I can't say that I have ever seen the masterkit kit, so I cannot vouch for the quality. An average design, built with care and precision, and with attention to detail, can create a very playable instrument that will give you great pleasure to play for many, many years. A great design, built from pieces that are out of tolerance, rough, misaligned, will create an instrument that is nothing but frustration.
If you are knowledgable about these instruments construction, and have access to people (especially for your first instrument) that can look at your progress and make the proper criticisms, and you are certain you can locate the information you need, then building a Henry III style is probably a great choice for a first time builder - it has many of the properties you look for in a professional level instrument, but none of the complexities that plague building instruments like lute-back vielles. But if you have all those resources, you probably don't need the kit, if the design is good and the plans are good (and from the one person I actually contacted who built from these plans, they were good plans that required only a little reworking to get a nice playable instrument) then you might just consider the plans. I guess that a real condensation of the topic, which comes up at least once a month here, is that there are many kits out there, none of which are universally regarded as a good place for a beginner to get an instrument. There are many plans available, some of which are regarded as good plans, but which really rely on the experience level of the builder - a gurdy is not a first wood working project. There are cheap instruments available already built, but none universally recognized as a good starter instrument, although some have been reworked and modified by experts to become playable instruments, often at almost the same cost as the instrument itself, and usually more than the cost of a good entry level gurdy. Problem is, there are few, if any options, that fit your budget directly, even if you are building from plans, you will find the cost begins to climb faster than you would believe. It is probably the most discouraging thing for anyone on this list to answer the first real question we get from most novices - how do I get started in this wonderful hobby on my limited budget? - with "you don't". But it is the simple truth - making the wrong choices simply due to budget constrictions will almost guarantee that we will lose you to the enthusiast community, and that is the thing we want to avoid more than anything else. Chris Nogy *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 1/3/2008 at 5:20 PM Douwe Boschma wrote: >Hello everybody, > >I am new on the list as well and I have a newbie question that I am unable >to find an answer about. > >But lets start properly with a small introduction. I am Douwe, a 38 yo male >living in the Norwegian moutains on a small farm with my wife and two girls >(0 and 6). Originally I am Dutch and I work (amongst some of other trades) >as a graphic designer. > >Since my youth I have had a medieval gen buzzing in my system. It expresses >itself in many ways but it especially starts to resonate franticly if I >hear >the sound of the hurdygurdy. I get a lyrical feeling that I don't have with >any other instrument even though I play some different instruments. > >Because of this lingering love I have been thinking for years about buying >a >hurdygurdy, but as with a lot of people my income goes straight into the >household so I am on budget too low to afford one that would be to my >taste. >Because of this I decided to build one. I already have a plan for a >hungarian HG from the music museum in Stockholm ;-) I love the "no-frills" >form, it is a large one (and I am a very tall guy) and I expect a warm and >rich sound, lest the right kind of tone wood will be used. But before I >start with that undertaking I want to get a good feel for the instrument >(on >the inside and outside) so I considered buying a kit to get me going. > >Now I found two kits on internet. > >The musikit.com one is well advertised but also one that I'm sure I don't >want because of it would need a lot of work to get a reasonable sound and >versatility out of it. > >I am talking about this one: > >http://www.musikit.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=hurd >y > >And I have found an other one that I can't find any additional information >about and that is this one: > >http://www.masterkit.com/rwc/products/hurdy.htm > >I seems to have all the specs I am looking for except from a lacking key as >I understood about this 18th century french model. But does anyone have >experience with this HG-kit, or has anyone heard about it? Can I expect it >to be good enough for a starter? Or is it a toy to hang on the wall? ;-). > >It is a budget thing really, as I can't spend more what that one would cost >me. It is even above my budget. In usd bout 1000. In euros about 740. > >So that is the only option I found out about that might be a valid one, but >it is something that I wish to validate with knowledgeable people! Maybe >there are other options too that I don't know about! I'm all eyes and ears. > >Sorry for this very long mail, but I though that it would be right to show >a >bit about myself trough in it as I am new here. Any next on will be more to >the point. > >With best regards, > >Douwe
