Yes, each tangent can be rotated to tune it. I play it so rarely that I don't usually bother. It has been said that you spend 90% of your time tuning the Hurdy-Gurdy, and 10% of your time playing it out of tune
That sounds like me with violin. My original violin was never out of tune, but getting back into it, I'm not sure how I kept it in tune so well without geared pegs. XD
Hurdy-gurdy guitars are not known for carrying a quality sound, but we are better known for being easy to play, loud, and relatively inexpensive to build. A hurdy-gurdy guitar with a pick up, would probably have a much bolder quality sound. This video was incredible, I appreciate the amount of detail you put into this, and you’re very concise explanation of the materials used. A note to people who are generally ignorant of the subject, would be that using a building plan for an ancient instrument like this, is not going to expect the same quality sound as your brand new electric hollow body Gibson standard Les Paul. With a few modifications, a hurdy-gurdy guitar could be modernized either by using new materials, or more modern ways of improving sound in acoustic instruments. For instance, an arched top, or metal buttons would improve the sound quality of the instrument immediately. Don’t let any of these naysayers detract from how incredible of an accomplishment this is. It is a glorious instrument, and a real musician only thinks of one thing. How do I use this sound to make what I’m doing sound better?
Thanks for your kind words. Some of the criticism was helpful, as I did have way too much cotton on the strings. It may interest you that the H-G has a support glued directly under the bridge. I thought one could get a bolder sound by placing the support elsewhere, so the soundboard can vibrate better, but it turns out that the bridge needs this rigid support because if the bridge rises or falls it greatly impacts the contact between string and wheel.
The open string sounds fine and this looks so skillfully crafted therefore I am completely sure that it's just a matter of experience in gurdy gurdy tuning and maintenance. Good Job👍🏻
Couple of things: You should think about trimming the contact edge of the wheel in something like maple stripping to get better contact with the strings. The plywood edge will cause problems with how the strings vibrate, and thus how they sound. You may have to remove the wheel and take it back to the lathe to remove some material to make room for the maple stripping, but it will be worth it nonetheless. Also, the F-holes that you cut into the sound board are massive and are probably not helping the sound at all. If you look at most gurdys they either have really tiny F-holes, or none at all. Unfortunately, unless you want to disassemble the thing and make an entirely new soundboard, there's not a lot you can do about it. Try temporarily covering the holes, perhaps with some scrap soundboard material, just to hear the difference in sound. Just some thoughts. Great job on your build!!
Actually, re-reading the comment, the bit about the bridge sitting on a brace is fine and the way it should be. The big error is using the same brace to support the front wheel bearing. Maybe I didn't make that clear earlier.
Wow, this is amazing. I just started myself dabbling with making my own instruments and I have always loved the sound of the Hurdy gurdy. May have to try ths myself
a great looking instrument indeed.I bought a kit of the Henry 111 hurdy-gurdy 20 odd years ago from the Early Music Shop.I didn't have a lot of woodworking gear to do it justice so lost heart.20 years later during isolation i got the old kit out of the garage and determoned to get it finished using the rudimentary hand tools i have.I strung it this morning for the first time and got a terrible noise from it...a success!!! if i was daft enough to ever do another one i would do things very differently from the plans and instructions which were pretty hopeless.Hand making tangents was a difficult and lengthy process.I believe my kit is still available form the Renaisance Workshop.
Well that is a marvellous home brew instrument. It sounds pretty good to my ear, but I may be a trifle biased. I am building my own 'Symphony' gurdy, I guess I am about a third of the way through so far, I tend to be confused as to where to go to be correct now, but I am getting there, I have a Walnut wheel at the moment, but it can be changed later. I propose using bicycle chain links for the tangents when I get that far. I am currently stuck on string end fixings at the crank end, but I will overcome in the end.... I have no plans for it, just individual items as I make them..... so what mine will sound likes is anybody's guess. Yours inspires me a lot now... thanks for showing it.!!
well, despite that it dosn't sound like those profi made Hurdy Gurdy, it IS a great work and I personally like the "from Idea over Work to End-Product" process, good work! Just a question, how did You determine where a key for a specific note should be?
That's a good question, I just followed the plans. The tangents can be rotated on each key a little bit to adjust the intonation as necessary (in the video around 6:15). The pitch also changes depending on how hard you press each key. I imagine with experience you get a feel for consistently depressing the keys.
