Well said, Felicia! We went through the same thing recently, trying to give a beginning lesson and spend some setup time with someone who came to us with her unplayable "gurdy". It was a painful experience for all parties concerned. Mitch Gordon Guerneville, California, US. In a message dated 4/13/2011 11:25:43 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
Having tried to help a number of people with GSOs, including one poor fellow with THREE of them, I have to speak up here. I know a decent gurdy can be very expensive and the advanced instruments prohibitively so. The problem is that gurdies are not like other instruments in that while a beginner can learn something on an inexpenive guitar or fiddle it's nearly impossible to make any kind of progress on the equivalent gurdy. It is so hard to meet with someone who wants help with their gurdy and find that they have not just a GSO but one that is virtually unplayable. It's like saying you have a car but what you really have is two bicycles taped together with a sewing machine motor between them. It may have four wheels and a motor but it is NOT a car. These things look like gurdies but they do not do what a real gurdy can, which is to have the potential to make lovely music even when you're a rank beginner with only the barest idea of what to do with it. And every musician, beginner or master, deserves a decent instrument to play on. It's not that a beginner needs the sort of gurdy Chabanats or Eatons play on but you do need one that they wouldn't want to kick out into heavy traffic. Again, I know a good gurdy is expensive. It's worth using a credit card or saving for one and well worth the wait when the alternative is to waste money on a piece of crap that will NEVER, EVER be a real musical instrument and has the potential to break your heart, or the heart of someone else if you try to sell it on. Please don't buy these kinds of instruments unless they're second hand. At least that way you won't be encouraging bad builders and you'll help someone out who made the mistake I'm trying to help you avoid. I know I sound passionate and opinionated about this. You might feel the same way after all the times I've tried to help someone out with their gurdy and been simply unable to do more than be sympathetic because they have a GSO instead of a real instrument. And believe me, when you've spent $3000 on a GSO and an experienced player tells you that you got taken that can really hurt. Felicia. On Apr 12, 2011, at 10:49 AM, Michael McMillan wrote: > I doubt that his customers are happy... They all left positive feedback. At least they could see what they were getting. If you've gotta have a gurdy, but haven't "robbed any banks" lately, what's a desperate person to do? ;o) My first one I made from scratch and it could hardly be said to be a "GSO," as it is box-shaped. I had fun fiddling with it, but it only made me want a better one, which I suppose will happen with some of these folks eventually, which is good. My "toy" one still impressed a lot of people who knew nothing about hurdy-gurdies. And I'm no musician, so what business do I have getting a horrendously expensive instrument that a fine musician would find acceptable? Other people will be in the same boat. But I do have aspirations, and am working on a much better one. I'm not defending these particular instruments, just saying people are at different levels and need instruments to match. --Michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) For more options, visit this group at _http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy_ (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_ (http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm) . To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. -- 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_ (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_ (http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm) . To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. -- 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.
