Maccaferri harp guitar

[blackalex1952]

Here are some shots of a guitar built by and owned by Mario Maccaferri, for those interested.

[jeffhigh]

Cool

[kiwigeo]

"Daddy I want one.....I WANT ONE!!!!"

[blackalex1952]

Here is more. A restoration by Italian luthier Lucas Milani. It's interesting to see the soundboard bracing, and the 'offset' of the bass strings relative to the centre line of the guitar...just thinking on my feet here...not much soundboard area and bracing available for those bass strings?
also great shots of the internal soundbox.
http://www.milaniguitars.com/maccaferri2012.html

Here is a link to a good article about Mario Maccaferri's origins and the history behind the development of his guitars.
https://www.vintageguitar.com/1742/maccaferri-history/

[kiwigeo]

Offsett on the bass strings because you need a gap between first resonant string and first fingered bass string for players who wrap their thumb around the neck. Not seen on the larger lutes with sympathetic bass strings as lute fingerboards are generally too wide to get a thumb around the fingerboard.

[blackalex1952]

Offsett on the bass strings because you need a gap between first resonant string and first fingered bass string for players who wrap their thumb around the neck. Not seen on the larger lutes with sympathetic bass strings as lute fingerboards are generally too wide to get a thumb around the fingerboard.

I was referring to the amount of soundboard available to the bass strings. It might be logical in designing a harp guitar to shape the instrument so that the bridge would be more central to the soundboard, or at least more soundboard be made available for the bass strings, ie a more asymmetrical lower bout?