Quintbass guitar

Here I introduce an old instrument, that currently gains in popularity: The Quintbass guitar

quintbass-michael-ruhe

This kind of guitar was very popular at the late 18th and early 19th century. It was even buit by the great Hermann Hauser and a few years ago I had the opportunity to examine and play one of his instruments. I was immediately infected by the touching warm and rich sound and since then I was thinking of making such a guitar myself. A quintbas guitar is tuned a quint lower than a normal guitar, so when you play a barree on the 7th fret, it sounds like a normal prime guitar. By its low tuning, the body of the guitar reacts differently and the guitar appears in a very touching, warm and rich sound. So as a companion to any ensemble, or in combination with other instuments and even as a solo instrument, it opes a bunch of new possibilities, e.g. Cello suites that can be played closely to the original tuning.

Here are some pictures of a quintbass guitar, that I play myself in an ensemble. It looks like a normal guitar, has a 66cm scale and a normal neck. So it can be played like a normal guitar which was my intention to avoid getting used to a new instrument. A bit further down you find some sound samples that let you listen to the possibilities of this instrument.

Bach Air sur la corde de Sol – Guitar ensemble with 3 guitars and quintbass:

Bach Cigue aus Cello Suite Nr.5 – extract, Ricardo Havenstein

Bach Sarabande a-moll – Ricardo Havenstein

If you are interested in a Quintbass guitar, contact me please!