Cumbus link / microtonality / sitar sounds

["James Pokorny" <j.pokorny@worldnet.att.net>]

For those interested in the Cumbus, here's a link for Lark in the Morning:

http://www.mhs.mendocino.k12.ca.us/MenComNet/Business/Retail/Larknet/MiddleE
asternStrings

I've dealt with LITM in the past and they tend to be very reliable and 
quick
with shipping, but they're expensive.

I too own a cumbus, and though I like the sound very much, it's my
least-played instrument.  I think this is probably since I have no guitar
background, and the stringing arrangement (double courses of 6 strings) and
fairly short neck (compared to my long-necked lutes) seem to favor an oud,
or guitar technique.

But it's a great instrument and would probably be a very natural step from
standard guitar into the world of microtonality.

Also check out the Yayli Tanbur -- it's generally tuned DD - AA - DD like a
dulcimer, but has an extremely long neck (over two octaves from the open
string) with 50 + frets.  If that isn't enough, the frets are also moveable
and slide easily into place for additional microtones.  Reminds me a little
of David's guitar . . .  :-)

David Beardsley wrote:

>When I was looping in my pre-microtonal knowledgeable
>days, I was heavily into the in-between notes. I would
>sustain a note on the guitar and after a couple of
>repeats, I would bend the note a bit, maybe behind
>the nut if it was an open string. I used to call it
>real time chorusing. Little I did know there was a science to it...

Hello David!  Nice to see you on the LD list.

Many Middle-Eastern and Eastern string instruments like the oud, cumbus,
yayli tanbur, saz, tar, etc. besides being fretless (or having microtonal
frets) also have double (or even triple) courses of strings (similar to the
doubled strings on a 12-string guitar).  I suspect this originally served 
to
amplify the sound of the instrument.  However, with the minute differences
in tuning between the two strings (nearly unavoidable in practice)
acoustical "beating" takes place, which really opens up the sound, causing
the same "real time chorusing" that you mention.

As far as sitar sounds on a guitar -- that's a tough one.  The sitar is my
primary instrument, and I'll explain a bit about the way that typical
twanginess is produced.  The bridge on a sitar is about an inch wide.  It's
made from deer horn (or ivory, in the past) and has a very gradual slope
across the surface.  Generally this slope is high in the middle and tapers
down unevenly at each end.  There's a very small amount of space between 
the
string and the end of the bridge, and when the string is plucked it 
vibrates
repeatedly against the bridge, causing that overtone-rich twanging.  This
can be controlled to some degree.  Some sitarists (Ravi Shankar, for
example) like to have an extremely twangy sound.  This is good for rapid
playing since the initial attack sounds great.  However, there's little to
no sustain.  Other players (for example Vilayat Khan) favor a more closed
sound, with far less twanginess.  This lends a much longer sustain to the
instrument, allowing greater note-bending possibilities.

You might be able to find a sitar bridge and adapt it to your guitar.  This
could be problematic, since the sitar bridge is raised far above the neck
and would drastically alter the string action.  You might try experimenting
by using a wooden dowel that would be about the same height as the guitar
bridge, then try filing it to recreate the slope of the sitar bridge.

Hope this helps.

James Pokorny