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Müller Contra-lute (1920) swan neck
These instruments were very popular from the 1800s to the early 1900s. This one in particular shows the date 1920 on the label. It has a spruce top, maple body and sides, and all woods are solid.
The frets are crownless, rectangular section silver pieces and the fingerboard is scaled. It has a scale of 65 cm for the first 6 strings and 85 cm for the lowest 6, the total length is 125 cm.
The fingerboard is mahogany and the construction of the neck, or neck, is a whole piece of maple. The tuning pegs are made of wood, a couple of them are not the original ones. The nuts are made of wood. It was built in Germany around 1900, in the traditional way.
And it is a very high quality instrument built with good materials, with a high degree of detail, and very ornate.
The Luthier who built it decided to use the top, although it has some small knots in the wood, but they are on the side and it doesn't seem like they had any influence on the sound.
The soundhole rosette is original from the same wood, carved on the lid itself, with an intricate carving, which remains intact despite the years, like the instrument in general.
It incorporates original wooden headstock, with Rosewood pins, with screws in each one, which allow adjusting the friction, for a better performance.
It has some Rosewood frets on the top. It has been fully restored and adjusted for proper operation. Without major repairs and all its parts are original. It has a correct height to play and tunes perfectly on all frets. The neck is perfectly straight and solid like the rest of the instrument, .
It is strung with new nylon strings for the guitar, in the part of the low strings it has two that seem to be made of silk and another two that are made of copper, surely someone more expert than me will know how to find the right strings for this instrument.
It also maintains the original varnish, although on the sides and bottom it has scratches, bumps and small scratches, its general condition is very good.
Some small crack in the rear bottom, which can be seen in the photos, has been professionally repaired and sealed, and does not affect its proper functioning at all.
The strings of the longest neck are played in the air, without stepping on it.
They are tuned in the scale of the theme that you are going to play, they are similar to the strings of the harp. The instrument is fully operational, working well and with a great sound!!
