Dear Samuel, Though I cannot be definitive, years ago I purchased on ebay a 13 cs baroque lute having similar features and price which was made by a highly skilled Englishman or Irishman named A.(Anthony) Murphy. It had unique not entirely historical features including a laterally doubled pegbox (this innovation halved the length of the pegbox) and similar fixed metal frets with very deep or high relief wood frets on the soundboard. The lute was somewhat heavy, and I tried a variety of stringings but could never obtain anything close to the resonance of my 1976 Lundberg (a very light instrument made specifically for my hands). The Murphy 13 cs lute was in perfect condition, and in retrospect I should have attempted to use high tension (guitar-like) strings in order to improve sound projection. Instead, needing a tax deduction at the time, I donated the instrument to a local university where most of the students have never before seen a lute of any kind, and it remains in the college art museum like a piece of furniture students can gawk at.
If I'm not mistaken, your Renaissance instrument has a Padoan soundboard shape. Your 8th course may rattle due to the fractured nut underneath, but I would prefer having a seven as opposed to an 8-course lute anyway, there being much more extant music tabulature for seven as compared to eight courses. There are vastly more knowledgeable people on this list who may be able to correct my own misconceptions or misstatements, but I fully appreciate your concern and need for information. Wish I could provide more. Mark Seifert M.D. ---- Samuel Jacques <dei...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > Hello! I have to admit I am new to the list, and to lute playing in > general. I started off by practicing on a cheap paki flat back lute > (300$) just to see if I would like it, and I do! So today I found a > beautiful lute on ebay that was still relatively cheap (900$). > Now, I know from reading the archive that there are alot of purists on > the list - but you know, I love my paki lute since without it, I would > never have been able to attempt to play this beautiful music. The > sound might not be good, but considering I have never played guitare or > any instrument, I'm sure I could even make a $12,000 lute sound like a > sick duckling. > So with that in mind, I bought this new lute today. It's a step up > from what I have now, I am sure. But now I would like to know more > about the instrument. The seller could not identify the maker's mark, > and there is no label inside. The craftmanship seems pretty good > though. here are the pictures: > http://s778.photobucket.com/albums/yy65/deides/lute/ > and the description (sorry for the size): > * Vintage 8 Course Renaissance Lute w/ original case and wooden peg > tuner * 640 mm scale * The action at the 8th fret measures .181 inches > or 4.60 mm * Ebony, ivory dotted tuners * Neck is curly maple w/ ebony > filets * 15 gorgeous brazilian rosewood ribs w/ an aged german spruce > top * Rosewood bridge, ebony fretboard and mahogany rose * Curly maple > and mahogany peg head * This lute sounds fantastic, but there are > issues that have been high-lighted in the pics * The nut has damage to > the 8th course section * It is chipped, but the strings still stay > where they should * There are various cracks in the spruce top : below > the bridge, next to the high frets, between the bridge and rose * What > is nice about these cracks is that they have been there a while and > have remained very tight * There is an excellent binding on this > instrument * There is no reason to repair these cracks and a repair > could diminish the sound quality which is superb * The metal frets show > little wear and are firmly seated * Not sure of the exact age, but is > at least 40 years old * > So, could anyone here help me to try and find out a little bit more > about this lute? I already know is it probably from the 70's, so it > would be heavy, more like a guitare, and the metal frets are quite > typical of a lute made from that era. I can't seem to make out the > makers initials... DM? EM? I wish I knew more about it. > Thank you for any help you could provide!!! > > -- > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
