It was inspired by my need for an instrument with some major
sustain, listening to Nico and Proto-Gypsies, and coming across an on-line page
about building a $20 Hurdy Gurdy out of an old acoustic guitar body. I didn’t
want the keys of the trad. hurdy gurdy. But I did want the tactile feel of a
fretless neck along with being able to play droning micro-tones until my arm
falls off.
Using a small gourd for the body/resonator, I made a small hurdy
gurdy mechanism out of mahogany and glued it to the underside the maple top. I
then glued the top to the gourd, shaped it, and attached the crank handle to
the dowel rod.
I carved the “neck” (its flat underneath) and the gourd support
out of mahogany to fit the gourd assembly and glued them together. A second
tier neck of rosewood and maple runs down the center as a fretless fingerboard
for the melody string. The two drone strings run along either side of
fingerboard.
I cut in a pegbox and installed three ebony violin tuners. The
drones fret off of brass nails and the fingerboard has a black Corian nut. The
bridge is an arch of maple a bit larger, yet following the curve of the exposed
wheel. I carefully notched the bridge for each string until they made the
proper contact one the wheel as it turned. The strings are Nylgut banjo strings
and tie off onto brass nails in a rosewood tailpiece.
All the while I was building this instrument, I had no idea it
would even work, let alone how it would sound. I very pleased with the finished
piece, but there are always some things that will get tweaked on the next
thing. I’m still experimenting with various tunings, but am happy with the
overall tone, volume, and how it sounds when recorded
Don’t forget to rosin the wheel!
Any questions or inquiries about the HURDY GOURDY, please
contact me.