Usually, someone in my shop after a few 'tasty beverages' might look at an odd-shaped piece of wood I have left over from something, and say "You know, if we put a few hammer-keys here, and a blow-tube across some strings here, and double bridges like a hammered dulcimer, but leave it open on the bottom like a kantele, but play it with a bow and build some sloped fretboards under each string, and a few pickups and some lights and stuff, I wonder what it would sound like?
And by the end of the night (and a further depletion of my stock of 'tasty beverages') we have something wierd and unique that is almost guaranteed to be nothing like we started thinking about. Then we take it to Nancy (a person who not only plays everything, but understands enough about stuf to know how to string and play even not-invented-yet instruments) and she fiddles with it for a few minutes and then starts giving us lessons. In return for which I carry home another of the myriad broken old and found relic instruments that she has to repair and put back into operation. One day i am going to put a bunch of these wierd things on my website, and let the purists of the world have a ball flaming me. Chris *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 6/5/2009 at 11:31 PM Marsbar wrote: >"Some obscure thing"...Now I am all intrigued and excited. Give an >example >of an "obscure thing" you might make. > >Fi > >-----Original Message----- >From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On >Behalf Of Kazimierz Verkmastare >Sent: Friday, 5 June 2009 11:30 PM >To: [email protected] >Subject: [HG-new] Re: #$%! string > > >I'd say you have a gut string with a flaw in the middle. When I find a >string like that, I can usually look at it under a magnifying glass and see >where the twist rate changed or there was a small knot in one of the >strands >that was there and got ground out in finish polishing.. I run in to that >more often than you would expect, not really common, but not uncommon - I >usually just use that string on a harp or a lyre where it is just a single >note, or on a drone on some obscure thing I am building at the time. > >Chris > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