@@douglasnadel1028 here is a link to the tuning keys for a violin, look at the last 2 images www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07792Q4VY/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1
it sounds awful, because theres no gearbox, the wheel should be spinning faster than you can turn, thats what makes a good hurdygurdy sound as good as a violin
Lovely craftsmanship. I have one question: Why not just have a cotton band attached and wrapped around the wheel instead of tufts of loose cotton wrapped around the strings? Wouldn't you get the same outcome without the hastle of re-wrapping the strings?
Well, not quite. The wheel should have resin on it, allowing it to catch the cotton. If the cotton were directly on the wheel you wouldn't have that contact. It's similar to having resin on the hair of a violin bow. Plus, I would imagine the cotton would get completely torn up by the strings if you tried to do something like that. All of those little fibers catching on the strings would end up wrapping the string anyway.
Fine job ! You are probably used to wood-working and have plenty of wood-machines which helps greatly to do a good "pro" job. I have a small one that I worked on a little. As you did, I replaced the "violin" keys by "guitar" ones. I kept the pass through initial holes with all keys external to the box and the axis internal. On your solution, I feel that the strings are not perpendicular enough to the axes of the last keys and you could meet problems of "escaping strings" or simply moving some mm if you accidentically hook them with something or just "un-pull" the strings for some reason. At the end, I fell your sound is not what it shoud be and I often have the same. Perhaps simply a question of tuning (still changing at the beginning after hysteresis resorption) or too wide cottons which cause sort of double contact with the strings. Anyway, congratulation for your skill and courage to launch in such a realisation, rather sophisticated.
I'd be interested in hearing how it sounds with a proper mic set up and such. I'm thinking of building (or at the least buying) a Hurdy Gurdy at some point. Actually pleasantly surprised at the amount of kits available but also dubious as to their quality
Addition: have built a bass kit before which isn't that bad but since it's electric, the build quality effects playability more so than the tone (although it has a slight effect)
I would recommend a kit from music makers, www.harpkit.com. They have a forum on their website devoted to Hurdy Gurdies, and they were very helpful when I had some questions. I do believe that if I spent some time adjusting the instrument I could get it to sound better, just haven't gotten around to it.
My comments are the result of simply studying many good sounding gurdies and restoring several early instruments as well as building over a hundred during 30 plus years I've been building professionally . I feel it is a shame that inexperienced makers are misled by poorly designed plans and the awful sound resulting must be heartbreaking after all the work that goes into it. I suggest that Jerry does some research and modifies that plan in accordance with the accepted design.
So Neil, with all your experience, give a clue or two? A massive bravo to the maker first for going for it and making a great looking first instrument! But what are the main points you would change? My guess is something about how the keys slide? and perhaps something to make it less 'harsh' although I don't know if it's the 'correct' style of strings being used on this instrument.
Thanks. I think a violin would be an order of magnitude harder. I follow this violin maker, Per Ovesen, on facebook. He has a video at ua-cam.com/video/Fe6nnqvVwa8/v-deo.html
it looks beautiful, however the keys i feel are off slightly. if there is a way for you to finetune the tangents themselves to get them to the right pitch, i would recommend that.
Much prettier than mine! I've wanted to build a more advanced Hurdy with all the bells & whistles and a more advanced design, but keep getting distracted with other projects. :D
It wouldn't make a sound otherwise. The wheel is the bow, and all bows makes not a lick of vibration without rosin to "grip" the strings. Wood is too rough and would eat up the string within the hour if not minutes of playing if not sanded with fine grit. Either or, the wheel has something applied to it. If the man makes an entire instrument but fails to have read the first few sentences describing what the instrument even is or how it functions... it would be absolutely moronic. Amazing, but moronic.
Everything I used was leftover from other projects, so it didn't cost me a dime! The walnut and maple are inexpensive. The most expensive material would be the soundboard. Music Makers sells one for $65
Inspired by your video I am making the same Grudy from MusicMakers. Question; Do you find the shape of the sound hole makes a difference? Question; I too am using 1/8” walnut for the sides, but plan to use Koa for the top. Do you see an issue with the sound?”
Apparently the sound hole doesn't even matter. Enough air will escape around the wheel to allow for resonance. Someone (I think on this site) criticized my sound holes for being too large. They are really just decorative anyway. Maybe they do look too big, but I was just following the plans. I'm sure Koa would be great as a soundboard since it's used for ukuleles. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks for the input. I agree its what the plans call for with two designs but I have a scroll saw idea of a small dragon which I can scale to fit. I came across 10 or 12 book matched sets of old growth Loa from a friend of mine transferring back from Hawaii. Just hope the are not to hard to reelect sound. Again thanks and I'll Kee up posted. Loved the video by the way.
