Pierre Lamour's 34 strings double neck harp-sympithar [Pictures] - created 06-06-2010
Lamour, Pierre - 06/06/2010.14:28:22
French harp-guitar maker
Hi folks,
Here is the last big one out off my shop. 'She' is based on customer specifications and 'she' calls Lernaean.She has a 'classical' neck, an 8 strings bass+guitar neck with 12 sympathetic strings and 8 trebles strings with levers and fine tuners.
WRC & Spuce top
Ovengkol B&S
EIRW fingerboards, bridges and binding
Spanish cedar 'classical' neck, 645mm long
Mahogany 'folk' 8 strings neck, 715mm long
macassar ebony heads veneer
PickUpTheWorld custom pickup for each bank of strings, preamp and separate outputs.
and more than three dozen of tunning gears.
And now, some pictures....
There is a door in the midlle of the back to acces electronics...
....and sympathetics strings.
Are you curious?
hummmm....... inside view.
Amazing!
I hope the player puts it on youtube.
That is just gorgeous!
Wow!!
That is really nice! the workmanship is very good, Pierre.
There is one thing about it that is nagging at me. It speaks to the question of what does one think about and plan for when designing an instrument like this?
What comes to my mind right away is the shape of the top, and how the string layout fits into it. The biggest thing that I question is the position of the two bass strings on the top....good bass notes require more movement of the top than does high notes or strings. If you see where those bass strings anchor to the top, it's right at that spot where the two sides meet and come together, and there is a lot of bridge plate at this same spot. To me, this part of the top doesn't seem like a very flexible spot and I would expect those bass strings to be a bit weak.
I...am...in...awe!
Beautiful!
The planning for something like this has to be overwhelming!!
Whoooaahh! Sweet!
Insane!!! Manzers's Picasso's challenger?
Exquisite Pierre, as usual. Thanks for sharing!
I can't even comprehend how complicated that must be. What everyone else said!
It must take quite the imagination to conceive of how to build such a guitar, but now someone has to conceive of how to play it! Oh my.
Very well executed.
Thanks guys,
I hope too that my customer will post on Utube.
Mark,
I had the same dilemma about bass part of the 8 strings neck. But such a custom instrument is full of compromises. Customer came with precise requests about instrument holding and playabilities. I informed him about incidences which such a shape could have and he also made some compromises. Fortunatly, those bass does not sound that weak. Maybe the lower F and E are a bit weak. Bass frequencies are really big when plugged and enought sounding unplugged. In fact, customer play mostly pluged with a loop pedal system.
for the joke: Have you ever heard an ArchLute in live? It sounds with deep bass although there almost no room back the bridge.
In short,acousticaly 'she' sounds very well balanced exepted on the very low E and F at my own surprise.
This is utterly crazy, but lovely!
It was quite a challenge, I assume.
Post us link as soon as there's a video or audio available.
Very, very nice. I especially like the scroll detail on the neck heel and the finish.
Exotic and beautiful ! Thanks for the interior pic. It seems you have two carbon fiber spars in there.
Hi Pierre...exquisitely insane !!! I love the cluster of string ends in the main bridge AND the elegant curved main bracing. A 'Masterpiece'.
I am so pleased to see that I am not the only 'crazy guy'. I think I shall have to post the triple-neck 17 string nylon that I made recently. I must admit that mine is a wee bit less elegant, and a bit more conventional!
Superb!
When do we get to hear it?
Wow! It wouldn't do me any good to have one as I wouldn't know how to play it. Where do you get a case for it?
Who needs a case? This is one of those times when you say, "if I had one of those I'd never leave the house".
Stunning!
Thanks again guys,
There are carbon rod reinforcement for the 8 strings neck 'cause the body is quite wide and I have to stiffen this part of the body. The two main 'curved' braces are not curved but its a multi layer spruce interlocking bracing system with (about) 35deg angle in the midlle. It is a good technic 'cause it react as a uniform 1 piece brace, even stifer.
About the case, I bought an empty keyboard case big enoght for about $120, a bunch of foam and that's it. The customer will play live with. 'She' was not made to stay home....
I have a sound to share but the file is on my professional web site directory so sysop might desagree. I'll found a solution ASAP.
take care.
This is amazing Pierre! To see someone who is able to play it well must be awesome.
Murray, I saw this guy last saturday when I give him his instrument. He starts working on a new album this summer. It would be awesome 'cause what I've heard during half an hour he played on and it was like they were old friends.
Crazy but lovely. I like!
I want one. If I had one, I'd never have to buy another stringed instrument... honest :)
Please do post a sound clip. I tried to find one on your website, but my French wasn't good in high school and it hasn't gotten any better in the intervening decades.
Thanks for sharing.
PS How is it tuned? (slowly, I know)
I have a sound!
when I checked the pickup system, I've recorded the trial.
necks on the left sides & trebles+sympath on the right. No reverb, no equ, no dynamic at all. a rough sound. since, I've just modified the 'classical' pickup to give it a fuller sound (a bit weak in the sample)
link: http://depositfiles.com/files/x2h2h17wu
clic on 'free download'
you have to wait 59sec before uploing....it free :-)))
pierre; just listened to the sound sample..beautiful. I love the purity of the high harp strings ( I have made very small steel strung harps and recognise the sound !!).
Is there a 'Sitar' style 'wave breaker' saddle on the sympathetic strings? There seems to be an attractive, slight 'meow' to the overtones.
Elegantly Celtic...Bravo!
Pierre...have you been channeling Fred Carlson? I usually avoid the word "awesome", but in this case it applies. Fantastic!
Love the sound...
Magnifique!
Wonderful sound as well.
Fabulous!
Would you explain some of the hardware? I don't recognize the tuning keys in the center of the headstock. Are those sharping levers on the treble side harp?
Incredibly creative.
Kif, yes it's a jiwarii bridge giving this dzgiziging sound found on sitar.
Loren, maybe fred and I are tuned on the same universal creative chanel. I have the oportunity to spend some time with him at his workshop in santa cruz few years ago and it really opened my mind to creativity (could it be esle?)
Dwight, on the clasical head there are clasical schaller tuner, on the 8 string head there are 2 goto bass tuners for the 2 lower strings, 6 mini goto tuners for the main 6 strings, 6 mini goto tuners for part of the sympathetics strings and 6 steinberger tuners for the others 6 sympath. on treble strings, each have a dulcimer like pin tuner for global tuning, a violin fine tuner for ... fine tuning and a Dragonwhispers harp lever to raise the note half a tone up.
Far out, I just looked closer and noticed that the sympathetic strings are anchored to the 8-string bridge, threaded from the outside. I thought that was a little gold inlay to compliment the harp levers, but it's a cluster of ball ends. So there are strings pulling up AND down on that bridge. I suppose that's an effective way to couple the fretted string vibrations to the sympathetics.
What does the core of that 8-string neck look like? A channel down the center with two truss rods, or just carbon fiber rods?
That thing is chock full of creative solutions to the forces at play. Nice work!
There's no trussRod but a channel made two 3/8 x 1/4 carbon rods (no pict, sorry)
Yes it's a cluster of sympathetic strings ball ends. About down pressure on the bridge, the strings are low tensioned (from 8 to 10 lb ) so there is a small amount of down forces. the 8 strings are about 300lb (hight tension for some slide playing) so sympathetic strings counterbalance of 15% of the main strings tension.
Unreal.