Posted on June 26, 2019March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips The Colombian Andean Bandola The Colombian Andean Bandola by Luis Alberto Paredes Rodríguez and Manuel Bernal Martínez previously published in American Lutherie #96, 2008 The Colombian Andean bandola is a transcultural product similar to plectrum-played antecedents from Asia and Europe. It is a 12-string, 6-course soprano instrument with “flat” top and back, and is the solo melodic instrument in the Colombian Andean quartet, which consists of two bandolas, a tiple (see Big Red Book Volume Seven, previously published in AL#82), and a classical guitar. The name “bandola” comes from the old Persian-Arabic word pandura. Derived from the name of the European lute, the word refers to a great variety of instruments of medium and high register with melodic functions. The direct ancestor of the bandola is the guitar through the Spanish bandurria and the soprano guitars, and which after taking its form in Colombia during the 19th and 20th centuries, continues to undergo transformations in its morphology and usage. The Colombian Andean bandola has two developmental lineages: on one hand, the denomination line which makes reference to its name, and on the other, the construction line which makes reference to its morphological features (Bernal, 2003). The name of the bandola comes from the pandura (known since the 10th century) following the European lute, and one of its families known as the “mandoras family.” These 4- to 6-course instruments with thin bodies had a variety of pitches (a mixture of perfect fourths and fifths) and scale lengths ranging between 37CM and 42CM. By the year 1700, the mandolines emerged in Italy when the size of the mandola was reduced, prevailing and persisting in Italy in two different models: the Milanese mandoline with a thin, slightly arched body, and six courses of either gut or metal strings tuned in perfect fourths; and the Neapolitan mandolin with a bowl back body, a cranked (bent) soundboard just where the bridge is placed, four courses of metal strings tuned like a violin, and strings fastened to the end of the body by way of a tailpiece. The scale for both models is about 32CM to 34CM. In the 18th century, mandolins began to be manufactured with flat or slightly arched sides and back, especially in France, Germany, and Portugal. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 26, 2019March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips The Catgut Acoustical Society and the New Violin Family Association The Catgut Acoustical Society and the New Violin Family Association by Robert J. Spear previously published in American Lutherie #86, 2006 See also, Meet the Maker: Carleen Hutchins by Alan Carruth The New Violin Family by Alan Carruth The Catgut Acoustical Society (CAS) had been known for nearly fifty years for the creation of the violin octet, mainly through the research and development of Carleen Hutchins (with the assistance of over a hundred society members), but the society also undertook a number of acoustically related projects during this same period. As the 20th century ended, some members wanted to focus more on these areas. There was also a growing feeling among the octet developers that this magnificent set of instruments needed to leave the world of science and enter the world’s concert stages. At the end of 1999, the society split into two groups, with one retaining the original CAS name and research focus. The other, the New Violin Family Association (NVFA), was formed to take on the challenge of promoting the Violin Octet. The division produced advantages and disadvantages for all concerned. The CAS and NVFA were now free to focus more directly on their respective areas of interest. But both were considerably smaller and financially weaker after the membership divided, and each soon had to redefine itself. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 24, 2019March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Grading and Resawing Lutherie Wood Resawing Lutherie Wood by Bruce Creps previously published in American Lutherie #91, 2007 See also, “Sharpening the Stellite Teeth on the 3" Hitachi Blade” by Bruce Creps “Grading and Curing Lumber” by Bruce Creps Harvesting, milling, and processing tonewood can be a wasteful business. Much of the wood used by luthiers comes from large, older trees, elders worthy of respect. As someone fortunate enough to work with these rare, high-grade woods, one of my top goals is to minimize waste by processing this valuable resource efficiently. This article concerns the Hitachi CB75F resaw, though much of what follows is general enough to be applicable to other resaws. Luthiers who buy resawn sets might glean information about how their wood is processed and what to request or avoid when ordering. A note on nomenclature: A resaw is an upright or horizontal bandsaw set up to make uniform rip cuts. The front of the saw is where you start feeding a cut. The face of a board is its wide, longitudinal surface; the edge is its narrow longitudinal surface; the end is its crosscut surface. The resaw blade is made up of its band and its teeth (terms not necessarily interchangeable). I refer to vertical-grain wood in place of quartersawn wood to avoid confusion, since a sawyer can get vertical-grain cuts without quartering a log. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 24, 2019March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Three Short Articles by H.E. Huttig The Guitar & I by H.E. Huttig previously published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly 10 #2, 1982 See also, “Three Craftsmen” by H.E. Huttig “Woes of a Wood Merchant” by H.E. Huttig My introduction to the mystery and beauty of musical instruments took place in my grandmother’s hotel suite. Grandma had been to Europe, an experience reserved for a favored few in those days. Her suite in the old Hotel Lucerne was a cultural oasis in the otherwise arid surroundings of Kansas City, a town only recently emerged from frontier days and having a considerable preoccupation with cattle and lumbering. Her rooms were filled with bric-a-brac and antique furniture. In addition there was a grand piano and numerous small instruments including violins, mandolins and guitars. I was five years old at the time and my inquisitive fingers quickly found the strings of the instruments. I marveled at the sounds and appreciated the beauty of the polished rare woods. Later Grandma moved to Miami Beach and her guitar was damaged when a hurricane blew in the windows. The guitar was given to me all in ruins, and I managed to repair it. It is still in my possession. Years later I met Delfin Martinez and Ted McCully, both talented guitarists. Delfin had come from Key West and was familiar with all phases of Latin music. Though he plays guitar, his favorite instrument is the TRES, a three stringed Cuban folkloric instrument Ted was born in Russia and was adopted by Admiral McCully from the crowds of Russian orphans left homeless after World War I. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 21, 2019March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Fabio’s Excellent Nicaraguan Adventure Fabio’s Excellent Nicaraguan Adventure by Mike Moger previously published in American Lutherie #93, 2008 Fabio Ragghianti walked into the open-air market on a hot day in Jalapa, Nicaragua, to buy some fruit. He had been in town for three days, and the food he was used to eating was back in his home town of Pietrasanta, in Tuscany. A boy looking about sixteen or seventeen helped him pick out some oranges and apples, and quickly asked him in Spanish, “How much does it cost to learn how to build a guitar?” Our classical guitar building class had started nine days earlier, in February 2007. My son, Abram, was with me, and together, the three of us were to teach five eager students the finer points of building good guitars. Men and boys, and a few ladies, had stopped by the open shop every day to see us work. A local TV reporter (the only one in town) interviewed us about what we were doing, and people asked how much it would cost to buy a good guitar. Guitars had been largely absent since Nicaragua had fought the Contra-Sandinista war. The town of Jalapa, Nicaragua is located in the northern mountains, just south of Honduras. It was hit hard in the war when the Contras stationed themselves in Honduras. Jalapa stood between them and the Nicaraguan capital, Managua. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