@@douglasnadel1028 when you cut holes too big, you are making the soundboard unnecessary smaller and unable to resonate. In fact having no sound holes at all would make it it structurally more stable and resonate far better. The wheel hole is enough as a sound hole, or you may in fact make a sidehole in the sides if you feel you need one.
I had to make the jigs myself, using the same techniques I've used to make ukuleles. Making a ukulele is a much easier project; let me know if you're interested and I can recommend a good book
Your video definitely makes the project seem a lot less daunting. What kind of strings did you use? Considering it's relation to a violin would you just use violin strings?
These strings were included with the parts kit I bought from Music Makers (along with the axle and a brass blank for the crank, and tuning pegs I didn't use). I think they're catgut, is that possible? Violin strings might work.
@@douglasnadel1028 I must have missed where you mentioned buy a kit. I had assumed you bought all the materials individually and just used plans you had downloaded. After a quick Google, even if they aren't in fact catgut, it is still the most preferred string material so when I get around to trying this project I'll definitely look for some. Ever since discovering this instrument I have wanted one and building one seems much easier than spending the couple grand it'd cost to buy one. If nothing else other than to practice and justify spending 1000's for a more high quality one. Regardless, this was, once again, a great video. Thank you for your response as well.
The plans and hardware came from www.harpkit.com/hurdy-gurdy-plans.html. I'd sell this one for $400 if you're interested. I live near Philadelphia. email me dnadel@dh.org
if you head over to this old tony, he pulls some voodoo tool magic and shows you how to cut square holes; if you do it this way you can keep it all as one piece instead of cleaving it to cut it out.
Everything I used was leftover from other projects, so it didn't cost me a dime. The walnut and maple are inexpensive. The most expensive material would be the soundboard. Music Makers sells one for $65
I really like to understand what is responsible for the tune. I understand how the string is agitated and the string length responsible for the frequency, but what about the resonator? Is it dependent on the volume, or even shape? Honestly, I wonder why guitar, harp and dulcimer sound so very different, when they are all plucked strings strung onto a resonator.
Different length strings, different width strings, different tension strings, and different material strings. And that is just strings. For resonators the shape, the density of wood, hard wood, soft wood, and bracing inside the resonator which dampens certain frequencies and allows other frequencies to resonate without dissonant competition of frequencies, and then thickness of wood for resonators.
All the wood I used was leftover from other projects. The walnut and maple are inexpensive. The most expensive material would be the soundboard. Music Makers sells one for $65. I bought plans for $32 and the hardware for $199 from them www.harpkit.com/hurdy-gurdy-plans.html
That’s a lot of craftsmanship to leave on the shelf. Tune it using a tuning meter. To most ears all hurry gurdies sound primitive. How about sitka spruce for the soundboard next time. If it’s anything like a harpsichord then the soundboard material is crucial as is its thickness. In Europe we mostly use picea excelsior.(Norway spruce) quarter sawn. I reckon it would be well worth fettling. Maybe you have done that already.
The book is called "The Ukulele" by Denis Gilbert. My wife bought it for me on Amazon I think. It gives a nice step-by-step process for building a tenor uke from scratch. The ukulele is an ideal project if you're starting out in lutherie. I have also built soprano ukes, using plans I bought from Georgia Luthier Supplies ultimate-guitar-online.ultimate-online-services.com/zencart/. I used the same techniques I learned from Gilbert for building all the ukes as well as the Hurdy-Gurdy. I believe Georgia L. S. has their own instruction manual but I haven't seen it. You can email me at dnadel@dh.org. Good luck!
Violin tuning pegs work just fine, but there is little chance you would figure out how to correctly yourself (I know it looks simple and nothing to it, but there are a couple tricks and if you don't know them you resort to tuning machines) Find a video of professional violinist explaining it. I usually do guitars, but have been considering making one of these for a year or two. Thanks for the video, more information here than I've seen anywhere else on how to make one. I now know I can.
While I agree that parts of it look good, this design is seriously flawed and should not be used as a guide to construction. The most glaring error is that the front wheel bearing is sited in the main chanterelle bridge brace. This is guaranteed to ruin any tone production because the weight of the wheel and axle system is acting as a massive mute on the bridge. Also,vibrations from the chanterelle bridge are being strongly transmitted to the wheel which doesn't help.
