Hi, folks, I am playing tunes on my Bassot HG! Craig handed it to me and wished me many happy hours adjusting. I still have a lot of adjusting to do, which can sound pretty nasty, but the hurdy's got a generally rich, and very loud, voice. The gros bourdon reminds me of a didgeridoo, mainly because my cranking isn't smooth, yet. There are things to be done. We used the tangents that are vertical rods with brass feet and we still need to damp the clacking when the feet hit the side of the keybox. The old wooden tangents hit a leather strip, but the brass feet hit lower. I'm not sure the chien is right, but I don't know enough to know what isn't. I got two controlled buzzes per rotation last night. That was cool. Also very loud. There was a piece of glass under the chien. Craig replaced it with mammoth ivory, as he used to fabricate the missing key heads and with ebony and purfling strips to reconstruct the binding.
We are also dealing with my being a beginner on the instrument. My week at OTW two years ago was invaluable. So much is coming back to me. Thank you to everyone who taught me, formally and informally. I'm working on those tunes I heard every night in the cafeteria. I hope to come back next year. I may get to the Northwest Folklife Festival Memorial Day weekend, though I have to work that Saturday, so I'll miss that day of it. I've taken a wheeled duffel bag and fitted it with foam and a fleece blanket as a rather large case for a relatively small instrument, but I feel better about it in there. I'm a klutz and would ding it up without all the protection. All the Best, Barbara --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
