MIMF

Looks great! I haven't seen the Earthwood bass- is the bridge your design? What does the shape accomplish? Ahh, so 'clone' huh- are you a homebrewer too?

I have been asked to build this interesting instrument, a hybrid between a dulcimer and hurdy-gurdy. It is essentially laid out like a single-course dulcimer, with Partch-style movable bridges. But it will also feature a crank-operated set of three drone strings. Here is the initial sketch, and I wi...

This is great- can't wait to see the results!

Cool, thanks for the info Nicholas. I like the tone of those mbira/HD instruments- the rod has a great sustain and tone to it. True, it is not laid out like the mbira, which is a very funky layout. It is staying in tune very well now; I think applying all the tension (and I kept changing strings to ...

Interesting! I did some repair on a jarana Veracruzana the other day, all carved from a single bock but with the top glued on. It was striking to me indeed. 1260891_662982033724862_1845781973_n.jpg Here you can clearly see the grain continue around from the back through into the sides and neck: 9933...

Jason: yes, on the bass side there are actually three octaves per note. The longer string to the right gets the low note, and one string to the left gets an octave above, and the bridge divides it so that the short portion in front of that is another octave. (3 octaves on 2 strings, if that makes se...

It sounds great, I will upload a soundfile soon. It is strange to play and time consuming to tune! But the notes are full, rich and sustain for a long while. There a re a few notes where I need different string gauges to get the best sound for the pitch. Currently I have .011, .014 and .017 piano wi...

This weekend I had the chance to string it up. DSC_5788.jpg The hitch pins are from 3/16" brass rod I grooved and polished using the drill press as a lathe: DSC_5791.jpg The rosette(s) are inlaid figured myrtle with a shop-made purfling (BRW/maple/mahog) alternated with woodburning: DSC_5792.jpg

I finally had the opportunity to complete this instrument. It started with the frame, in walnut, and the double soundboards, in doug fir:

In 2006 I first sketched plans for an idea that intrigued me. The Zimbabwean mbira (thumb piano) is laid out with bass and tenor octaves ascending from the center to the left, and a treble octave ascending from the center to the right. I thought, if this layout could be adapted to a hammered dulcime...

Fun to watch this! Looking good...

Thanks all- I'm glad you're enjoying it! I was really impressed by their editing and film work. Neal- I took the apple down to about .088" , but after gluing I probably scraped off another 10-15 mils. It bent quite easily, but it tended to have a quite a bit of springback, so I would go back an...

Also, just a thought: for pinless bridge, how are you going to accommodate the loop end strings?

Wow! Just looked at D'addarios Mandocello strings- .074 for the low C!! Holy smokes. I am willing to bet that these are designed for tailpiece instruments. I think for fixed bridge you could try something a little lighter

Well, for a tailpiece/floating bridge instrument, that amount of tension would make more sense- the break angle could be designed to mitigate the tension onto the soundboard by a desired amount. However, with a fixed bridge system, you are stuck with all of the string tension at the bridge, with no ...

One thing to sort out first is string gauge. Here is what I would do: calculate the total tension of your typical guitar strings with that scale length. That is your baseline; this should give you an idea of what your previous work dealt with. Now, figure the total string tension of the eight string...

It's been a while since I posted here, and I would like to share this video. Some students from the U of Oregon were doing a documentary project and wanted to get the construction of an instrument from start to finish. They were able to film most stages of construction of a recent Turkish oud I was ...

I like it! I remember being a bit skeptical of the design during the challenge, but the finished product is intriguing. It looks very nice, and the simplicity of the design works! Congratulations

Right! That's where we got the idea

I would also add that you should try to get an even heat distribution cross the bending surface of the pipe. If you play with the angle of the torch entering the pipe, you can have the flame heat more evenly from the front to rear of the pipe- otherwise you'll get a hot spot in the middle, which run...