Early Guitars and Vihuela

A network for historic guitars and vihuelas

Hi guys,

So there was a five-course 'baroque' jarana ready at a workshop in Mexico, but the player who ordered it decided not to take it and asked me if I wanted to take the instrument. I said 'yes', and the instrument has now been shipped to me in Singapore.

Player said it was 59 cm, and I didn't think to check with the maker. It looked a little small, so I decided to check the string length before ordering strings. What I originally thought had a string length of 59 cm has turned out to have a string length of 54 cm.

I figured an E tuning at 59 cm was still possible with heavier strings, but 54 cm?

I'd primarily intended this to be for continuo,  will the sound of a 54cm instrument be useless? 

*SADFACE*

Here's a picture of it next to my Thomann instrument. 

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That is a very cute instrument! You could tune it a third higher than standard, to see if you can get used to (reading in) the new pitch, and to find out what the sound will be like. I am pretty sure there are historic precedents for shorter scale guitars in the 17th century at least, so that should not be a reason not to play it!

By the way, who was the maker?

it's by Anastasio 'Tacho' Utrera. i must say it's a lovely instrument, but i haven't ordered proper strings for it yet. 

i tried to string it up with some really old used lute strings just to see how it sounds. some are from assorted La Bella Renaissance Lute sets, and some from elsewhere and all over the place, and so it's in E, with wound strings on the G course, a wound string with nylon octave on the D, and a single high wound A. 

Professor Eloy Cruz tells me 54cm is ideal for an A tuning, and that an A guitar is the preferred instrument of Steven Player, but i'm not sure i can handle thinking a fourth higher. i'd prefer to work on being fluent in the E tuning first, even if it's on such a small instrument using wound strings. i must comment - de Visée is very comfy for the left hand with such a size!

after having played on one of the Pakistan baroque guitars for 2 years, and no other ever, i have only one thing to say: GOLLY THIS THING IS LOUD! i love the sound of it. i hadn't realised what people meant by the Pakistan instrument being pleasing but soft and muffled. this jarana has maybe half or less of the internal volume of the Pakistan 'Sellas' model, and it's at least thrice as loud. it's a bit dinky (plink-plonk) sounding at the moment, like a bit of a cross between a baroque guitar and a baritone ukulele, but it may be a result of the lousy strings. 

i can't wait to play continuo on this thing for Vivaldi's La Folia in January. obviously a 54cm baroque guitar in E with wound strings starting on the third course is not a historically accurate instrument, but i'll be playing with modern instruments, and at least the tuning and sound of it should be a nod toward period sensibilities.

as an aside - i realise that to fit the strings on, one must pass them through the hole that goes into and under the soundboard and then fiddle with it through the soundhole, tie a knot and then pull it back up. this is a bit too fiddly for my liking, i wish this had a normal lute/guitar bridge where everything is outside. this also means that if i constantly have to be poking my hand through the soundhole, i can't put in a parchment rosette.

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