A few nyckelharpa makers regularly use return springs and their instruments seem to be fine, so it's not a bad idea. There was a period in the 80s when a lot of nyckelharpa makers used them, but most abandoned them because they just weren't needed. That's not to say that there aren't cases where they might not be beneficial, but for most players they were an added complexity with no real payoff. I don't think they were ever as common on the HG.
Like Scott, I would be concerned about the longevity of springs, even if they are easy to replace. The springs will probably wear out long before your wooden parts will. However, if your requirements are different from most players, the springs may make sense. For me the question would be whether the additional complexity and maintenance is offset by whatever advantage you hoped to provide (and you do mention that “using gravity to reset keys seemed limited” so clearly you have some limitations in mind that you’d like to overcome). I've actually been experimenting with some designs (well, not experimenting yet: more like diagramming and playing around at that level) more radical than what you show where spring returns would be vital since gravity return would be insufficient. So I'm certainly not saying springs are wrong :-) -Arle On Feb 19, 2012, at 22:45 , Scott wrote: > Hello Dave, > > Although the springs seem like a natural idea they are actually going to > cause problems in playing. The spring is going to wear your fingers out > extremely quick. The only reason that a spring would be used is if the > instrument were to lay flat on a table. Gravity keys have been used for > centuries and are perfectly fuctional. The only change in keys that I notice > make a significant difference is to have slightly thicker keys, the weight > allows them to fall a bit quicker. However, all you need to do is listen to a > player like Patrick Bouffard to hear that the action of the gravity keys ia > so quick that is supports really fast playing. > I have seen rubber bands stretched across all of the keys to assist in key > return but they really are redundant addition that can be more problem than > they are worth. > > Also, if you place a thick bracing rib along the back, or what would be > considered the spine of the bowl, it eliminates the need for the boat like > bracing that you have on the sides of your bowl. > > Scott > > California Dave <[email protected]> wrote: > > Well, your question, or observation, answers a question of mine. I had > mentioned that I had some new ideas. The trapped compression spring key > return was one of them. clearly this is not an entirely new idea. I'm not > surprised. As a musical instrument maker I have designed many ways of doing > things that subsequently I've discovered others using in part or entirely > whole! This instrument is being made from whole cloth by me with only > photos, art and some early drawings of construction. The idea of using > gravity to reset keys seemed limited. So...I designed something engineers > have used for hundreds of years. Anybody else have any insights into this? > Is, or are there, known problems with this approach? > > > Dave Bucher > The Golden Wood Stringed Musical Instruments. > > -- > 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. > > -- > 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. -- 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.
