The Electric Theorbo
In 2012, Aaron designed and built a one-of-a-kind instrument: an electric theorbo. The instrument is featured in the evening-length song cycle Old-Fashioned Love Songs, the concerto Strange Seasons, and other upcoming projects.
The theorbo is a member of the lute family that emerged in Italy in the late sixteenth century. Aaron's electric theorbo uses a traditional configuration of fourteen strings; seven are fretted, as on a guitar, and seven are open strings tuned in a scale, like a harp. The top two strings are an octave lower than what would be expected, a feature known as re-entrant tuning.
One of the unique elements of the electric theorbo is the use of tuning levers on the bass strings, a technology borrowed from harps. These levers allow each string to be quickly raised by a half-step.
Hear the electric theorbo in action:
Full view of the electric theorbo.
Looking down from the top of the theorbo headstock. The scale length of the bass strings is 40 inches, which required custom made strings from La Bella.
Close-up of the body, showing the detail of the claro walnut top and the spalted maple veneer under the tuners. The pickup for the bass strings is a Benedetto B7, and the pickup for the treble strings is a Lollar low-wind Imperial.
An angle showing the bridge and tuner design. The strings pass over Graphtech Ghost saddles, which have built in piezo pickups. Then they pass through a channel under a stainless steel bar. Each string adjusts individually for height (action) and scale length (intonation). The Steinberger gearless tuners lock the strings from the top of the body, and are adjusted from a cavity in the back.
Back view of the body, showing the intense streaks in the black limba. The upper cavity allows quick access to the battery (required for the piezo pickup system), and the bottom cavity contains the electronics. The back of the neck is laminated from five pieces: limba center, thin strips of wenge and maple edges. The guitar neck is bolted on; the theorbo neck slides into a deep pocket in the body.
The neck was made by Doug Darling of Soulmate Guitars. The tuners are on the body instead of the headstock for better weight distribution, so the headstock uses ferrules to hold the ball ends of the strings. The fingerboard is ebony, and the headstock cap is spalted maple. The theorbo neck is a braided carbon fiber tube.
The headstock that supports the bass strings includes sharping levers made by Music Makers. The ball ends of the custom La Bella strings are held by ferrules in the back. They pass over a bridge made of ebony with a synthetic bone saddle.
The label is printed on a clear adhesive material. This level of zoom shows the fascinating grain of the claro walnut top.
The electric theorbo was made possible by the generous donations of many individuals, including those who signed on as "honorary luthiers."
Thank you to the vendors whose parts and materials were indispensable:
Soulmate Guitars (fretted neck)
Dragon Plate (theorbo neck tube)
Benedetto Pickups (bass string pickup)
Lollar Guitars (treble string pickup)
Graphtech (Ghost pickup system/saddles)
La Bella (strings)
Music Makers (sharping levers)
Stewart-MacDonald (most everything else)
Lumber from Gilmer Wood, Oregon Wild Wood, Buzzsaw International and Crosscut Hardwoods
Additional resources:
Is Good Woodworks - hourly shop time in Seattle
harpguitars.net - comprehensive resource for the entire harp guitar family tree, including theorbos
theorbo.com - excellent web reference from a British lutenist
Building the Ergonomic Guitar - a forum with brilliant ideas for ergonomic guitar design