Ben, I have bought drawings of instruments on that list but directly from the museum. I never could quite trust or understand how to use the CIMCIM? As to value, they are very valuable especially if you can get notes to go with them. For example built as a renaissance later modified to baroque 13 string. These drawings tend to be made by historians not luthiers so they show the instruments as they are now and are not builders DIY plans. Lutes in particular change shape a great deal in 300 years one must redraw to symmetrical and design A the mould. Since I have a quite limited understanding of music i like to take advantage of major maker's web sites to get a feel for how many strings, string length, pitch, the alternatives of what can be done with each body. Barber and Harris have drawn more lutes than any other luthiers, I think, but I find it hard to discover what they have drawn. They could do a great service for the amateur builder if they would publish a list of what they have measured and drawn, please. Ken ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben" <[email protected]> To: "Lute-builder list" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, April 6, 2009 11:18:39 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [LUTE-BUILDER] Technical drawings I'm going to quote Lundberg to illustrate a point, but it could be anybody... visit any webpage, read any modern book, and the same sort of language is there: "We know the width of the neck at the nut and body... because these are standard measures of the period." A We do? They are? A This information is where, exactly? A I know in Lundberg's case it was in a black notebook that I wish someone would just publish... no cleanup, no editing, no promises, none of that is required, just the record itself. A Microfiche the damn thing. A If you build it, they will come. I've seen some offerings from museum collections. A CIMCIM has a list of 44 lutes they have tech drawings of. A In their (somewhat dated) price list they offer a collection of 39 drawings, and a later update adds a group of 14 "Lutes, Guitars and Cithers". A The dates of these drawings (mostly from the 70s) makes me wonder: was the data interpreted in the fashion of the times (i.e. with reference to a more Hauser-like building) or is the data merely collected, with interpretation up to the observer? I haven't read this list consistently over the years, but the times I have been paying attention I've never heard anyone say they'd bought drawings from a collection like this; I have, however, heard people recommend that others do so. So I'm really wondering: does anyone on the list KNOW the value, to a modern maker of historically-accurate instruments, of the drawings such as those in this collection? A Are there any other collections people could recommend from empirical knowledge? A As far as books go, my collection is nigh on complete. A Plans, a few. A I haven't ventured into the realm of museum drawings, largely because of the price, but I find myself at a point where I desire more knowledge but don't know exactly how to get it. A A - Ben To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
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