Category: +Instruments

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Questions: Santuri

Questions: Santuri

by Peter Kyvelos

Originally published in American Lutherie #91, 2007

See also,
Questions: Santuri by Roger Reid

 

Steven Bernstein from the Internet asks:

In Zorba the Greek, Zorba played a Turkish instrument called the santuri. If you could point me toward a photo of it, or better yet plans and recorded music, I’d like to know more about what Kazantzakis, the author, was talking about.


Peter Kyvelos of Belmont, Massachusetts, replies:

The sandouri or santouri (most common English spellings) is an instrument of the hammered dulcimer type. They are common in Greece and are related to the much smaller Persian santur. Pictured is a sandouri built by Chris Pantazelos in our shop, Unique Strings. I know of no plans for the instrument. There are recordings that feature the instrument, such as Axion Esti, written by Mikis Theodorakis, composer of the soundtrack for the movie version of Zorba. ◆

Photo by R.M. Mottola

See also,
Questions: Santuri by Roger Reid

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Questions: Dobro Plans

Questions: Dobro Plans

by Mike Dotson

Originally published in American Lutherie #87, 2006

 

Charlie S. from the Internet asks:

Can you give me a source for plans to build a Dobro?


Mike Dotson of Phoenix, AZ responds:

The only readily available plan for a resonator guitar I know of is the one by Paul Beard at Resophonic Outfitters. (www.beardguitars.com. Click “parts,” then “blueprints.”) They also supply all the parts needed. You can get the same plan as well as parts from Stewart-MacDonald (www.stewmac.com). ◆

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Letter: Experimental Violin

Letter: Experimental Violin

by Robert A. Edelstein

Originally published in American Lutherie #93, 2008



Hi Tim and GAL Staff,

I built this violin to be played at a Suzuki camp our family has attended for the past ten years. Both of our children are players. Just for fun, I tried to break every rule I could think of. The top of the instrument is made of eight pieces of 4" wide, 1/4" craft grade balsa from a hobby shop. I laminated them into two stacks of four boards each, then joined the two stacks side by side to make a blank 8" wide by 1" thick. Balsa is a pleasure to carve, but beware of chipping. The finished top was surprisingly resonant.

I used a carbon/graphite free-floating bass bar made from an old bow and slid into balsa blocks. It could be changed for stiffer or lighter ones depending on player preference. The soundpost is made to function as a very stiff spring; I wanted to see if it could “self adjust.” The neck is carved of mahogany and has a slide-through cam resting against the back which helps do a quick neck adjustment during construction. The headstock uses mini-tuners in a pattern suggestive of a traditional pegbox. For speed of completion, the back and sides are from a Stewart-MacDonald violin kit. Bessie Blum, an artist friend of ours in Cambridge, Massachusetts, did a wonderful decorative finish. The instrument plays well, but is a little top heavy from the mechanical tuners.

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Questions: Requinto Plans

Questions: Requinto Plans

by William Cumpiano and Luis Alberto Paredes Rodríguez

Originally published in American Lutherie #87, 2006

 

Chip H. from the Internet asks:

I’ve been looking everywhere for a set of plans for a requinto. Any thoughts on where I might find one, or some generous soul that might send me the dimensions and scale length?


William Cumpiano of Northampton, MA responds:

I doubt anyone has ever produced plans for a requinto, or at least offered one for commercial distribution. For most Hispanic luthiers I know, sharing information with strangers is a low priority. I’m an exception.

Requintos are made just like a Spanish guitar, with a smaller template but full guitar-depth sides. They are tuned like a guitar capoed at the 5th fret, A to A, with the same intervals between the strings as a guitar. Scales vary from 21 5/8" to 22 1/8". Cutaways are very popular. Thicknesses of all the top, back and side plates are the same as the ones chosen for the larger Spanish guitar. Five fan braces with two cutoff bars on the bottom are most common. Strings chosen are the same as for full-size guitars, but understandably the gauges on the lightest-tension sets are preferred. All other full-size guitar dimensions and construction details apply.


Luis Alberto Paredes Rodríguez from Bogotá, Colombia responds:

Here are the basic dimensions of the requintos we make in our shop. The body measurements are similar to those of the Colombian tiple: upper bout = 25CM; waist = 21.4CM; lower bout = 32.5CM; body length = 42CM; body depth = 9CM–9.5CM. The scale length varies from 540MM to 560MM. But we find the ideal scale to be 550MM. The other neck dimensions are the same as the guitar and the neck joins the body at the 12th fret. Some have a body cutaway. The instruments invariably have a pickguard. (Editor’s note: GAL Instrument Plan #51, the Colombian Tiple, was drawn by Sr. Paredes. It may be ordered from the GAL website.) ◆

(See also our Instrument Plan #54, Mexican Requinto)

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Questions: Mystery Guitar

Questions: Mystery Guitar

by Walter Carter

Originally published in American Lutherie #99, 2009

 

Neill Pickard asks:

Any idea who made this parlor guitar? It has a poplar top and no label.

Both photos by Neill Pickard
Carter-ques-al99-02

Walter Carter from Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee replies:

The “usual suspect” for any sort of inexpensive, unlabeled instrument from the 1920s and ’30s is Regal of Chicago. In the case of this instrument, the decal ornamentation suggests Regal or Oscar Schmidt of Jersey City, New Jersey. ◆