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When I first started building replicas of 19th
Century instruments, I had the attitude that these instruments were not all
they could be if modern construction techniques and experience were applied.
In fact, when hearing and playing these original instruments I found
them to have beautiful tone qualities but to be somewhat dull or muted.
So, my worry was that I would have to build an intentionally defective
instrument in order to keep the ‘19th Century’ sound.
What I learned was quite the opposite!
The characteristic 19th Century guitar sound is independent
of the responsiveness and dynamic range (loudness) of the instrument and is
primarily a function of the dimensions of the guitar body.
As a luthier, I can do everything I can to make the instrument sound
great without losing the desired tone quality.
This makes great sense because the great luthiers of the 19th
Century were very inventive and would not have been satisfied with a defective
product.
Why do many of the guitars original to that era
have a dull sound? I can’t give a
rigorous explanation of this, but they are old.
Unlike a violin that can actually improve with the centuries, guitars
are built much lighter and have significantly less playing energy applied to
them during play (bowing versus plucking).
Maybe the wood and/or glue fatigues under the constant strain of the strings
and vibrations of play. Maybe
there are other factors at work, but whatever the cause, the effect is that
many of these instruments sound a bit dull.
I am suggesting that these instruments did not sound dull when they were new.
These luthiers were better craftsmen than that!
This was a great lesson.
I can build in as much responsiveness, sustain, dynamic range and
playability without losing the ‘19th Century’ sound.
What are the reasons for owning an original
instrument, built in the 19th Century?
First of all, it is a great experience to play an instrument that has so much
history. It is a bit like owning
an original of a fine art painting, especially if the luthier is a big name
like Louis Panormo or René Lacôte.
It might be an actual instrument that Fernando Sor tried out in Lacôte’s
workshop or that was played by one of his students or fellow guitarists.
Certainly, it will have that original sound, a sweet beautiful but
delicate tone.
What are the disadvantages of owning an
original instrument? In my
experience, they require a lot of on-going care to keep them playable.
Sometimes joints, bridges or braces fatigue and have to reglued.
Some have issues to due to neck warping that create playability or
buzzing problems. Some are not
built to withstand the extra tension of A 440 tuning versus A 415 which was
used in that era. It takes a lot
of work by a highly skilled luthier to restore and stabilize such an instrument
as well as on-going repairs to keep it playable.
What are the advantages of owning a modern
guitar built in the style of these original instruments?
It is like buying an instrument from the Lacôte workshop!
It still has the original sound, but it is new, bright, responsive, loud
and shinny with great playability.
You get the ‘19th Century’ tone but not the dullness common to original
instruments. And, after all, the
guitarists of that era played new, bright, responsive, loud and shinny
instruments, so in that sense it is truer to guitarists and composers of the 19th
Century!
Dave
David L. Edwards
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