At left is a nearly completed eleven course lute using the bowl of C.45 Kunsthistorisches Vienna, the Magno Tieffenbrucker archlute. This design is very adaptable and I use it for eight and ten course instruments as well as a conventional archlute. As an eleven it is to be tuned in the old tuning like a ten course but with an expanded range. It will be the subject of a photo blog in the near future.
I have been spending a lot of time working with nineteenth century guitars. Earlier, I posted various stories about repairs, a restoration and an examination. I made working drawings of several Louis Panormo guitars that have passed through my shop and over the last few months I built a replica using a model from 1834. In the photo it is strung up "in the white -- completely assembled and playable but not yet varnished. I have documented every step of its construction. When it is finished I'll share this with you.
I also found time to start a replicate of a Johann Georg Stauffer terz guitar. This instrument is no. 4152 in the Berlin Musical Instrument Museum. It was displayed when I was there last year and although I didn't have the opportunity to examine it I purchased the plans sold by the museum. The neck floats in a deep notch in the front block of the guitar and is adjustable through a screw mechanism that protrudes through a hole that is visible in the heal of the neck.
I reported on this guitar by Gaetano Guadagnini (1796-1852) in an update from October 30, 2013. There are numerous cracks in the soundboard. I removed the back of the guitar to make access easier. I've blocked the cracks from the inside and have now started the process of widening each crack and inserting wood splints. Two of my splints are visible on the bass side level with the soundboard frets. A recess that is ready to receive a splint is next to the bridge location. Other untreated cracks are visible throughout the top. Gaetano's guitars are not well known today but his construction technique with laterally bent top and back is interesting and got the attention of Hermann Hauser Sr. who built replicas early in the twentieth century.
I am looking forward to finishing these projects and I'll be back with more posts soon.
