Members GuitarVlog Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 I actually received this two weeks ago. It's an 8-course Renaissance lute. It required a bit of adjustment from my classical guitar technique and I'm still experimenting. It's a little ironic that the first luthier-built instrument that I own isn't a guitar. Love the sound though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BLUtunes Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 AWESOME!!! Congratulations! I LOVE the sound of a lute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 Wild! Who wrapped that fishing line around the neck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BLUtunes Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 BTW, I'd be very interested to hear how you do with making the transition from guitar to lute. I think it's a very cool instrument, and have wondered how hard it would be to learn the lute after playing guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TN.Frank Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 A lute and this is where we get the name of the person that builds em', the "luthier" from which all lute type instruments, including the guitar came from. Looks like you're going way back to our roots there. Beautiful looking lute, bet it cost a lot of loot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 That is just too cool, dude ! I've always had a thing for Renaissance music. All the polyphony, with three or four melodies all going at the same time---it's always a blast to listen to. Fun stuff . I've never seen a lute in person, much less played one before. I think it would be really cool to try some day, but I've got the feeling my chances of running into an honest-to-goodness lute are pretty slim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members masterbuilt Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 I have always wanted a four-stringed lute. I heard Jullian Bream playing an thirteen-stringed lute and it was breath-taking, but, I'd rather limit myself based on the limits of my abilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 Very cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I have always wanted a four-stringed lute. I heard Jullian Bream playing an thirteen-stringed lute and it was breath-taking, but, I'd rather limit myself based on the limits of my abilities. That being the case. It would be time for me to remove at least 5 strings from all my guitars..... Oh and TN... loot..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 I was playing "A time for us", (Theme from Zeffirelli Romeo and Juliet) at a wedding recently and opined that it would sound thrice more lovely on a lute. Hell, it would have sounded twice more lovely if someone else had played it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted October 11, 2010 Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 I would love to see more pictures and hear some clips. There have been several articles in my lutherie magazines about lutes - repairs of old one and construction of new ones. Beautiful and fascinating instruments. I'm always in awe of the roses - they look inpossibly hard to make. btw - the latest issue of Fretboard Journal has an interview of John Bilezikjian (did I get the spelling anywhere close to right?) by David Lindley. Bilez... is the master of the oud - a lute like instrument. You might be interesting in getting a copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted October 11, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 Thanks all for the responses! Guitars get goats. Ukes get midget goats. What should lutes get? This will be a new exploration. I doubt that I'll get as good as Ronn McFarlane or Robert Barto but I'll take it as far as I can go. [YOUTUBE]fDtBUePhlzU[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]U42yg5NMgS0[/YOUTUBE] I would love to see more pictures and hear some clips. There have been several articles in my lutherie magazines about lutes - repairs of old one and construction of new ones. Beautiful and fascinating instruments. I'm always in awe of the roses - they look inpossibly hard to make. My understanding is that David Van Edwards has a course for lute-building. It's supposedly a challenging build even for those who have woodworking skills. San Francisco luthier Mel Wong is apparently one of the best local lute specialists. He had posted a link somewhere on the carving of the rosettes. I'll see if I can find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted October 11, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 11, 2010 Oh, here's Julian Bream's 8-course (13-string) lute. I believe it's now owned by someone here in the US. Notice that: Bream's lute was designed by a guitar-builder for a guitar player. Bream got a bit of flack from traditionalists for all that; but many acknowledged that he helped tremendously with reviving early music when it was terribly dying out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted October 12, 2010 Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 Beautiful! I would love to own a lute. Something different: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted October 12, 2010 Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 . . . . . btw - the latest issue of Fretboard Journal has an interview of John Bilezikjian (did I get the spelling anywhere close to right?) by David Lindley. Bilez... is the master of the oud - a lute like instrument. You might be interesting in getting a copy. Yes! An amazing oud player (no frets on an oud, remember!). Leonard Cohen utilized his skills on his 1979 album "Recent Songs" - if you don't have it, go and buy it now. Here is John Bilezikjian in 1983: [YOUTUBE]I8uCElSGATU[/YOUTUBE] And more recently (with vocals): [YOUTUBE]na6vaN6AMVk[/YOUTUBE] Sorry GuitarVlog - hope you don't mind this little hijack - wonderful music like this should be more widely available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riffmeister Posted October 12, 2010 Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 Wow! Extra cool!! Congrats!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted October 12, 2010 Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 Notice that: Really? I never knew that. Thanks for the the interesting tidbits . I'd think having tied frets would be a serious PITA. I would imagine they'd move around in the course of playing the lute, even if you had them tied tightly. I can't really tell from the pictures you posted . . . does your lute have tied frets or fixed ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted October 12, 2010 Author Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 I'd think having tied frets would be a serious PITA. I would imagine they'd move around in the course of playing the lute, even if you had them tied tightly. I can't really tell from the pictures you posted . . . does your lute have tied frets or fixed ones? Mine has tied frets and I too thought that they would be a real PITA. That was part of my reluctance towards spending a lot of money on a lute. Ironically, (properly) tied frets are not a PITA. The ones on my lute don't slip. They're usually tied on the narrower area of the neck and then slid downwards to the wider area where they get really tight. This installation method makes them quite secure. Based on my experience to-date, the real PITA is having to use peg tuners. They're imprecise compared to geared tuners and they have a tendency to slip. Yes, they're very light and they look both elegant and traditional. But with 13 strings to keep in tune on just a Renaissance lute (and I believe 25 on a Baroque lute), I consider them to be very inefficient. Progressive luthiers are now using Pegheds as a compromise. "Nut-cracker purists" (as Julian Bream called them) however still frown on anything but real pegs. Ultimately, if I someday a commission a lute, I think I would be inclined to have it built with fixed metal frets and geared tuners. But who knows, maybe in a few years I'll think differently ... or not. Julian Bream thought he might someday opt for a traditional lute back in 1982 ... but he never did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted October 12, 2010 Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 The planetary geared pegs are definitely on the rise among Baroque string players. There are some mods that make them even harder to distinguish from the real thing (don't get me started on the "real thing" thing.) Anyway, once players try them out, they're an easy sell. They're very smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StringJunky Posted October 12, 2010 Members Share Posted October 12, 2010 A couple of days ago, I sent an email to Chuck Herin about his pegheds. I want to get rid of the micro-tuners on my cello, since they look less than awesome and every now and then they develop a rattle. Mr Herin says he has ebony, boxwood, and rosewood for cello, with Hill and Heart style grips. He also makes them for guitar. I would imagine that given enough demand, he would have no problem making them for a lute. The idea of tuning up a baroque lute with pegs sounds...less than awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ESL94 Posted October 13, 2010 Members Share Posted October 13, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted October 14, 2010 Members Share Posted October 14, 2010 Cool. A clip or two when you can, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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