On Sun, Jul 19, 2009 at 5:51 PM, Martyn Hodgson<hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > Has anyone actually played one of these > instruments in with a basses of length only around 90cm (as seems to be > depicted) and with plain gut (and no octave doubling as on the liuto > attiorbato
Not a guitar. I have a smallish 440Hz archlute 61/106cm, going to low G' with single plain gut basses. Good sound, no problem. Yes, my 140-something-cm theorbo is better, and I'm sure a 200cm theorbo is even better - size does matter - but still, 106cm to low G' is good enough for most practical purposes. It depends a little on what I want to play with it: Monteverdi with a full orchestra and choir is possible, but obviously not ideal. The top is more of a problem there, by the way, the basses are strong enough. Delicate solo playing, quite nicely in balance with the top of the instrument. Solo singer in a not too big concert hall or church, no problem. But indeed, not the depth or sustain of the 140cm theorbo. It has a less relaxed feel to it, when I'm aiming at a similar level of volume, is perhaps the best way of describing it. Point is, 106cm is quite ok for low single basses in plain gut. 90cm is a bit shorter, but fiddle with tuning and/or pitch, and it might not be that far removed. David - baroque guitar with just five coures, but boy, can that be loud! -- ******************************* David van Ooijen davidvanooi...@gmail.com www.davidvanooijen.nl ******************************* To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
