Glissentar
In the Godin catalogue you find this description:
More than ever before, musicians are mixing sounds and musical styles from all over the world. This often involves the mixing of
Eastern and Western music, such as using a Sitar in a Western musical setting or using western instruments to imitate the sounds in Eastern music. The Glissentar was inspired by a
similar desire to mix elements of East and West, but in this case, in the instrument itself. In a nutshell, it’s an eleven string, fretless, acoustic/electric instrument, strung
with nylon strings and tuned to standard guitar tuning. The Western part of the equation is easy to recognize as a variation on the guitar. All of the instruments basic dimensions
- scale length, body size and depth, fingerboard radius and string height - are fairly standard for acoustic/electric guitars. The Eastern influence in the Glissentar comes from
the Oud, an ancestor of the Mandolin that dates back to the seventh century. The Oud is also an eleven-string fretless instrument and is still in use today, primarily in
Armenia and Egypt. Adapting to this new instrument is actually a great deal easier than it appears. The shape and scale of the neck and the easily visible side position markers
help to give the Glissentar a very familiar feel. The Glissentar opens the door to microtonal playing as well as some incredible and unique new sounds for adventurous guitar
players.
The harmonycentral publishes guitar user reviews. The reviews I have found rate the “Glissentar” as a good instrument. Here some user comments:” The tone can be likened to that of a fretless bass, thickened somewhat due to the doubled strings. Even more than usual, the individual musician's playing technique has an enormous effect on the tone. Given that there are no frets to temper the sound, different degrees of pressure yield slight tonal variations. Of course, your intonation plays a strong role in this as well”.
“I play oud and sarod, so I was simply compelled to get this instrument. It's much more convenient and reliable as an amplified, portable gigging
instrument than the traditional instruments that inspired it.”
The The |
