[VIHUELA] Re: Guitar bridges

[Monica Hall]

This is exactly the kind of survey you've requested here, but of 
instruments
that were (or were most likely) named similarly to mandolin.  It clocks a
relatively brief 154 pages.  Each chapter has a description of the basic
characteristics of each type, and then simply catalogues known instruments
in mostly public collections.  Exceptions and specific measurements are
often noted and there are many useful and professionally executed line
drawings.

Exactly - now who will volunteer to write it.

James Tyler (1989, 1993) noted in The Early Mandolin that there were more
baroque-era mandolins in collections than full-sized lutes.  If it's
possible for mandolins, why not guitars?

I feel sure that there are far more guitars in historic collections than 
lutes.   Partly because they continued to be used after the mid 18th century 
and were often converted to six single strings.   That would make quite a 
major undertaking to list them all I suppose.

Monica



Best,
Eugene


-----Original Message-----
From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On
Behalf Of Monica Hall
Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 10:03 AM
To: Martyn Hodgson
Cc: Vihuelalist
Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: Guitar bridges

Dear Martin

That is very helpful and very interesting especially what you say about
them
improving the bass response.  I don't know much about how guitars were
constructed and it seems difficult to get detailed and accurate
information
about them and in particular to find out whether they have been altered.

The other question which often crosses my mind is about string lengths.
The general view seems to be that 65-67 cms or longer was the norm 
because
most (?) surviving instruments have that sort of string length.   Shorter
ones have apparently often been cut down - but then why would anyone cut
them down?   And what about ones which were pitched higher - have none
survived?   I am just curious to know what other people think about this.
We seem to take quite a lot for granted.

It would be nice if someone were to write a book surveying all the
surviving
instruments with measurements and details of changes made to them but I
suppose that is asking for rather a lot.

Regards

Monica



----- Original Message -----
From: "Martyn Hodgson" <hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk>
To: <vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 8:43 AM
Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: Guitar bridges


>
>   Dear Monica,
>
>   As far as I can see, the evidence from extant instruments seems to be
>   that slotted bridges were often employed in the 17th century,
>   especially by French makers;  Italian makers seemingly preferring a
>   bridge with individual string holes (tho' there are exceptions). Good
>   extant examples include the Rene Voboam of 1641 (Ashmolean) which has
a
>   highly and individually decorated bridge in the same style as other
>   decoration on the instrument and thus seems to be orginal.  Various
>   Alexandre Voboam guitars also have slotted bridges which I believe 
> are
>   orginal (or at least 17th century) since by the 18th century most/all
>   bridges seemed to have string holes. However the picture is far from
>   clear and the waters are further muddied by replacement bridges.
>
>   One explanation has been that slotted bridges allow more adjustment 
> of
>   string height at the bridge but, in my experience, there is no very
>   significant difference whether tied from the top or bottom of the 
> slot
>   since static forces will always tend to pull the point where the
string
>   passes over its own loop to the mid point between top and bottom.  A
>   more reasonable explanation it that it increases flexibility of the
>   bridge and thus enhances the bass response. But much speculation all
>   round....
>
>   Martyn
>
>
>
>
>   --- On Sun, 27/11/11, Monica Hall <mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk> wrote:
>
>     From: Monica Hall <mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk>
>     Subject: [VIHUELA] Guitar bridges
>     To: "Vihuelalist" <vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu>
>     Date: Sunday, 27 November, 2011, 19:29
>
>      This is just a quick query to everyone who plays the baroque 
> guitar
>   -
>      about bridges.
>      Mine has slots rather than holes which the strings pass through
when
>      they are tied to the bridge.
>      Is this usual on baroque guitars.   Is there any standard
>      arrangement.
>      Monica
>      --
>   To get on or off this list see list information at
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>
>   --
>
> References
>
>   1. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>