Hi Joe,
There are a number of us midwesterners. I'm just far enough out (south
of Indianapolis in Bloomington) that I probably wouldn't be much help
to you, but I'm sure some of those in the Chicago area will pipe up.
You missed a Chicago gurdy gathering in October.
There probably will never be a really cheap but reasonably good
quality hurdy gurdy for two reasons: (1) there isn't the mass market
for the instrument and (2) the amount of time that goes into a gurdy
vs. a very high-end hand-built guitar is about four times as much.
While it might be possible to factory-build a gurdy, the cost to roll
the first one out the door would probably be in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars for equipment and development, meaning that a lot
of instrument would have to be sold for the price to come down. When
you consider the time that goes in HGs, they don't seem so expensive
after all...
Do you know what kind of music you want to play on the instrument?
-Arle
On Dec 17, 2007, at 2:31 PM, Joe Mejia wrote:
Arle et al.,
Thanks for the tips about the kit. I'll stay away from it.
I was looking at the Chinook, and also this one:http://larkinthemorning.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_HUR002_A_Nouveau++Flat+Back+Hurdy+Gurdy+by+Nathan+Sweet_E_
.
I was hoping there might be something cheaper out there. I guess not
though, right? I suppose if the instrument isn't mass produced,
there aren't going to be low priced models. I'm coming from the
world of guitar. Years after I began playing, I now have some nice
guitars that cost quite a bit, but I started on one found at a
garage sale for just a few dollars. I was praying for a kind of deja
vu with the hurdy-gurdy.
I'm located in Chicago. I've seen people in the area play them
before, but I don't know them personally or anything like that.
- Joe