I noticed that as well. Because the bridge is directly over a brace the soundboard won't vibrate. I asked Jerry, the guru at MusicMakers (where my plans came from) and he said that this design is intentional, because if the bridge vibrates or moves at all it will greatly affect the contact between the strings and the wheel.
At about 0:40 in the video you can see a template I made from 1/8" hardboard, copied from the paper plans. I used this template to make the steam-bending forms, to locate the sound holes, and to rough out the top and bottom.
Music Makers hurdy gurdy plans as a template… not the best of plans! Why they made their hgs with such large sound holes is beyond me! In my 40 years of playing the hg I have never (NEVER!) seen such large sound holes and never in that position! 😆
Yes, each tangent can be rotated to tune it. I play it so rarely that I don't usually bother. It has been said that you spend 90% of your time tuning the Hurdy-Gurdy, and 10% of your time playing it out of tune
i know i'm a year late, but this is an absolute banger of a reply. i love this.
That sounds like me with violin. My original violin was never out of tune, but getting back into it, I'm not sure how I kept it in tune so well without geared pegs. XD
Hurdy-gurdy guitars are not known for carrying a quality sound, but we are better known for being easy to play, loud, and relatively inexpensive to build. A hurdy-gurdy guitar with a pick up, would probably have a much bolder quality sound. This video was incredible, I appreciate the amount of detail you put into this, and you’re very concise explanation of the materials used. A note to people who are generally ignorant of the subject, would be that using a building plan for an ancient instrument like this, is not going to expect the same quality sound as your brand new electric hollow body Gibson standard Les Paul.
With a few modifications, a hurdy-gurdy guitar could be modernized either by using new materials, or more modern ways of improving sound in acoustic instruments. For instance, an arched top, or metal buttons would improve the sound quality of the instrument immediately.
Don’t let any of these naysayers detract from how incredible of an accomplishment this is. It is a glorious instrument, and a real musician only thinks of one thing. How do I use this sound to make what I’m doing sound better?
Thanks for your kind words. Some of the criticism was helpful, as I did have way too much cotton on the strings. It may interest you that the H-G has a support glued directly under the bridge. I thought one could get a bolder sound by placing the support elsewhere, so the soundboard can vibrate better, but it turns out that the bridge needs this rigid support because if the bridge rises or falls it greatly impacts the contact between string and wheel.
Douglas Nadel It would be hard to improve on a design that’s almost 600 years old
Be careful not to put so much cotton! It can make the sound rough. Try just a pinch.
The open string sounds fine and this looks so skillfully crafted therefore I am completely sure that it's just a matter of experience in gurdy gurdy tuning and maintenance. Good Job👍🏻
Thanks for your kind comments. It does sound a lot better after taking some of the advice below ua-cam.com/video/jAv84t8XVKU/v-deo.html
Awesome job, looks fantastic and sounds authentic to me, well done
Couple of things: You should think about trimming the contact edge of the wheel in something like maple stripping to get better contact with the strings. The plywood edge will cause problems with how the strings vibrate, and thus how they sound. You may have to remove the wheel and take it back to the lathe to remove some material to make room for the maple stripping, but it will be worth it nonetheless. Also, the F-holes that you cut into the sound board are massive and are probably not helping the sound at all. If you look at most gurdys they either have really tiny F-holes, or none at all. Unfortunately, unless you want to disassemble the thing and make an entirely new soundboard, there's not a lot you can do about it. Try temporarily covering the holes, perhaps with some scrap soundboard material, just to hear the difference in sound. Just some thoughts. Great job on your build!!
WOW! I have neither the patience, carpentry skills nor the tenacity to make such an amazing instrument, so Well Done you.
It's like a stringed bagpipe!
Thanks so much for posting this! It's great info for those who are interested in building hurdygurdys
Clever done.....cool video 🎼
Very impressive. Looks like professional quality woodworking.
Beautiful work, just incredible!
Sounds like a bag pipe. Nicely done...
You are one fine craftsman. super nice
Beautiful!👍😎🎸🎶
Actually, re-reading the comment, the bit about the bridge sitting on a brace is fine and the way it should be. The big error is using the same brace to support the front wheel bearing. Maybe I didn't make that clear earlier.
Very nice job on the build!!!
Wow, that must've been a fun project! Wish I had the gear to do stuff like this.
Beautiful work!!! Love the craftsmanship!!!
Thank you! I think I'm going to start building an Ottavino (mini-harpsichord) soon. Will post the build on facebook and eventually a video here.
Wow what a great job you did, Excellent !
You did a great job on this!
