Tuning Pegs

The strings of the liuto forte, continuing the practice of the old lutes, are adjusted using tuning pegs. This is perhaps the aspect of the liuto forte that will take the most getting used to by guitarists. Inserted wooden pegs transmit the torque in a proportion of 1:1, whereas a guitar machine head has a transmission in a proportion of 1:16. There are not only aesthetic reasons for keeping pegs. A mechanism like guitar would make multi-stringed instruments seriously top-heavy.

In contrast to the very slender and rather cramped peg boxes on old lutes, clumsy to handle, and with pegs often enough ill-fitting and real finger-twisters, the liuto forte presents its pegs in a comfortable calibre and in well-spaced arrangement. With care and maintenance they are as easy to handle as the pegs on bowed instruments. From the experience of recent years, in fact, owing to its thinner strings, the liuto forte keeps its tuning better than a modern guitar.