In Defense of the Kits,
First, I will admit I have a Musikit. But it was already built when I
got it, thus I didn't spent the time and effort to construct it, nor was
I interested in doing so. My purpose with this Hurdy is to get me
started, without having to invest too much money initially. As my
explorations evolved, yes eventually I will get a more suitable Gurdy.
So far I am perfectly happy with the sounds I have coerced from the
Musikit, and do plan to keep playing and experimenting with this item
for a while.
I have since and heard $6,000 which to my ears are very dissappointing.
Having something like the Musikit to get started makes the instrument
much more accessible to a wider audience.
Here is another car analogy. A Mercedes Benz is a finely crafted
vehicle, which many consider a pleasure to drive, very secure and a
well recognized brand. Yet, many parents find it difficult to offer
their high school children such a vehicle to go to school. As much as
they want their best for their kids, they have to make do with what they
can reach for.
Like a first car, that you later exchange for a more robust one, the
kits are perfectly fine first Gurdy's to get you started.
Frankie
Chris Nogy wrote:
You hit on it exactly in your last statement. The gurdy comes in many
flavors, they have tonal differences, but the differences are not as
many as the similarities. And for those who have spent a lifetime
learning to play a gurdy, they have come to know the sounds and tonal
components that make a gurdy a gurdy. Those sounds and tonal
components come from years of tradition, from the way the instrument
was steered throughout the ages. People here give their
recomendations according to the playability, the agility, the
usability of the instruments in a performance venue. They compare
them to the work of the Hackmans, to Nagy, to the other really fine
builders instruments, and they are trying to get people not to settle
for something limited by design, but to assure folks get a world of
gurdy opportunity. They want you to have the best tool for the job.
And in that respect, they are usually quite right about kits and plans.
You can buy a cheap violin from China, and if you are lucky and get a
professional to set it up, you can play the violin parts of a piece
recognizably, and even sound something like a violin. But even if you
are the finest virtuoso in the world, the music you produce is both
from your skill and from the instrument, and a surprising amount of
what comes out comes from the instrument without you telling it to.