Wow, this is amazing. I just started myself dabbling with making my own instruments and I have always loved the sound of the Hurdy gurdy. May have to try ths myself
Did you? I am going to.
a great looking instrument indeed.I bought a kit of the Henry 111 hurdy-gurdy 20 odd years ago from the Early Music Shop.I didn't have a lot of woodworking gear to do it justice so lost heart.20 years later during isolation i got the old kit out of the garage and determoned to get it finished using the rudimentary hand tools i have.I strung it this morning for the first time and got a terrible noise from it...a success!!! if i was daft enough to ever do another one i would do things very differently from the plans and instructions which were pretty hopeless.Hand making tangents was a difficult and lengthy process.I believe my kit is still available form the Renaisance Workshop.
Congrats! Hope you can get it to sound better. The advice, below, about having very little cotton on the strings was helpful.
@@douglasnadel1028 Thank you Douglas i fear i still have a long way to go! i will note the advice and let you know if it improves
As a hobbyist wood worker, I'm besides myself. That's a gorgeous instrument.
Awesome Job!!!
Talent and skill.
Well that is a marvellous home brew instrument. It sounds pretty good to my ear, but I may be a trifle biased. I am building my own 'Symphony' gurdy, I guess I am about a third of the way through so far, I tend to be confused as to where to go to be correct now, but I am getting there, I have a Walnut wheel at the moment, but it can be changed later. I propose using bicycle chain links for the tangents when I get that far. I am currently stuck on string end fixings at the crank end, but I will overcome in the end.... I have no plans for it, just individual items as I make them..... so what mine will sound likes is anybody's guess. Yours inspires me a lot now... thanks for showing it.!!
Good luck! The bicycle chain link tangents sound interesting.
Damn those are some insane skills.
Wooaaa!! Sounds really great!
Maybe these plans can be improved... But the results are really good
The best job,outstanding !
+Col. RAPR Thanks!
There is a printing process called 'Crikit' that will cut out veneer on a printer. It will make your marquetry so much easier.
I must complement the beauty of the piece. Reminds me of a Bag Piper with the Staggers and Jaggs.
Thank you!
well, despite that it dosn't sound like those profi made Hurdy Gurdy, it IS a great work and I personally like the "from Idea over Work to End-Product" process, good work! Just a question, how did You determine where a key for a specific note should be?
That's a good question, I just followed the plans. The tangents can be rotated on each key a little bit to adjust the intonation as necessary (in the video around 6:15). The pitch also changes depending on how hard you press each key. I imagine with experience you get a feel for consistently depressing the keys.
Man, that's cool as hell!
Violin pegs are made to hold the cords im place, there are smaller pegs at the bottom of the violin for tuning,,,, there are 8 pegs total for a violin
Wow, really? Didn't know that. This hardware kit came with only the four large pegs.
@@douglasnadel1028 here is a link to the tuning keys for a violin, look at the last 2 images www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07792Q4VY/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Not always. A lot of violins including high-end ones will have only 4 tuners, maybe one fine tuner on the tailpiece.
@@googleuser3163 im aware, ive been playing for 8 years now,
Edit: also low end ones you can still easily take the fine tuners off
Negative comments? I challenge anyone to give making one a go. Way to go, beautiful instrument!
They're not saying they could do better but the instrument sounds awful, that's just a fact.
Then why the heck are you on this site?
it sounds awful, because theres no gearbox, the wheel should be spinning faster than you can turn, thats what makes a good hurdygurdy sound as good as a violin
@@Ghryst seriously, where did you get that nonsense from?
@@Ghryst wtaf
It's a great video, with good in-depth detail (a great help), but i can't believe you didn't include the well-known buzzing bridge.
I absolutely love the hurdy gurdy. Always wanted to play one. I would build one but I am a metal worker, not a wood worker.
Make one out of metal then.
@@EddSjo Not sure what I was thinking back then but I am definitely not capable of making an instrument from scratch.
I'll stick to tools for now.
You might want to look at some other designs, but its a really good start.
Looks a lot better than it sounds,, outstanding wood working
have you tried using different strings? perhaps horsehair strings or ones for cello?
And have you added rosin to the wheel?
thank you! ...good information, and top interesting
Lovely craftsmanship. I have one question:
Why not just have a cotton band attached and wrapped around the wheel instead of tufts of loose cotton wrapped around the strings? Wouldn't you get the same outcome without the hastle of re-wrapping the strings?
