Frank Nordberg
Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:00:58 -0700
Brad McEwen wrote:
thesmaller instrument next to it looks like a Guittarr
> Allemande, but it appears to have a fixed bridge and a more
modern stylke headstock. Same basic body shape,though.
I hadn't noticed that. In fact I don't think anybody had noticed the similarity before you did.
The picture is a detail from a well known photo of Napoleon Coste posing with his four guitars. In addition to these two the full photo shows his regular seven-stringer and a Swedish lute - both equipped witht that peculiar bridge/tailpiece combo seen on the bass guitar.
The small instrument is generally regarded as just a terz guitar (is there a good English name for it?), the body shape being nothing but an intersting but insignificant oddity.
However, take a look at these three: http://www.studia-instrumentorum.de/MUSEUM/ZISTER/0619.htm http://www.studia-instrumentorum.de/MUSEUM/ZISTER/0621.htm http://www.studia-instrumentorum.de/MUSEUM/ZISTER/bindernagel_1804.htmThe first one is a fairly standard French Guitarr Allemande ("German Guitar") except it has a regular peghead. It's believed to have been made by Le Blond who also made similar instruments with Preston tuners.
The second is also a Guitarr Allemande with a regular peghead. This one actually is German though - made by Bindernagel - and the number of strings has been reduced to eight.
No. 3 is another Bindernagel, only this one has a fixed bridge and only seven strings. Remove one more strings, modernize the peghead design and we have Coste's guitar.
Frank Nordberg http://www.musicaviva.com http://stores.ebay.com/Nordbergs-Music-Store?refid=store To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html