Question:
I'm thinking about tracking down a reasonably priced Russian 7-string guitar (having decided that I like the Russian guitar music I've heard), and would like some (more) advice. Does anybody have any experience getting (untranscribed) music for the instrument? Edited is ok, unless edited into 6-string format is meant. (With all due respect to M. Ophee. BTW, where are the stresses in Ivanov-Kramskoi? IvanOv-KramskOi, IvAnov-KrAmskoi, or some combination thereof?) Does anybody have any recommendations for a luthier or a commercial source in Russia? Language isn't a problem, and I might be able to find somebody to serve as a mule to get the thing from Moscow if the mails/common carriers can't be trusted yet. The only providers I've been able to find on the web have had really cheap guitars (Bobrov, Izhevsk, even Renome), and I'm unconvinced that they're not more parallel to standard (narrow-neck) American acoustic guitars than to classical guitars.
Answer:
I bought a 7-stringer on ebay last year--it was a great deal. Too bad for you But seriously, I tracked down some method books that included short pieces, as well as a few anthologies. I got them from Vincenzo Pocci in Italy, whose site is accessible from http://www.siecorde.it/ (look for the link to VP music media). They were older, used editions, and he may still have duplicates of what I bought still available. Her edition of the Sychra concert etudes includes a facsimile of the original, and it is perfectly readable. You may also want to track down Oleg Timofeyev, who has made two recordings called Golden Age of the Russian Guitar. He wrote his PhD thesis on the Russian 7-string guitar tradition, and it contains several pieces in the appendices. Does anybody have any recommendations for a luthier or a commercial source in Russia? Language isn't a problem, and I might be able to find somebody to serve as a mule to get the thing from Moscow if the mails/common carriers can't be trusted yet. The only providers I've been able to find on the web have had really cheap guitars (Bobrov, Izhevsk, even Renome), and I'm unconvinced that they're not more parallel to standard (narrow-neck) American acoustic guitars than to classical guitars. I think her recently had one built , but this probably wouldn't qualify as an inexpensive instrument (though I suppose it's all relative). The neck is indeed narrower on all 7-strings I have seen (necessary to reach that 7th string), so if this is what makes you think the instruments you have found are really steel-string acoustics, you may want to check into it further. The guitar I have also has an adjustable keyed neck, a la Stauffer, which is apparently common among the 7-string guitars. The last time I spoke with him, he had an instrument for sale, so it would behoove you to contact him. I can't find the contact info right now, but he teaches at U of Iowa. He was away in Russia recently, but he might be back now.
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