All instruments built by Clive Titmuss come with custom-fitted cases.
Prices do not include shipping and insurance.
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14-course German-style theorbo-lute, 1998 by BC luthier Clive Titmuss
CAD 7500
String length 690/980 mm. Back rosewood and yew-wood; neck veneered to match body; Engelmann soundboard; pear bridge with ebony veneer; ebony fingerboard; plum-wood pegs, stained maple head, oil-varnish finish, ebony binding.
Inspired by an instrument in Nuremberg, built by Martin Hofmann in the late 17th C., then renovated a generation later, adding the theorbo head. The addition of a 14th course allows the performance of Bach’s G minor suite, but it is also a brilliant extroverted instrument for Kropfganns, Weiss, or Falckenhagen.
Includes a heavy-duty case.
All the materials on this instrument are pre-CITES. It may be shipped to any location in Canada for pick up in 3-5 business days.
Sound sample for the 14-course German-style theorbo-lute: J.S. Bach – BWV 998 Prelude from Twilight of the Lute
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11-course lute after Pietro Raillich, Venice 1640’s, 615 cm. string length.
CAD 6900
Built in 1997 by BC luthier Clive Titmuss. 15 shaded-yew ribs with ebony fillets, gold-leafed Venetian-style tracery rose, ebony-veneered pearwood bridge, ebony fingerboard, boxwood pegs, chantarelle rider (a small offset peg for the top string), Florentine tracery pegbox decoration, Brazilian rosewood veneered neck, ivory buttons and nut.
A bright early baroque lute model with a shorter string length, whose unique sound is perfect for the Gaultiers, Dufaut, Mezangeau, et al. Traces on the original show that it was a ten course lute to which a new bridge and rider were added, right for the new transitional tunings then sweeping Europe. It could be equally well played in old tuning, transitional or d minor tuning, making a lot of repertoire available to the player from the lute’s golden age in the 17th C. Excellent playing condition. Plywood case.
All the materials on this instrument are pre-CITES, though in practice it cannot be shipped to the US; but it may be shipped to any location in Canada for pick up in 3-5 business days.
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13-course Baroque lute after Frei, 1998 by BC luthier Clive Titmuss.
CAD 7300
String length 660/715 mm. Brazilian rosewood body, pegbox and neck veneer, fingerboard; Englemann spruce soundboard with Italianate triple rose; triple laminated pegbox (rosewood, holly, rosewood); pear wood bridge; ivory buttons and head nut. Perfect action, easy-to-turn Tielke-style plum pegs.
In the early 1700s many valuable older lutes were converted to multi-course instruments, replacing the neck, pegbox and soundboard. There is a small-body renovated Frei in Vienna from which I modelled this one. It has the pungency and ease of play of the classic Renaissance lutes, but is expanded for later music. This clever design makes the music of Weiss, Bach, Lauffensteiner, Reusner, Bittner, Falckenhagen et al. easier to render with clarity.
Includes a heavy-duty case. All the materials on this instrument are pre-CITES, though in practice it cannot be shipped to the US. It may be shipped to any location in Canada for pick up in about 3 business days.
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10-course lute after Raillich, Venice 1640’s by BC luthier Clive Titmuss
CAD 6500
Built Feb. 1987. 61.5 cm string length, Amazon rosewood, 100-year old German spruce, boxwood pegs, pear bridge, maple purfling, neck veneered in the same style as the back, wide string
spacing, with case, KF harp string basses. This instrument is perfect for Kapspberger and transitional tunings of Dufaut and Mezangeau. Though materials are pre-CITES, the instrument cannot be shipped to the US, pickup only.
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7-course lute by BC luthier Clive Titmuss, 2019, after Venere 1614
CAD 2600
590 mm string length. Shaded-yew bowl (all ribs from a single log, some are not shaded), Carpathian spruce top, veneered neck and pegbox, ebony nut, pear bridge, boxwood pegs, hardwood half-binding.
The lutes of the Venere (“Venetian”) shop have set the standard lute design. These very light, multi-rib lutes made of yew, distinguished by a typical Byzantine tracery rose, have an astonishing presence and liveliness. Excellent for the complete range of Italian 16th C. and especially Elizabethan music.
Comes with heavy-duty plywood case with brass locking hardware.
This instrument has no restricted materials and may be shipped to any location in North America in about 3-5 business days.
