No - width of the neck will be determined by the string spacing. By thickness, I mean the distance from the surface of the fingerboard to the back of the neck. Ned On Nov 14, 2012, at 6:26 PM, Gregory Brown wrote:
> By "thickness", do you mean the width of the neck? > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of Edward Mast > Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 6:14 PM > To: Luca Manassero > Cc: lute > Subject: [LUTE] Re: 8-ch lute strings spacing > > String spacing is indeed most important. But I rarely (never?) see > mentioned thickness of the neck. For a couple of years I played an 8 course > lute with a rather thin neck, which I assumed to be normal. Then I got an 8 > course with a thicker neck and found (I do have large hands) that barred > chords that had been difficult on the thinner neck were considerably easier > on the thicker neck. I quickly got rid of the thinner neck instrument. > Perhaps something else to consider when buying a lute . . . > Ned > On Nov 14, 2012, at 5:52 PM, Luca Manassero wrote: > >> Dear list, >> five years ago at the Neuburg (Bavaria) Summer Academy I happened >> to try an 8 course lute built for a friend of mine by Martin Shepherd: >> the strings spacing fitted so perfectly that later on I e-mailed Martin >> to have "his" strings spacing. I still use it on all my Renaissance >> instruments. >> In any case all lutemakers I approached over the last seven years >> ALWAYS asked me "my" strings spacing requirements: they NEVER simply >> used their without asking first. >> Last but not least, I have played a few "exact copies" of museum >> instruments: in all cases an extremely narrow strings spacing made them >> almost unplayable (to me). Having big hands I don't see why I should >> play on a very narrow, mandolin-like neck. What if the original >> instrument (aka Gerle...) was originally built for a 10 years old >> little girl? >> Luca >> David Tayler on 14/11/12 18.29 wrote: >> >> It depends on the player, the technique and the size of the hands, the >> width of the fingers, etc., but in the critical spacing of the first >> three courses I would not go below 5mm center to enter between pairs >> and below 11.5 between the chanterelle and the next string over, if the >> top string is single. There is a cross point at the plucking point that >> is the real figure, that is, the width where the string plucked. As for >> the other courses, it also depends on the string material. For an early >> style lute, you can also use a "close parallel" spacing, but unless the >> maker knows how to do it, I would not try it. >> The reach of the hand is important in an eight course instrument, but >> that depends on the hand. So at eight courses, you may have to compress >> the spacing slightly if reach is an issue. If they live in California, >> I can take a look, but otherwise you may have to rely on a generic >> pattern, or borrow a few instruments to see if they fit. It's like >> buying shoes. You can ask what shoe size you need, but you still have >> to wear them. Ninety percent of lutes have the wrong spacing, so it is >> worth getting it right when it is built. >> dt >> --- On Sun, 11/4/12, Jerzy Zak [1]<[email protected]> wrote: >> >> From: Jerzy Zak [2]<[email protected]> >> Subject: [LUTE] 8-ch lute strings spacing >> To: "lute mailing list list" [3]<[email protected]> >> Date: Sunday, November 4, 2012, 5:06 PM >> >> Dear Lutelist, >> A student of mine is expacting a new 8-ch lute. The maker has little >> experience with an instrument of such number of courses. So we all need >> some advice from you. We need a typical spacing on both sides of >> strings, aEUR|if there is such "typical" spacing, of course. Anyway, at >> least a distance between the outer strings would be of help, if not all >> measurements. >> Thanks in advance! >> Jerzy Z >> --- >> To get on or off this list see list information at >> [1][4]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> >> -- >> >> References >> >> 1. [5]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> >> References >> >> 1. mailto:[email protected] >> 2. mailto:[email protected] >> 3. mailto:[email protected] >> 4. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> 5. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> > > > >
