I would like to clarify a couple of issues:
The presented video clip is originally a teaser clip of the Gourmet Guitars DVD series, which does not
show the whole statement of Benno Streu. Unfortunately the complete
interview footage was lost for a while. For that reason it was
impossible to restore the "edited" teaser clip to the full content at time being. After
finding the original tapes I have reviewed the whole 2 hours footage.
It will be released in parts on my blog site (unedited) and in full
eventually in a DVD boxed set together with about 10 hours of
Romanillos footage and other builders.
Back to the topic (I am not taking sides in the discussion - I just
want to give the full statement):
In the complete interview Benno Streu states that the specific "note"
of tuning is less his concern, as long as it is lower than the modern
G# or G. He says: "It's not about the F#!" Benno Streu had probably examined more old
guitars than we can imagine during his life. In general most of the old Torres, Santos, Ramirez and even Hausers are as low as F# or even way lower! (You can read some of the numbers in Stefano Grondonas book)
There are different opinions of how to get the low tuning. Some people say it is done by making thinner tops and lighter braces. Some argue that it is unknown what the tuning actually originally was. They claim that the process of aging lowers the tuning quite a bit.
Streu also mentions that he is concerned about the fact that there is always a pay-off for the
diskant (the higher notes on the guitar). There obviously is a point when you start loosing a significant amount of treble when you gain too much bass response. (Excuse my terms, I am not a builder. I hope y'all understand what I am saying...
In the video Streu holds Leona in his hands because we shot the interview as a part of a Torres feature.
I have had Leona in my hands several times and the tuning of this
guitar is around F#. Wulfin Lieske (who is NOT the owner, but regularly performs with Leona) does not use standard 440 tuning on the
old guitars, since he believes that they should be tuned correctly to
the tuning of the time period they were made in A=336Hz if I remember correctly).
I also have a chart of the exact thicknesses of the top and the back
of Leona. The top is at some points 1.1mm thin, average is about
1.3mm-1.4mm, at one points it is 2.0mm. Back is about 2.5mm in
average, but it also varies.
Streu gives a very explicit explanation how Torres did the braces on several guitars. They are extremely light but NEVER scalloped.
Some people saw a genius in Benno Streu, others thought of him as
controversial, especially since he was an engineer and not a luthier /
guitar maker. We shot the interview about one year before he passed
away at an age of 80+. At points Streu seems to be opinionated. Yes - old men tend to be opinionated. I have heard probably as many opinionated guitar building statements as there are old guitar
makers. I've met a bunch - trust me!
I think the Streu footage is a valid source
of information on the quest to find out why some of Torres, Santos,
Hauser (etc) guitars - at some point - were chosen as "the one" by
some of the biggest players of their times. There will never be an
absolute in "the best" because sound is always a matter of taste. But
at least there is a validity of sources of people who did research or
built some of the most highly respected instruments.
One thing is for sure: Streu's knowledge and opinions (even if some of
them might be controversial) are definitely a source of information
that can't be neglected. And they add to the never-ending discussion.
Cheers
Holger
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435 was one of the more common pitches in the 19th century..