Hello there. I was in pretty much the same position as you when I first started looking for a hurdy-gurdy. I was in high school, without the cash to buy a professionally built instrument, so I sprang for that exact Musicmaker's kit you mentioned. I thought it was pretty vital to swap out the diatonic keyboard for a chromatic one, though, so I contacted Alden Hackman for advice on retrofitting. He ended up convincing me the kit would benefit from a lot more improvement than that, so I bought a bunch of replacement parts, including a new keybox, wheel, bearing and shaft assembly, drone bridges and strings. My father carved me improved versions of the tail-piece, chanter bridge, wings, crank and handle, and helped me put everything together properly. After a few years (!) of off-and-on progress, I managed to take the finished instrument to college and find someone familiar enough with the HG to set it up for me.
Everything said and done, it cost me about $1000 for both the kit (from which I basically just used the sound-box and peg-head) and the upgrade materials. It does play, but not very pleasantly. I suppose I could still mess around trying to fix string pressure and such, but the huge F-holes in the soundboard, as pictured on Musicmaker's website, give it hardly any resonance. When I'd saved enough money to buy a higher-quality HG, the improvement was so significant I felt justified in spending almost three times as much. So, even with professionally made parts, the wood-working expertise of my father, and knowledgeable help in setting up the strings, the converted kit still turned out to be an inferior instrument. It was definitely a good way to break into the hobby, but perhaps not worth the cost. I know it stinks, but I don't think you're going to find a decent, entry level HG for much under $2000, unless someone really starts pumping them out of a factory! Anyway, sorry for the long email... Good luck! Nathan Roy From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [email protected] Subject: [HG] Customizing a kit Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:16:43 -0600 Hello group, My name is Joe and I'm brand new to the hurdy-gurdy. As a matter of fact, I neither know how to play nor do I own a hurdy-gurdy. But I am looking into fixing both of those problems soon. I've been researching the instrument and watching this mailing list for a little while and I've come to the conclusion that I want a hurdy with a chromatic keyboard. I read that it opens up many more options for playing music. I also want one that is affordable, since I am but a poor college student trying to finish up school. The latter part has been a real issue so far. This isn't a cheap hobby! So, I found some kits on the internet in my price range, but the problem is they have diatonic keyboards (Or tangents? What is the correct term?). I was wondering, since I am somewhat handy at tinkering, would it be possible to convert a diatonic kit, such as the one found at musikit.com (http://www.musikit.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=hurdy), into a chromatic keyboard setup? Thanks in advance, - Joe Share life as it happens with the new Windows Live. Share now! _________________________________________________________________ Don't get caught with egg on your face. Play Chicktionary! http://club.live.com/chicktionary.aspx?icid=chick_wlhmtextlink1_dec
