Ehud,
I'm afraid I disagree with Jon. Considering that even a cheap lute
of the southeast Asian variety is now running $400-500, buying one
sounds like an expensive way to learn what not to do. I think that,
even buying tuning pegs, materials for the lutes I've built cost
under $200; probably closer to $150. And you can build one with a
minimum of specialized tools in a borrowed workshop space. All of
the lutes I've built so far have ribs made of thin wood from a hobby
store (the next one will be different). I used a handheld sander to
thickness the soundboards on most of the ones I've made, and you can
make an inexpensive thickness gauge to guide you. Much of the work
can be done on a kitchen table, as long as you're not married. Now
that I'm thoroughly addicted, I've built a thickness sander and am
investing in other tools, but it was pretty rudimentary at first.
You can make a couple of lemons and learn more than by playing
someone else's mistakes.
The Lute Society in England leases lutes. It's too bad there isn't a
way to do that in the US. Of course, I have no idea where you are
located.
Tim
On May 28, 2008, at 10:57 PM, Ehud Yaniv wrote:
On 5/26/08 1:04 AM, "Jon Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
If I may make a suggestion, try buying a cheap Paki or Indian made
lute on
EBay. Use it to learn what is wrong with it. In effect that is
what I did
with my "flat back", I now know what the lute should be. BTW, Ronn
McFarlane
played my flat back once, after I'd modified it, and declared it "
a sweet
sounding instrument". I think that might have been a "damning with
faint
praise", but I'll still accept the compliment. When playing a cheap
instrument one must accept that the tuning may not hold - and that
one must
at times accept a bit of discord - but it is better to learn the
basics of
play before venturing into the construction and finding out that
one has
made some primary errors. I still can enjoy playing my flat back,
but I
really anticipate the play of my planned lute.
Best, Jon
BTW, I'm primarily a harpist and psaltery player, but the lute is
a lovely
thing and once I make a good one I'll be torn among the instruments.
Hi Jon,
Thanks for the suggestion.
At one time, I did order a cheap southeast asian flat back lute -
even had
it ordered and all. In the end I cancelled it when I read about
the work
needed to make one of these even remotely playable. It just seemed
to be
easier to make one.
That said, I will consider it as a possible option as I sit, think,
and
plan.
Ehud
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