Bill Langen's Medieval Guiterne [Pictures] - created 11-19-2009

Langen, Bill - 11/19/2009.11:00:54

Here's a picture of a guiterne I just finished. It has a carved, slightly arched top of spruce, 3 mm under the bridge and 1 1/2 mm at the edges. I used 3 quite light braces one above the rose, one below and a third diagonal between the rose and the bridge. The fingerboard and pegs are buckthorn and the trim and inlay are walnut, buckthorn and maple. The back is constructed with ribs like a lute, although this is not authentic, the medieval guiternes being almost certainly hollowed out from a single block. I had no particular acoustic goal in choosing ribs, I simply wanted the challenge. Suffice it to say, I've got a lot to learn about rib construction. This is also true of making pegs, no two ever seem to be identical.

I am a rank amateur,and I welcome all comments, critiques and suggestions and hope you can help me with a couple questions:

What is the effect on sound of a carved arch soundboard versus a thin, flat soundboard with braces?

What difference in sound results from using a violin style floating bridge (as I did for this instrument) versus an attached guitar style bridge?

I ask because my guiternes have a booming base, really quite surprising given the size (43 cm string length, 8" at widest point of belly), but the treble is not everything I could hope for.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Bill

More pictures please.

Do you have any in-process pictures?

This is about the only picture "in process". The Elmer's glue is just to tack the elements of the marquetry together. I used hide glue for the actual assembly. I used strips of watercolor paper soaked in glue to reenforce the inside of the bowl. As is obvious, I have a very high threshold for tolerating messes.

Bill

Very cool. Did you use Nylgut strings? You would probably get more treble if you used a thin braced top instead of a carved one.

A carved to would lend itself to playing with a plectrum and a thinner top with fingers for polyphony. If the instrument is meant for earlier music than a renaissance guitar, vihuela or medieval lute then picked music would probably be played on it.

I think it's fine you made the back of pieced ribs, that kind of construction is very old so this instrument could have been made that way. The one piece body and pieced ribs where most likely construction methods used concurrently in that time period.

If you want more response from the trebles you may have to experiment with thinner carved tops and brace them or go flat top with lateral braces or straps.

Nice rosette too. If you try flat top you can go really thin, like 1.5 mm and a little thinner around the bridge. When you make a flat top instrument with flush fingerboard construction that is like a vihuela or ren guitar you thin the top under the bridge and leave the outer edges thicker. You also glue the bridge on, lighter the better and in a design like an early lute. ( more or less)

For a flat top on an instrument that small with that short scale you could start by putting a brace above a below the soundhole and leave the rest alone. ( think ukelele zone) If you find the top pulling up into an 'S' around the bridge and the distortion causes the string to hit the belly or if it just looks like too much tension you can put a brace in front of the bridge. You would then remove the top again and glue a tall thin lateral brace about an inch above the bridge and fit it to the sides very carefully. That will keep the top from dishing in front of the bridge, but will also change the sound a bit. Sometimes making the instrument more nasal sounding.

You may that much already, but I hope that helps. I wish I had the time to make some early instruments now, but I have to make guitars for the moment. I've made three vihuelas and I'm looking forward to the time I can build another.

I just love it. Great job.

Great job. I'm sure that there is not a lot of building info for these instruments, which makes it an even more impressive first build!

I love medieval instruments, they are so spirited. I would love to build some but there are so few people playing them that it becomes a labour of love.

Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions. A very special thanks to Stephen Faulk for his detailed answers to my questions. I will definitely use them in my next instrument. Stephen, you asked about strings- I used La Bella low tension classics for the basses and nylgut for the trebles. I think that I'll try the thin, flat top construction you described since that is similar to the oud which was widely played in Europe during that period.

I have two nice slabs, one of walnut and another of box elder, and I'll probably choose one for the next guiterne, this time with a more traditional hollowed out body. I'm also toying with the temptation to use some decorative motifs from the Book of Kells on the pretext that some of them crept into medieval continental manuscripts. I'll try to get organized and post some pix as I work along.

Bill

Beautiful job Bill, and congratulations. Is watercolor paper commonly used to reinforce the inside of the bowl (presumably with HHG)? I know fabric is also used by some builders and wonder if wood is ever used.

Bob,

In Robert Lundberg's Historical Lute Construction he mentions reinforcing the ribs with paper. I can't remember where I read that watercolor paper would be the best. I've seen pictures of lute interiors where fabric (linen?) was used. I can't recall seeing mention of wood used for this purpose.

Bill

Hi Bob,

Having tried a multi-rib instrument before(nearly shed tear of frustration on that one) I have to say that is incredible! And that sound hole/rosette is stunning too!