Craft and Science

Fertile collaboration with the Technical University Dresden has been of indispensable assistance over many years in the constant improvement of Liuto forte sound quality. Students at the Technical University Dresden, Institute of Solid Mechanics under the direction of Prof. Rolf Schmidt analyse our instruments in the context of their verification work. Careful note is taken of the process of resonant vibration at the bridge, an essential factor for plucked stringed instruments, along with the influence of the barring on the frequency proportions of the soundboard. The results of these investigations supply a valuable increase in knowledge concerning the fundamental functioning of lute instruments. But they also contribute to the better understanding of historical lute construction and the solution of acoustical problems, bound up with this, which still arise in the making of lutes today. The measurements made by the most modern apparatus in the laboratory can exponentially supplement the intuition and experience of our lute makers.

A glimpse into the results of this research can be got in the following revealing visualisation of the specific resonant vibration of a Liuto forte within various frequency ranges.