Robert Clair wrote: > > > > >>BTW, metal frets (aside from being fixed) do ruin the sound. >> >> > > > >You can check for yourself: take a small metal rod (the point of a >cheap pencil compass will work) and slip it under the string near a >fret. Hold it *FIRMLY* in place and, using a bit of contortion, hold >it and fret the string with one hand and pluck with the other. (You >may also use an assistant, preferably one with a dazzling smile and >a sequined costume.) Remove it and pluck again. Repeat several times. >Did you notice the sound being ruined ? > >
I'm not doubting that you couldn't detect a difference in sound, but what you've suggested doing is pretty subjective since it involves human hearing and a human hand. Has anyone ever performed an objective experiment with some sort of wave form analyzer and robotic "plucker"? It would be interesting to see the results from that. I definitely agree that the German lutes made in the early '60s ( in some little town with a quaint name ) were not of the lightest construction.They seem to all have a bracing scheme similar to either the classical guitar or a sea going kayak. The construction quality is a little suspect as well: I was recently fishing out a broken piece of rose from mine when I pulled out a 1 inch ball of very fine shavings. I don't believe they were placed there by the maker to enhance the sound >:). And all these years I thought there was a small, dead rodent in there! To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