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Six-course lute after Gerle
CAD 3800
string length 56.5 cm, lightly-figured Swiss elder with rosewood spacers, and the neck is also solid elder, boxwood pegs, Engelmann soundboard, pear bridge, spalted holly fingerboard trimmed with ebony, laminated plum pegbox, reinforced case with brass hardware.
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Sound sample for the six course lute : Piva by Joan Ambrosio Dalza
The back is old-growth elder from Switzerland, and the neck is the same. The pegs are boxwood, modelled on a painting from 1500. The pegbox is laminated from plum wood and holly. The bridge is Swiss pearwood. The fingerboard and peg-box backing are both spalted holly. The top is Englemann spruce from Revelstoke, B.C, a beautiful piece of wood, whose fine grain enabled me to cut a very small rose with a lot of details. The rose pattern is found in a 19th Century French book of Arabic ornaments, and it closely resembles the ones used by the Fussen lute makers of Germany.
The case is custom made for this instrument, from birch plywood which is heavily re-inforced with hardwood barring, lined with foam and red velvet, with matching hardware. The case is made with a special piece of wood that enables you to hang it on the wall easily, and simply open the case, withdraw the lute, play and replace it. You simply lift it from the wall to carry it anywhere.
Only I have played this instrument, it is nearly new, and I removed and replaced the soundboard once to improve the action. It’s now perfect for easy playing, and this simple instrument can be played very fast and easily. It’s ultra-light and responsive and would suit a student very well. There is a wealth, thousands of pieces by English, French, German, Italian and Dutch composers of the 1500’s. You may play the many folksong-like pieces by Dowland on this instrument. It makes playing many of the most demanding passages much easier than on a larger tenor lute. The music of Capirola and Dalza has a particularly good sound on this lute.
The price is 3800 CAD, there is no tax and the shipping and insurance are specific to the destination. I ship in a heavy cardboard box, double walled and lined with packing material.
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Four-course mandolin by Cesare Montaldi, Naples, 1850, completely restored by Clive Titmuss,
CAD 1200
This Neapolitan mandolin was made by Cesare Montaldi around 1850, then sold at a franchised store in London, according to the label. The instrument is completely restored by BC luthier Clive Titmuss. The neck is re-set, body completely removed and repaired, new rosewood fingerboard, new brass frets. There are more than 30 tiny pearwood butterflies holding the back together. The tuning machines are excellent modern reproductions with the correct gauge light stringing for the period. The sound is absolutely stunning, crystalline and completely authentic. The action is perfect at 3.2 mm at the body/neck joint. No case.
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Sound sample: Over the Sea to Skye, duet with an 1809 Broadwood Piano
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Six-string guitar after Panormo by Clive Titmuss, 2011,
CAD 6500
Maple neck stained black, perfect figured European Maple back and sides, turned blackwood buttons, applewood peg head and ebony pegs, with fossil ivory frets, French-polished finish. Comes with a heavy-duty reinforced case. Because of CITES restrictions, this instrument cannot be shipped to the USA.
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Six-string guitar after Louis Panormo, London, c. 1812 by Clive Titmuss, 1987,
CAD 2250
European figured maple body: European spruce soundboard, maple neck and applewood head stained black; pre-CITES ivory nut, frets and bridge pins; Brazilian rosewood pegs; Rio rosewood bridge; spotted ebony fingerboard, currently strung in gut.
The ivory frets are a period detail copied from the original–exceptionally kind to the strings, and very easy on the hands. This is the guitar for the brilliant style of Sor, Aguado, Carcassi and Giuliani. It is amazingly easy to play, incredibly sweet and well-balanced. Carefully maintained, excellent playing condition. Perfect for folk music too.
While there are restricted species on this instrument, they are all pre-CITES. The frets and bridge are recycled from a junked Broadwood piano. The instrument may not be shipped to the US, but it may be picked up or shipped to any location in Canada.
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Sound sample: “Romanza” by Clive Titmuss, Susan Adams.
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Surplus sets for classical or jumbo acoustic guitar
CAD 125
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I have a number of surplus sets for classical or jumbo acoustic guitar. It’s responsibly grown and harvested Java rosewood, very similar to Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia Latifolia) in texture, hardness and working properties. Unless you are making a smaller guitar, you would use a three-piece back and harvest a large amount of surplus for head stock veneer or small fingerboards. The grain is very straight and most pieces approach quarter-sawn grain. You never see Rosewood of any kind this good anymore. I found it to be a superb tone wood and wonderful to work. It’s expensive, and won’t ship to the US: CAD 125.00. Write to me if you need more details.
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If you have any questions about the instruments, please contact me.
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