Well, not quite. The wheel should have resin on it, allowing it to catch the cotton. If the cotton were directly on the wheel you wouldn't have that contact. It's similar to having resin on the hair of a violin bow. Plus, I would imagine the cotton would get completely torn up by the strings if you tried to do something like that. All of those little fibers catching on the strings would end up wrapping the string anyway.
Someone send this for Ron Swanson's approval
Fine job ! You are probably used to wood-working and have plenty of wood-machines which helps greatly to do a good "pro" job. I have a small one that I worked on a little. As you did, I replaced the "violin" keys by "guitar" ones. I kept the pass through initial holes with all keys external to the box and the axis internal. On your solution, I feel that the strings are not perpendicular enough to the axes of the last keys and you could meet problems of "escaping strings" or simply moving some mm if you accidentically hook them with something or just "un-pull" the strings for some reason.
At the end, I fell your sound is not what it shoud be and I often have the same. Perhaps simply a question of tuning (still changing at the beginning after hysteresis resorption) or too wide cottons which cause sort of double contact with the strings.
Anyway, congratulation for your skill and courage to launch in such a realisation, rather sophisticated.
I'd be interested in hearing how it sounds with a proper mic set up and such. I'm thinking of building (or at the least buying) a Hurdy Gurdy at some point. Actually pleasantly surprised at the amount of kits available but also dubious as to their quality
Addition: have built a bass kit before which isn't that bad but since it's electric, the build quality effects playability more so than the tone (although it has a slight effect)
I would recommend a kit from music makers, www.harpkit.com. They have a forum on their website devoted to Hurdy Gurdies, and they were very helpful when I had some questions. I do believe that if I spent some time adjusting the instrument I could get it to sound better, just haven't gotten around to it.
I was looking at it yesterday and its a definite possibility. Also forgot to mention that looks-wise your Hurdy Gurdy is beautiful. Very ornate pegbox
VERY impressive! Beautiful! Applause!
Thank you!
My comments are the result of simply studying many good sounding gurdies and restoring several early instruments as well as building over a hundred during 30 plus years I've been building professionally .
I feel it is a shame that inexperienced makers are misled by poorly designed plans and the awful sound resulting must be heartbreaking after all the work that goes into it.
I suggest that Jerry does some research and modifies that plan in accordance with the accepted design.
hi neil, do you know of any high quality plans available for purchase?
Yeah I'd like to know if there are any plans available for higher quality instruments as well
So Neil, with all your experience, give a clue or two? A massive bravo to the maker first for going for it and making a great looking first instrument! But what are the main points you would change? My guess is something about how the keys slide? and perhaps something to make it less 'harsh' although I don't know if it's the 'correct' style of strings being used on this instrument.
@@SamLamingWingsuit A bit late, but here is Neil's ebook that contains all the details on making the Wren, his smallest (but very good) model.
Wow. You sir are talented. Have you ever tried to make a violin?
Thanks. I think a violin would be an order of magnitude harder. I follow this violin maker, Per Ovesen, on facebook. He has a video at ua-cam.com/video/Fe6nnqvVwa8/v-deo.html
Badass!
Good craftsmanship and good sounding instrument !
it looks beautiful, however the keys i feel are off slightly. if there is a way for you to finetune the tangents themselves to get them to the right pitch, i would recommend that.
Much prettier than mine! I've wanted to build a more advanced Hurdy with all the bells & whistles and a more advanced design, but keep getting distracted with other projects. :D
How does yours sound?
I think the sound could be down to the types of strings used. Also, use rosin if you haven't.
It wouldn't make a sound otherwise. The wheel is the bow, and all bows makes not a lick of vibration without rosin to "grip" the strings. Wood is too rough and would eat up the string within the hour if not minutes of playing if not sanded with fine grit.
Either or, the wheel has something applied to it. If the man makes an entire instrument but fails to have read the first few sentences describing what the instrument even is or how it functions... it would be absolutely moronic. Amazing, but moronic.
I'm building an Ottavino (mini-harpsichord) now. Check out my "Building an Ottavino" page on Facebook. I'll post a video here when it's done.
Kool looking Gordy
Why are some of the
Keys inside the box slanted?
Thanks. The tangents are adjustable for the correct intonation of each note
How much would you say all that wood cost? If I may ask. Very nice job on the Gurdy overall!
Everything I used was leftover from other projects, so it didn't cost me
a dime! The walnut and maple are inexpensive. The most expensive
material would be the soundboard. Music Makers sells one for $65
When I think that a custom one would cost around 8000 USD...
