Colin,
Your point is well taken, there has to be minimal level functionality
and reliability on the instrument to be useful. I have no idea who built
my Musikit, but it clearly shows it was done by someone who knows
woodworking well (due to its finishing and details). People can also
order the finished Musikit directly from the manufacturer, and it still
less expensive than most student models from other builders. My cost was
halfway in between a kit, and a fully built one, and luckily in turned
out to be quite functional for my beginner's purposes.
The other side of the coin, is that there are quite a number of
expensive Gurdy's out there that fall short on the functional aspect,
thus it helps to have some initial experiences, or an experienced friend
to assess the playability of such instruments. Another aspect that kept
me from going to stablished manufacturers first, was that some expensive
and well recommended Gurdy's sounds were not appealing to me, while
others were. Thus there is a bit of personal taste involved in the
process, and short of attending Saint Chartier, it is hard to do
comparison shopping, otherwise.
Thus I have chosen to start with an already built kit, and progress from
there. For those interested in the craft itself, the raw kit should be
an interesting experience as well.
Frankie Sierra
Colin wrote:
Yes but not if the cheap car has two pistons missing and the big end
has gone and the tyres are bald.
The expense involved could have been used to get a better car in the
first place.
Goodness knows just how much work and experience went into you HG
before you got it.
Do you know?
I think everyone has agreed that the kit in the hands of an
experienced maker CAN be made very playable.
However, a new cheap car should work just as well as an expensive one
- just be a little more "basic".
I think it's the problem getting the kit playing in the first place
that's causing concern - especially for someone who has no knowledge
or experience of HGs.
If you get one, build it and it DOESN'T play well, you will hardly
start saving for a better one, will you?
More likely you'll never want to look at a HG again.
If you haven't the skill to build one from a kit, that money is wasted
and, as others have said, it's more than just woodworking skills. It's
an art and craft in it's own right which would be beyond many of us
even though we can make slight "adjustments" to them from time to time.
Best we can do is offer the best advice we can based on what we have
been told or experienced ourselves. Doubtless there will be many kits
out there that have been made to work otherwise they wouldn't be
selling them but whether they are ALL musical instruments may be
another thing.
Colin Hill
----- Original Message -----
*From:* F.Sierra <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*To:* [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Sent:* Sunday, February 03, 2008 4:11 PM
*Subject:* Re: [HG] Re: hurdy gurdy kits...or the DIY fanatics folly.
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.
