1664 Guarneri Tenor Viola strings and setup.

May 26, 2014 at 03:04 PM · Does anybody out there play the Tenor Viola, viola pomposa, violotta, tenor violin (not C. Hutchins), octave violin (not 4/4 violin with horrible strings) and apparently many other names for) the very large viola tuned an octave below the violin? My limited research abilities are preventing discovery of the correct string gauges, open string length and specific tuning. I have begun building the Guarneri 1664 "Tenor" from the drawing purchased in Vermillion, South Dakota for my own performance in an ensemble here in Maine. My hope is someone out there has such a beast an will share knowledge of it. I hope to build it for synthetic or metal strings. I have seen the YouTube videos for the Viola Pomposa but don't speak German so I can't follow the interview with the composer (or builder?)

Replies (10)

Rocky Milankov

May 27, 2014 at 12:20 AM · No, but folks at Gamut may know something about it:

http://gamutmusic.squarespace.com/

curly swampash

May 29, 2014 at 09:07 PM · A piece of evidence that might identify the string brand on the Viola Profunda; does anyone out there know string ball end wrap color codes? I see in one video the ball end is white wrapping with a red spiral stripe. Also the strings are all metal wrapped.

Adrian Heath

May 31, 2014 at 10:56 AM · Just to point out that the term "tenor" when used by by Stradivari (e.g. the "Tuscan" tenor), Amati, Guarneri etc. refers to a huge viola, strung as such (CGDA).

Much Baroque writing has two viola parts, for the "viola contralto" and the "viola tenore".

Even Berlioz wrote for "sopranes", "haute-contres" (high tenors, not falsettistes), "tailles" (second tenors), et basses.

A "real" tenor violin (GDAE) is a welcome addition, (c.f. the tenor viol)..

What about gamba or viola d'amore strings?

curly swampash

May 31, 2014 at 01:55 PM · The Viola Profonda and the Violoncello da spalla are the two latest modern restarts of that missing range. Curiously one of the re-designers has a taken patent? The de Spalla seems to have over reached if the few you-tube videos are an true indication, the lowest frequencies are audibly not supported by the bow, the instrument's internal volume and the string's length. The de gambas have string lengths in the Cello range.

Adrian Heath

June 1, 2014 at 08:40 AM · Viols come in all sizes..

(Gut strings only, I presume).

Adrian Heath

June 6, 2014 at 10:12 AM · I have two LPs of Ulrich Koch playing the Viola Pomposa: A huge, fat, 5-string viola (CGDAE) at cello pitch (as in the Viola da Spalla).

He called it his "snoring box"......

Christian Vachon

June 6, 2014 at 10:15 AM · Hi,

Another person worth contacting is the string maker Damian Dlugolecki. His string knowledge is extraordinary.

Cheers,

Christian

Robert Spear

June 6, 2014 at 12:00 PM · SuperSensitive String Company makes strings under their Sensicore line in standard, long, and extra-long sizes. The X-longs will fit altos with body lengths up to 20 - 20.5 inches. These strings are widely available, although not all shops are aware of this. Just takes a little digging through the catalogs.

curly swampash

June 7, 2014 at 01:03 PM · I have been e-mailing with super sensitive for weeks. There seems to be a terminology issue. The vibrating open string length is 425mm which is the distance from the bridge to the nut. The distance from the bridge to the tail piece is about 95mm and the nut to furthest peg is 95mm plus 40mm of wrapping. So 655(ish) millimeters is the entire length. Super Sensitive has settled on their Octave Violin string (with a total length of 431mm) as the correct string.

Uffta!

Joel Jacklich

June 7, 2014 at 09:29 PM · I have an Oktav-Geige (octave violin) carved by Johann Reiter (Mittenwald), but finished after his death by his apprentice Erich Sandner (who ran the shop after Reiter's death). It was the 104th (last) of 104 Oktav-Geiges made by Reiter. The body is the length o a 16" viola, but the sides are deep like that of small cello, but it is still played under the chin. The strings I have for it are by Otto Infeld/Thomastik, but apparently they are no longer being made. The strings were an octave below the standard violin.

The labels of the strings I have (I purchased an extra set when I got the Oktav-Geige) read as follows:

Dr. Thomastik

und Mitarbeiter -Inhaber

OTTO INFELD

WIEN

Künstler-

Seil-Saiten

SUPERFLEXIBLE

Oktav-Geige

Schwingende leere Salte 37.5 cm

Katalog Nr. 760

Dr. Thomastik