"It just drones on and on." LOL... some hurdy gurdy humor! Great job!
hahahahahha
Sooooo beautifully made. But I would use other strings.
Inspired by your video I am making the same Grudy from MusicMakers.
Question; Do you find the shape of the sound hole makes a difference?
Question; I too am using 1/8” walnut for the sides, but plan to use Koa for the top. Do you see an issue with the sound?”
Apparently the sound hole doesn't even matter. Enough air will escape around the wheel to allow for resonance. Someone (I think on this site) criticized my sound holes for being too large. They are really just decorative anyway. Maybe they do look too big, but I was just following the plans. I'm sure Koa would be great as a soundboard since it's used for ukuleles. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks for the input. I agree its what the plans call for with two designs but I have a scroll saw idea of a small dragon which I can scale to fit. I came across 10 or 12 book matched sets of old growth Loa from a friend of mine transferring back from Hawaii. Just hope the are not to hard to reelect sound. Again thanks and I'll Kee up posted. Loved the video by the way.
@@douglasnadel1028 when you cut holes too big, you are making the soundboard unnecessary smaller and unable to resonate. In fact having no sound holes at all would make it it structurally more stable and resonate far better. The wheel hole is enough as a sound hole, or you may in fact make a sidehole in the sides if you feel you need one.
I’m wanting to build one myself. Do you put anything on the wood wheel. Or is it just the wood touching the cotton
Violin rosin is used like what would be used on a bow.
Thank ya man
Sounded decent...great job!..👊😎
Douglas,Did you come up with the jigs yourself or were they part of the plans?
I had to make the jigs myself, using the same techniques I've used to make ukuleles. Making a ukulele is a much easier project; let me know if you're interested and I can recommend a good book
HMMM. Ukuleles? Sent you a message via FB.
Your video definitely makes the project seem a lot less daunting. What kind of strings did you use? Considering it's relation to a violin would you just use violin strings?
These strings were included with the parts kit I bought from Music Makers (along with the axle and a brass blank for the crank, and tuning pegs I didn't use). I think they're catgut, is that possible? Violin strings might work.
@@douglasnadel1028 I must have missed where you mentioned buy a kit. I had assumed you bought all the materials individually and just used plans you had downloaded. After a quick Google, even if they aren't in fact catgut, it is still the most preferred string material so when I get around to trying this project I'll definitely look for some. Ever since discovering this instrument I have wanted one and building one seems much easier than spending the couple grand it'd cost to buy one. If nothing else other than to practice and justify spending 1000's for a more high quality one. Regardless, this was, once again, a great video. Thank you for your response as well.
The plans and hardware came from www.harpkit.com/hurdy-gurdy-plans.html. I'd sell this one for $400 if you're interested. I live near Philadelphia. email me dnadel@dh.org
May I ask what strings you have employed here please....??
I bought them from music makers, www.harpkit.com, along with the plans and hardware
if you head over to this old tony, he pulls some voodoo tool magic and shows you how to cut square holes; if you do it this way you can keep it all as one piece instead of cleaving it to cut it out.
Pretty good for a first time build I guess. :D
what kind of stuff is it around the the string in the contact of the wheel?
Cotton
I really want to make one now. What strings did you use for it?
www.harpkit.com/hurdy-gurdy-strings.html
Consider a kit from Music Makers (harpkit.com), the kit would include strings
it dates back to the 9th century...
Wow... just wow. Beautiful craftsmanship and sounds fine to me.
what was the all in material cost? Assuming you have all of the tools.
Everything I used was leftover from other projects, so it didn't cost me a dime. The walnut and maple are inexpensive. The most expensive material would be the soundboard. Music Makers sells one for $65
The key button notes are quite off. It's there a way to set them on the correct notes?
You can rotate the tangents to adjust the intonation. It also depends on how hard you press the buttons.
Aww, a real hurry hurry man.
I want to build a H.R. Gigger inspired Hurdy Gurdy
I really like to understand what is responsible for the tune. I understand how the string is agitated and the string length responsible for the frequency, but what about the resonator?
Is it dependent on the volume, or even shape?
Honestly, I wonder why guitar, harp and dulcimer sound so very different, when they are all plucked strings strung onto a resonator.
All excellent questions. I think there are probably many factors determining all the overtones a plucked string generates.
Different length strings, different width strings, different tension strings, and different material strings. And that is just strings. For resonators the shape, the density of wood, hard wood, soft wood, and bracing inside the resonator which dampens certain frequencies and allows other frequencies to resonate without dissonant competition of frequencies, and then thickness of wood for resonators.
