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Guitar after Antonio Stradivari 1680
Tuning generally took several minutes. I calculated that string tension was close to 1 ton. Fortunately, only one string ever broke, and even more fortunately, there was no one standing nearby.
Views: 109
Albums: Guinness Book of Records Baroque Guitar
Location: Lost
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Comment by Christopher Challen on December 29, 2013 at 11:05
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Dear Jelma, This instrument was built in Bristol by myself and colleagues at the 12th century Quakers Friars in 1993 after the 1680 Antonio Stradivari guitar on view in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
This scaled-up copy weighs ¾ ton and is 10 meters from pegbox to end pin. One of its most distinguishing features is its responsiveness and wide spectrum of harmonics from the lower two strings, even though the fundamental pitch is sub-sonic on those strings.
It made its debut in 1995 on a live BBC Radio 3 broadcast 'Sound Waves' accompanying jazz saxophonist, Andy Sheppard. This instrument was unfortunately lost at Bristol's Temple Meads Old Station in 2001 before I had a chance to make a case for it. Eyewitnesses have reported seeing it in Italy and also Germany, but its current whereabouts are unknown. If you or anybody you know should come across this instrument I would be very grateful if you would let me know. For further information please see the 1995 Guinness Book of Records.
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Comment by Jelma van Amersfoort on December 28, 2013 at 13:55
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Dear Chris, what is the story behind the huge Stradivarius? The image reminds me of a scene in the Spinal Tap movie where some set designer confused feet and inches and the band ended up with a tiny model of Stonehenge on stage...
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