At 08:47 PM 7/26/2006 +0100, you wrote:
Ah, but this is why the gurdy is our chosen instrument; it is a living
breathing thing with a temprement all it's own. Somedays it is best to
leave it to it's own devises; I have had gigs where one of my gurdies has
failed completely and the other has only just been playable, yet the
following day all has been well. There are often days at Saint Chartier
when you will never hear a gurdy played due to heat, humidity or too much
dust in the air. When things are like this I have found that it's best to
go with the flow and accept that the instrument knows best. Of course if
you want consistancy may I suggest an electronic keyboard.
Incidently, the effect you have heard on recordings may not be anything to
do with the instrument. Many sound engineers have a tendancy to full back
the faders as soon as the trompet kicks-in. Patrick Bouffard has
incredible dynamics, I have recorded him in sessions and have often
reduced the volume too far when the trompet comes in.
Philip
Philip: I do not need an electronic keyboard. Perhaps my original posting
wasn't too clear...
I'm not talking about a particular day of extreme "heat, humidity or too
much dust in the air" - no combination of these describes the current
climate in my living room. This is a hurdy-gurdy which has for years
played fine under the current conditions, and now does not. I'm sure that
many players on this list would agree that when things are not "like this"
that it is not "best to go with the flow", but to sort out and solve the
problem.
In this case, the problem is the dropping of the trompette pitch, not the
volume level. This isn't a recording engineer problem, but an instrument
problem which a number of players have acknowledged. I was hoping that
there was someone here who had experienced it and somehow discovered the
cause, or at least "a" cause, and was able to take successful corrective
action, and that they would be able to describe the corrective action taken.
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Matthew Szostak - Hurdy-Gurdies
7 Grove Street
Camden, Maine 04843
phone: 207-236-9576
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
website: http://www.midcoast.com/~beechhil/vielle
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