[LUTE] Re: Renaissance Lute ARIA Model L-85 ?
Murphy is alive and well, and quite busy. But I thought I'd toss in my opinion on maintaining pitch. As most of you know I play and make harps (as well as making one lute, and playing it). Pitch, as we all know, it a matter of the tension and length of the string (given the string guage). Any change in any of the three criteria will change the pitch (ok, the density of the string is another criterion, but that is factored in in chosing the guage, and doesn't really change). The string length can change with changing climate that allows the soundboard to belly more or less (more important in a harp). It can also change if the anchor is unstable. In the case of the Celtic harp that may be a pull down of the zither pins used as anchors, but unlikely as they normally use a bridge pin to set the length. On a lute it can be a looseness of the tuning pegs in the peg block, but the length is defined by the distance between bridge and nut, so it is only the tension that may vary (assuming that the soundboard belly is not a factor in length, and it shouldn't be as it is a small vector and should be consistant on all strings (within reason). Strings do lose resiliancy over time so the strings themselves may be a problem, but on the assumption that it is the lute then the problem has to be in the pegs or the peg board. My one home made lute is from the plans of Musikits, and it is a hybrid. The peg bos isn't a box, it is like a western guitar with the pegs coming through a horizontal plane. That gives them only one friction point, and a pull from an unsupported end of the peg. It is a bitch to keep in tune. The normal lute form has a peg box such that the string pull is in the middle of two friction points (although it is suggested by luthiers that the narrow end not have too much friction). The key to the tuning sensitivity is a consistant taper, both of the pegs and the peg holes. Wear over time can ruin that, but the peg holes can be re-reamed. The pegs themselves are a bit harder to even up - I turn my own so that isn't a problem for me. Not that this solves any problems, but it raises the issues. If I had that Aria I'd probably plug the peg box holes and redrill and taper ream, the plugging should take care of the cracking if you spread the glue well. Best, Jon To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Renaissance Lute ARIA Model L-85 ?
On Jul 11, 2006, at 1:59 PM, Steve Bryson wrote: I seem to recall hearing that Aria was a Yamaha product, but all I knew at the time of purchase is that it was made in Japan. It is obviously mass- produced, with a simple soundboard and a punch-cut rosette. It was my understanding that Aria lutes were built by a single maker in Nagoya for Aria. But I've certainly gotten my money's worth with it, and if I could find a local luthier I would have the cracked pegbox replaced. It has good enough action for me. The case that comes with the lute is very nice. From what I've heard it's way better than the current $600 Pakistani lutes. I'm sure it is worth fixing if you could find someone. I'd want to see better pictures of the pegbox, both sides to make sure there are no cracks, and the height of the action first I had one way back when. One of the odd things the maker did was to not put a backing on the pegbox, this makes it weak. It does make it easier to put strings on though. I don't know if that is why he did it. At one point a brace came loose on mine. To replace it meant taking the top off so Hiro Watanabe built a new top for me and put a new bridge in a more historical placement and I had a much better lute. The repair cost almost as much as the lute though. This served me for quite a while and it didn't sound half bad. The neck was a wide clunker though. Oh yeah, another weird thing was that what looked like strips of black spacer wood between the ribs were actually painted pin stripes. cheers, To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Renaissance Lute ARIA Model L-85 ?
I have the troublesome Aria lute. It is an 8-course model L75, which I bought new from Richard Brune in 1977 for $700. I seem to recall hearing that Aria was a Yamaha product, but all I knew at the time of purchase is that it was made in Japan. It is obviously mass- produced, with a simple soundboard and a punch-cut rosette. But I've certainly gotten my money's worth with it, and if I could find a local luthier I would have the cracked pegbox replaced. It has good enough action for me. The case that comes with the lute is very nice. From what I've heard it's way better than the current $600 Pakistani lutes. I am not what you'd call a serious lute player, so I have low demands of my lute and the old Aria is good enough for me. I was more serious when I was younger but it was all I could afford. I played the Chicago King Richard's faire with this lute (even got paid!) from about '79 to '82. Since then I'll go years without playing it, then a couple years playing it then repeat. When I was not playing it it acted as an ornament on my wall, which probably helped the cracks form. I only had trouble with it holding standard pitch (a'=440) after the cracks developed in the pegbox. Now that I understand that 62cm lutes are usually tuned lower, I would be surprised if it does not now hold a'=415. Maybe I'll try that tonight. I see that the Aria lute from Ted Biernacki (referred by Wayne) is for sale on ebay, with lots more pictures. Is that why you're asking? That seems to be a later model than mine (an L85 vs. my L75) and has a different peg box design. The pegbox on the ebay lute looks considerably healthier than mine. It looks like it has gut frets (my lute came with tied nylon frets which I replaced with gut). Would I buy the ebay lute if I didn't already have an Aria? Probably yes for a few hundred dollars, but I'd want to see better pictures of the pegbox, both sides to make sure there are no cracks, and the height of the action first Is that what you wanted to know? Best, Steve On Jul 10, 2006, at 7:06 PM, Bruce O. Bowes wrote: Can anyone give me any general information about this Lute. I noticed that someone is having difficulty keeping an Aria up to pitch. I would be interested in any insights that you could pass along. Cheers Bruce -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html --- http://homepage.mac.com/stevepur --
