Category: +Instruments

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Ukuleles Are For Real!

Ukulele Are For Real!

by Bob Gleason

Originally published in American Lutherie #1, 1985



Two years ago, when I moved to Hawaii, I told my cabinet maker shop partner that I’d never build a ukulele. I just did not consider them real instruments. I mean, when they were regularly on sale from the wholesaler at $10 to $15 each, how could I think of them as anything but toys? Well, two years down the road they earn me at least 50% of my income and sell for $275 to $500. In Hawaii they are a very real instrument.

The ukulele is commonly thought of as being Hawaiian in ethnic origin. Not so; it is of Portuguese descent. It has evolved from a small guitar called a Braguinha brought to Hawaii by the Portuguese around 1879. In Hawaiian the name ukulele means jumping flea. This refers to the rapid movement of the fingers while playing.

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Questions: Stringed Instruments of the Middle Ages

Questions: Stringed Instruments of the Middle Ages

by Wes Brandt

Originally published in American Lutherie #85, 2006

 

Fabio Ragghianti of Pietrasanta, Italy asks:

I’m looking for plans for stringed instruments of the Middle Ages: citara (kithara), fidula, and such.


Wes Brandt of Amsterdam, Holland responds:

No known examples of necked European stringed instruments survive from before about 1500, so they are known mainly through iconography and the written word. We can only surmise the thicknesses and internal structure. Also, seriously consider the type of stringing and string tension as you develop your own plan. The Early Music Shop in England (www.e-m-s.com/cat/stringinstruments/stringed.htm) has kits that may provide starting points for sizes and dimensions but are not to be taken as “historically correct.” A good site for photos and iconography is www.instrumentsmedievaux.org. Spend time on the Internet looking for references to books, journals, articles, essays, and iconography, then use interlibrary loans. Look for string makers such as NRI (www.nrinstruments.demon.co.uk/Guide.html), also early music societies, players, and other makers; and of course plans (``drawings’’ in England). Try searching in other languages as well; obviously you must learn the translated name of the instrument. ◆

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Questions: Vihuela Plans

Questions: Vihuela Plans

by Alexander Batov, Sebastián Núñez, and Verónica Estevez

Originally published in American Lutherie #88, 2006



Chris P. from the Internet asks:

Can you help me find construction plans for a vihuela?


Alexander Batov from the UK replies:

Only four instruments can be considered as surviving representatives of the 16th- to early-17th-century vihuela tradition: a rather large, highly decorative instrument in the Jacquemart-André Museum; an anonymous vihuela Inv. No. E 0748 (otherwise known as ‘‘Chambure”) in the Cité de la musique (both in Paris); a vihuela by Belchior Dias, Lisbon 1581 in the Royal College of Music (London); and a relic altarpiece vihuela from the Iglesia de la Compañiz de Jesús de Quito (Equador). Until recently most modern reproductions were flat-back reduced versions of the Jacquemart-André instrument or simply drawn from existing vihuela iconography.

Both the ‘‘Chambure” and the Dias vihuelas* have a fluted-rib back construction, where each individual rib is bent simultaneously in two directions — a difficult technique for a first vihuela. However, the construction process can be simplified by substituting a vaulted or flat back. A number of mid-16th- to early-17th-century Iberian sources confirm the existence of vaulted and flat back vihuelas, with the latter seemingly most common and also serving as a trial-piece model in the examination procedure for the beginning violero (vihuela maker).

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Questions: 12 String Acoustic Guitar Plans

Questions: 12 String Acoustic Guitar Plans

by John Calkin

Originally published in American Lutherie #85, 2006



Robin Walke of Kent, England, UK asks:

I am looking for construction plans for a 12-string acoustic guitar. The style of instrument I like is either a Guild F Series or the Martin D-12-28. I have looked all over the net without any luck. Any help you can offer will be appreciated.


John Calkin responds:

A couple sources of 12-string plans are: Elderly Instruments (www.elderly.com/books/cats/611.htm) and International Luthiers Supply (www.internationalluthiers.com/instrumentplans.php). However, you could always get a 6-string plan and beef it up a little.

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