A good point, Bill, and I don't think I've seen any body frets (old or
new lutes) with body frets for the bass notes. There are pieces that
do, however, call for an 'l' on the 6th course. ...usually that
dreaded F chord w/ that passing tone up from the 'h' on the 6th course.
If my strings are a shade wonky then I appreciate some wiggle room.
Last year my 12th popped off and a neglected to fix it for a while. It
was an interesting challange to use my ears to find the 'n' rather
than simply go 'plink' w/ the little finger. I eventually fixed it and
now just curl my lip DCheney-style at the note I get.
Unless your string intonation is perfect, a fixed fret is
counterproductive. On the other hand, why would some players prefer 10
frets on the neck over 8 or 9? If they had constant access to quality
strings then a wooden fretted high notes make more sense. If you don't
--the more likely scenerio-- that gut 10th fret is perfectly useful
for adjusting the intonation up there. Plus you get more neck to play
on, of course.
And that 10th fret (in the bass, anyway) is nearly always a root --
never(?) a 3rd or 6th-- and for that you want it to be pretty true,
arguing for either a good quality string or the ability to stop it
precisely.
Relatedly, the metal string tech apparently produced a more regular
string (and the scalloped frets less intonational interference) so
those citterns and orphariae could take advantage of all those 'p's
and 'q's. I've had the pleasure here in the SF bay area to hear some
very nice mean-toned, wire strung instruments: one being a fanned fret
orpharion as well as some good citterns (diatonic and chromatic) and
it's amazing how much more in tune they can be 'up the neck'.
Sean
On Oct 31, 2013, at 5:15 AM, William Samson wrote:
Funny thing - Although body frets were not unknown back in the day,
there's very little evidence of them actually being in general use.
Few surviving instruments show signs of ever having had them and they
are equally rare in the iconography. I wonder if the players back
then
weren't as bothered as we are about sustain and they must have been
pretty good at planting their LH finger in just the right spot.
Bill
From: Dan Winheld <[email protected]>
To:
Cc: lute <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, 30 October 2013, 18:24
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Best body fret material?
Thanks all for the great replies. Lilac? That is the most intriguing
of
all. Holly and bamboo sound like good candidates also.
Sterling- thanks for reminding me of those amazing frets! I must have
seen them at Cleveland some time ago. A top professional guitar
builder
in my neighborhood recommends bone over ivory for strength &
durability- I am considering letting him do my body frets this time
around.
Dan
On 10/30/2013 9:23 AM, Eric Hansen wrote:
A few years ago I was visiting luthier Joel Van Lennep, who showed
me
his favorite material for fixed (body) frets: lilac. He said he
preferred it because it's very hard, and yet still flexible.
Best to all,
Eric
On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 6:21 AM, Sterling
<[1][1][email protected]>
wrote:
I have body frets on one lute made of an ivory-ebony sandwich
and
they sound great up to the 14th fret. Cutting ivory is not easy
though as it tends to shatter. Another lute I have has
holly-ebony-holly frets. I like these flashy frets, but my
friend
Bob Hieronimus hates them and prefers that the body frets are
almost
invisible.
Sterling
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 29, 2013, at 11:05 PM, Dan Winheld <[2][2][email protected]>
wrote:
Talk of tastini has gotten me wondering, what is the best
material
for body frets? I have been playing a lot of music recently that
dances
around in the lute's stratosphere- Melchior Neusidler, Mudarra,
Milan's
advanced fantasias, etc. The plain wooden frets I have now-
probably
Maple, maybe Boxwood; sound pretty terrible compared to the gut
frets.
I am thinking Ebony, some other dense tropical hardwood, bone, or
even
some modern synthetic- but only if aesthetically acceptable &
sonically
superior. If anyone knows of some magic non-metallic body fret
material
I would really like to know.
Part of the problem is the buzzing, unclean sound that results
from a
squared off fret- an inevitable result of having to shave them
down for
proper clearance after gluing down. Ideally, they should be
crowned- or
at least rounded edges for best tone. Tough, fussy job to do even
before installation for the non-luthier DIY amateur.
Thanks all for any enlightenment on this bit of lute pain.
Dan
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Eric Hansen
Librarian & lutenist --
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