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Topic: A Bowl-backed Acoustic Steel ? |
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 24 Feb 2008 6:09 pm |
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In any flat-topped regular guitar the vibration of the top and back are important to the tone, which is why classical guitarists are careful not the rest the back of the instrument against their bodies, as that would muffle the sound. This also applies to acoustic Hawaiian guitars and resonator models.
In the lute and *mandolin, the purpose of the bowl back is to reflect back the sound to the top, and this causes overtones that give the instruments their characteristic sound.
I'm wondering how a bowl-backed Hawaiian guitar would sound. Has anyone ever tried it ? I've thought many times of putting a resonator into the body of an Arabic Oud, or an Ovation.
*not an A, C or F mandolin, a traditional Neapolitan one.
My good friend Roderick Blocksidge. One of the best lutenists in England.
Last edited by Alan Brookes on 24 Feb 2008 6:24 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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Posted 24 Feb 2008 6:11 pm
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| Ben Harper has a bowl back lap steel built by David Dart. He said he liked it in the interview he did after receiving it and he did a little recording with it but I have never seen him use it and have not heard about it since. |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2008 10:59 pm
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Wouldn't you need to have a stand for it in order to avoid damping the resonance of the sound chamber with your legs?
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Amor vincit omnia |
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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Mark Mansueto
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 25 Feb 2008 6:15 am
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| Edward Meisse wrote: |
| Wouldn't you need to have a stand for it in order to avoid damping the resonance of the sound chamber with your legs? |
Elderly sells a wire basket type device that mounts to the back of mandolins but I haven't seen one for guitars. Somewhere I saw a thread about using a flat board under the back of the guitar in order to somehow suspend the guitar above your legs.
When I balance my acoustic on one knee I definitely hear a differenc in tone compared to when the back is layed across both thighs.
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https://markmansueto.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/65dQ3EyZC2RaqawA8gPlRy?si=dOdqc5zxSKeJI9cISVVx_A |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 25 Feb 2008 7:59 pm
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Many old paintings show a troubador on horseback playing a lute. It's a wonderfully romantic idea, but any musician would know that playing a lute on horseback is next to impossible. I think the lute gave way to the guitar because of ease of use. I've played the lute for years, but nowadays it's an enthusiast's instrument. It moves around in your lap, and with 10 to 14 courses you can lose track of what string you're playing. Lutenists usually have a cloth on their laps to hold the lute in one position.
In mediaeval times the main instrument was the cittern. Tuned the same as the lute, it has wire strings which stay in tune longer and are less likely to break. The cittern was the folk instrument, while the lute was the instrument of the aristocracy and the royal orchestras.
I keep a 12-string nylon-strung guitar in lute tuning to practise on. With 10 double-courses of gut strings, my lutes take an entire morning to tune, so I only use them at recording sessions. |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 25 Feb 2008 8:28 pm
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Halua Guitars of Norway (soon to be of Australia) has experimented with bowl back Weissenborn style guitars as well.
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Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Ben Sims
From:
New Mexico
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 27 Feb 2008 7:33 pm
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That's exactly the sort of instrument I was thinking about. David Dart does some beautiful work. I was struck by the similarity of his instrument.....
...to a rebec that I build about twelve years ago...
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 27 Feb 2008 8:51 pm
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| Brad Bechtel wrote: |
| Halua Guitars of Norway (soon to be of Australia) has experimented with bowl back Weissenborn style guitars as well. |
Brad, it's not really a bowl back.....although the sides are curved/rounded......the bottom is flat..... |
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