I got the coolest new... um... "Instrument" yester

[Hucbald]

A Godin Glissentar: A fretless 11-string electric nylon string "guitar". It's tuned like a standard guitar and has a 25.5" scale length. The low E string is single, but the other five are doubled at the unison. I swear, it's so much fun to play it had me giggling. It's amazingly easy to adapt to because there are not only dots on the side of the neck, but also 1/4" long markers where the frets are supposed to be. Nylon strings work MUCH better than steel for fretless guitars because of their thicker diameter, and I was sounding like Jaco Pastorius in minutes. :wink: I had originally planed to have a luthier pal of mine fret this neck so I could have an electric nylon string lute, but I think I'll have him make up an entire second neck so I can choose fretless or fretted because the possibilities of this thing are really unique. I'm going to have fun with this thing Sunday, but until then I have to prepare for Saturday's "Cinco de Mayo" celebration which I'm performing at. Here's a quick pic I snapped of the fret... er... fingerboard.

http://Pep27.smugmug.com/photos/21319890-L.jpg

Hucbald[/img]

[daniel711]

So, no frets?? I guess no chords either?? Or at least no bar chords... I can't imagine hitting a chord and landing every finger right in the center of the note!

[Hucbald]

So, no frets?? I guess no chords either?? Or at least no bar chords... I can't imagine hitting a chord and landing every finger right in the center of the note!

No "chords" per se, except for two or three note harmonies. It's really a single line instrument, which is limiting in one respect, but enabling in another: I'm an old rock/fusion guy and I was playing my old licks using slides instead of string bends in minutes. That's what was cracking me up. And it has a VERY COOL "snarl" when you slide just like a fretless bass.

Coincidentally, I'm starting on a collection of 24 Lineal Studies for classical guitar (For those of us who nod off practicing scales). I'm writing them so that they can be played on a standard fretted acoustic classical guitar just like all my other compositions, but they will be much more "fun" on this. :D

Hucbald

[Faya]

HEY!!!.............i've been thinking of gettin' one of those !!!!!! :shock:
i thought it would be cool to show up to one of my jam sessions with my Middle-Eastern friends with one of those instead of with my oud.

But where do you get the strings ???
they look very cool!! ...........and if the strings are easy to get.........them i'm gettin' one right away!!! :mrgreen:

[Hucbald]

HEY!!!.............i've been thinking of gettin' one of those !!!!!! :shock:
i thought it would be cool to show up to one of my jam sessions with my Middle-Eastern friends with one of those instead of with my oud.

But where do you get the strings ???
they look very cool!! ...........and if the strings are easy to get.........them i'm gettin' one right away!!! :mrgreen:

Well, the guitar comes with two extra sets of strings, which is good, BECAUSE THEY ARE $40.00 PER SET, only Godin sells them, and there is a two week wait when you order them. Now, I'm an eBayer and have been planing on getting this axe for several months, so I found a guy with four sets who had sold his Glissentar and I bought them all. So, I have six now. I'm planning on figuring out how to "brew my own" though. The strings are set up as ball-end dealies, but I made my own for a Soloette (Gag... wretch) back when I had one of those, so that's not going to be TO much of a problem. I want to tune the D and G strings in octaves anyway to get a quasi-Nashville tuning/12-string tuning on it for when I play it with the fretted neck anyway.

Note the wound G strings: I LOVE THOSE! I may try that on my other Godins because the G is notoriously problematic on electric nylon strings.

Now, since you have an oud, perhaps you can help me out. Are there any method books for the oud? Any "standard repetoir" for it? I have NO IDEA what kind of music is played on the oud. In fact, in my 29 years as a musician, I don't think I've ever even heard one. Heck, I don't even know what an oud LOOKS LIKE so I probably haven't ever SEEN one. Heck of a thing for a guy with an M.M. and 40+ hours toward a D.M.A. to have to admit. :oops:

Hucbald

[Jubilee Valence]

:arrow: http://www.maqamworld.com/ :shock: .......reminds me of back in '76-overseas-I picked up a "mandolin" from a kid at a neighboring base; he tuned it & handed it over..................an hour later, he wanted me to "slow down & show him" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: ---but--I already had the preliminary part done before I ever picked one up...or "you kin' take Billy out'a th'hills--but'choo cain't take the hills out'a'Billy!!!!!" :lol: :lol: :lol: --"moose & squirrel philosophy" by yours-----truuuuly.... :wink:

[Hucbald]

:arrow: http://www.maqamworld.com/

That had a link to a site that had a link to a site that...

And wouldn't you know it, they have their own FORUM.

I knew the oud/al-oud/lute "evolution thing" now that I think about it (THAT'S why lutes have the frets tied on!), but the rest of it is new to me. I think getting into middle eastern music is definately NOT why I bought this instrument, so I'm going to get the fretted neck made up and have an electric lute/nylon string "12-String" to play with. For me the fretless neck would DEFINATELY devolve into a "Look ma! No FRETS!" gimmic because I'm such a ham on stage (Another reason I prefer to play electric nylon string and stand up). But with an electric lute/nylon string 12 string I be inspired to write some music I wouldn't come up with otherwise.

Hucbald