Wooaahh
Your best bet would be to sell them in kit packs with an instruction video. Get them made up in China. They are great but come with a hefty price tag.
Why did you put a Babylonian demon sigil on the wheel?
How much to build this instrument?
All the wood I used was leftover from other projects. The walnut and maple are inexpensive. The most expensive material would be the soundboard. Music Makers sells one for $65. I bought plans for $32 and the hardware for $199 from them www.harpkit.com/hurdy-gurdy-plans.html
thank you
That’s a lot of craftsmanship to leave on the shelf. Tune it using a tuning meter. To most ears all hurry gurdies sound primitive. How about sitka spruce for the soundboard next time. If it’s anything like a harpsichord then the soundboard material is crucial as is its thickness. In Europe we mostly use picea excelsior.(Norway spruce) quarter sawn. I reckon it would be well worth fettling. Maybe you have done that already.
How much costs the hurdy?
I would sell it for $400. email me if you're interested. dnadel@dh.org
Well done for building one, I do wonder how many of those who are rubbishing it have built one???
do you have it on paper.
i want to make one.
You can get the plans, and parts, from Music Makers www.harpkit.com/hurdy-gurdy-plans.html
Douglas Nadel
thank you very mutch
Douglas, Tried to message you via Facebook, didn't seem to work. I am interested in the book. I also have questions about your hurdy gurdy. thanks
The book is called "The Ukulele" by Denis Gilbert. My wife bought it for me on Amazon I think. It gives a nice step-by-step process for building a tenor uke from scratch. The ukulele is an ideal project if you're starting out in lutherie. I have also built soprano ukes, using plans I bought from Georgia Luthier Supplies ultimate-guitar-online.ultimate-online-services.com/zencart/. I used the same techniques I learned from Gilbert for building all the ukes as well as the Hurdy-Gurdy. I believe Georgia L. S. has their own instruction manual but I haven't seen it. You can email me at dnadel@dh.org. Good luck!
How can something so pretty sound so bad ? Looks like a fun project.
You have experience building Ark models huh?
I will say, the end result looks really nice but it doesn't sound that good. Good job tho
Actually, the sound itself seems to be pretty good. It's just not properly tuned (or really tuned at all).
Actually Michael Caplin is right. The sound is good but the keys are off tune. Changing the orientations of the tangents should solve the issue
It sounds good (The tamber). It is just slightly out of tune is all :) EXCELLENT JOB. I am about to try my hand at this.
The melody was fine and I've heard much worse in period movies with this device well done ✅
A more complicated design is easier to tune then what you have.
Violin tuning pegs work just fine, but there is little chance you would figure out how to correctly yourself (I know it looks simple and nothing to it, but there are a couple tricks and if you don't know them you resort to tuning machines) Find a video of professional violinist explaining it.
I usually do guitars, but have been considering making one of these for a year or two. Thanks for the video, more information here than I've seen anywhere else on how to make one. I now know I can.
While I agree that parts of it look good, this design is seriously flawed and should not be used as a guide to construction.
The most glaring error is that the front wheel bearing is sited in the main chanterelle bridge brace. This is guaranteed to ruin any tone production because the weight of the wheel and axle system is acting as a massive mute on the bridge.
Also,vibrations from the chanterelle bridge are being strongly transmitted to the wheel which doesn't help.
I noticed that as well. Because the bridge is directly over a brace the soundboard won't vibrate. I asked Jerry, the guru at MusicMakers (where my plans came from) and he said that this design is intentional, because if the bridge vibrates or moves at all it will greatly affect the contact between the strings and the wheel.
Would've been nice if you filmed the process instead of taking pictures so I could follow along. Good video, though.
Cool article, with video, about a modern HG player
www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/arts/music/hurdy-gurdy-matthias-loibner-schubert-winterreise.html
Templates?
At about 0:40 in the video you can see a template I made from 1/8" hardboard, copied from the paper plans. I used this template to make the steam-bending forms, to locate the sound holes, and to rough out the top and bottom.
Good job man, but i'd say you should have spent more time on how to make it sound good, than how to make it look good.
??
He said he built one never claimed he was an expert player it's well built and finished read tags before verbal sparring 🇺🇸
Music Makers hurdy gurdy plans as a template… not the best of plans! Why they made their hgs with such large sound holes is beyond me! In my 40 years of playing the hg I have never (NEVER!) seen such large sound holes and never in that position! 😆