to register conventionally).

Many thanks and best regards

Stephan



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[LUTE] Re: Best body fret material?

2013-10-30 Thread Lex van Sante
Two factors are of importance here. First the fret has to be crowned to get a 
good tone however, many soundboards are very thin in the area where the body 
frets are supposed to be located. This makes tone production a wobbly affair. 
It is easy to know where the bars are situated  because where the body fret is 
positioned on or very close to a bar the sound is much improved.
Some luthiers glue additional bars to the soundboard to stiffen it up in the 
critical area, although the old ones sometimes do not have those bars. 
Not all historical lutes had body frets or so it seems. My favorite fret 
material is bamboo as it is very easy to split and after glueing it on is very 
easy to crown and adjust the height with a small chisel. Take care not to dig 
in the belly though!
Happy luting!

Lex
Op 30 okt 2013, om 06:05 heeft Dan Winheld het volgende geschreven:

> 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
> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html