Manson Cittern - new to me!

[Fliss]

It's now three weeks since I bought my cittern, so I thought it's time I posted some photos and a soundclip (please excuse the playing!)

I fell for this cittern because of its amazing sound, and because it was built by Andy Manson, and I love his instruments. It has some beautiful detailing which is very characteristic of Andy's work - I'll post some close up pics in the next post. It's 30 years old, and you can probably see in the photo of the back, it has some marks of wear, but the top is beautiful.

I'm still trying to get to grips with tuning, but at the moment it's DGDAD. The other thing I'm trying to get to grips with is the size - it is a big instrument, and I think the scale is quite long even for a cittern. I'm quite a small person and I like smaller instruments, so this probably wan't the smartest purchase for me! I'll give it a little time and see how I get on with it, but although it's a gorgeous instrument, at the moment I'm a little ambivalent about whether I will keep it long term or not. It's early days. For the moment at least, I intend to have some fun experimenting with it!

Fliss

[Fliss]

Here are a few close-ups showing some of the lovely details

Fliss

[Markkunkel]

Congratulations, Fliss! I remember your initial post about this instrument and it looks just lovely. And your playing sounds very nice as well....thanks for sharing it with us. Hope it grows on you and finds a happy home.

Mark

[JEStanek]

Fliss,

I love that up the neck shot. Stairway to heaven or Jacob's Ladder. Sounds real nice to boot! Congratulations!

Jamie

[Fliss]

Thanks guys! Actually, I just realised it's only been two weeks since I got it, not three... see how much it's settled in already!

I go to a regular singaround in the pub on a Monday night, so I think I'll take this baby with me tonight and introduce it to some friends.

Fliss

[arcopizz]

Fliss,

Very, VERY nice! What a classic instrument you have.

It sounds wonderful.

May you have many a fun seisiun with that beauty...

[Uncle Choppy]

Fliss

I can't believe I didn't see this sooner!

Another Manson and another stunning instrument. I must confess that Citterns don't always "do it" for me but this one looks and sounds beautiful.

I love that Abnett/Foley style headstock and I'm always a fan of herringbone inlay and purfling, which I vastly prefer to abalone.
Are the back and sides mahogany? I only ask as they look slightly paler than most rosewood I've seen.

I know it's difficult to generalise from a single recording but it sounds very "Irish" and bouzouki-like to me. What I mean it has more of a sparkly, ringing tone than most citterns I've heard which seem to have been at the boomier end of the spectrum. Personally, I prefer this sound!

I know that you're not mad-keen on the larger guitars so I understand your struggle with the scale length and body size. Still, I really hope that you can get on with it well enough to make it a keeper. Maybe it's just a question of a bit more time?
(Plus - just think of how much a new one would cost!!!)

Cheers
Brendan

[Fliss]

Thanks for the nice comments.

Brendan, I confess citterns haven't really "done it" for me in the past either, but this one sang out to me. Yes, I think the back and sides are mahogany. Here's a photo of me with it, from when I took it to the pub the other week - I think this effectively illustrates just how big it is, and how much fun it is to play! I'd re-tuned it to CGCGC and was singing along with it in this pic - you can see in the photo one of the other regulars at our Songriters' session, Glynne, who was joining in on acoustic bass. For those who are interested, here's a link to the MySpace page for the Chester Songwriters: http://www.myspace.com/chestersongwriters

Fliss

[Uncle Choppy]

Nice picture Fliss.

You don't look dwarfed by the Cittern, so that's a good start!
It's just a tiddler really when you check out Gerry McKee's 'zouk:


Your Cittern looks a lot more comfortable to play than a Dreadnought-sized guitar would be. I assume this is due to the playing position which puts your right arm in a different position to the guitar.

PS:
I wanted to clarify that, in my previous post, it was the ringing, more "Irish" sound that I prefer over the boomier sound I've heard from some Citterns.

[steve V. johnson]

Beautiful! Thanks!

It IS big, eh? How long is the scale, 660 cm?

Congrats on the new one and thanks for all the infos & pix!

stv