Rebecchino

The rebecchino was made using the ‘trough’ construction method, which entails hollowing out a solid piece of wood to form a soundbox. This method is technically simple, but it has some significant disadvantages. It requires a large amount of wood and the walls of the body, which are responsible for the effectiveness of the resonance chamber, must be kept relatively thick. Nonetheless, this method continued to be used for the construction of simple stringed instruments until modern times, particularly in rural areas. The transition to ribbed construction represents a significant step forward in improving the acoustic qualities of the instrument. This method entails building the body from thin pieces of wood which are glued together. This technology has in principal remained unchanged to the present day and instruments built in this way are lighter and possess a fuller tone. (rh)

Lit.: Rudolf Hopfner: Masterpieces from the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments. A Short Guide through the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Vol. 1, Vienna 2019