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Sp: Viola de rueda, Zanfoña, Cinfonía; Fr: Vielle à roue, Vielle organisée; Ge: Drehleier, Radleier, Weiberleier; It: Ghironda, Rotata, Stampella; Euzk: Brenka The hurdy gurdy is played by turning a rosined wheel which touches the strings causing them to vibrate whilst the different notes are produced by depressing keys which stop the strings at different positions. Most hurdy gurdies have multiple "drone strings" which provide a constant pitch accompaniment to the melody, resulting in a sound similar to that of bagpipes. For this reason, the hurdy gurdy is often used interchangeably with or along with bagpipes, particularly in French and contemporary Hungarian folk music. [more about the Hurdy-Gurdy]
RWC Hurdy-Gurdy This rustic style of instrument has a trapezoid shaped body with the minimum of decoration and was one of the most common forms of hurdy gurdy in the 16th Century. The ribs are straight in the body and curved with turned stays from the shoulder to the pegbox. The Renaissance Workshop Company 'Henry III' hurdy gurdy is made from figured English sycamore and Swiss pine (for the soundboard). It has a laminated wheel (for stability) fitted on a steel shaft running in two brass bushes. The handle is made of cast brass and the pegs of rosewood. The RWC hurdy gurdy has 6 strings comprising two melodic chanterelles in g', a gross bourdon in G, a petit bourdon in c, a mouche in g and a trompette in d', and is fully chromatic over a range of one and a half octaves. Included as standard are two spare melody strings and a tuning peg 'dolly'. Each instrument is entirely hand built to special order in our own workshops in Toledo (Spain) by experienced craftsmen and comes with 12 months warranty. A simple hard case is available as an optional extra if required.
Hurdy-Gurdy Kit The price includes the license to build one instrument for private use. To ensure success, even for the first time builder, the tangent box sides are supplied pre-slotted to ensure perfect scaling of the instrument. Traditional materials are used throughout, English sycamore for the back, selected Swiss pine for the soundboard and beech for the action parts. We supply a laminated birch wheel for stability, brass bearings, a steel shaft, strings, rosewood pegs, cast brass handle, glue and clamps etc. In fact nothing is left out of this comprehensive and extremely popular kit that can become in a superb instrument in about 50 hours. A fully dimensioned plan and detailed instruction manual take the builder through the construction of the instrument in a clear and concise manner, with 'step by step' photographs further illustrating each stage. All the kits Include free access to our customer 'Helpline' should you need any advice on construction, setting-up or playing.
Hurdy-Gurdy Plan A fully dimensioned plan and a set of photographs illustrates each stage. The price includes the license to build one instrument for private use.
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