Adventurous Muse

The Adventurous Muse (www.AdventurousMuse.com) Unique Musical Instruments

While we are, in fact, associated with several commercial musical instrument ventures, the purpose of this site is informative, containing lots of background information and opinions. Of course, we don't mind if you decide to go to one our stores and buy something.

The Adventurous Muse, owned by Don Rickert Design, is NOT for sissies, but for the adventurous musicians of the world, for whom having the most innovative instruments for pursuing their art is a high priority and who possess and are not afraid to spend the necessary money to obtain them.

Great New Pricing at Adventurous Muse Store

Do yourself a favor and check out incredible savings (thousands of dollars) on our high-end instruments (violins and fiddles) at the Adventurous Muse online store. Also, note that we are willing to deal on items that are not on sale.

This price reduction and willingness to deal is not a sign that we are going out of business, but it is a sign that we feel the need to stimulate sales . In fact, we could REALLY use a few sales today.

Stay tuned for news on the launching of our new brand, "Old Mill", as well as the establishment of Musicians' Sutlery and much more!

Photos of the Mountaineer Backpacker Fiddle by Don Rickert Design

Here is a whimsical and kind of scary picture of our new tiny backpacker fiddle with a huge sound (anticipate a YouTube video soon. Click on the image for a larger view.

This photo shows an optional chin rest installed.Additional photos can be seen at our Picassa photo album site. The fiddle is currently available as a kit (as in the kind you complete yourself) at the Adventurous Muse Store in order to keep the price nice and attractive. There are a number of options available to "trick out" this cool little (but full 4/4 length) fiddle.

Okay, January Is Over!

Nobody ever buys "luxuries" such as musical instruments during January. January is over and it is alright for you to purchase musical instruments now.

We are in the Roswell shop most of this week turning out the first Mountaineer Backpacker Fiddles, finishing some other instruments, sorting out our new banjo and guitar line, meeting with people about getting our instrument-making courses under way, as well as continuing to get the shop in order...and lots of other things.

Being a small company just having undergone a very expensive (money, physical and psychic energy) move, we would most appreciate your business. We have not ended the Robert Burns Birthday sale yet and there are the free offers, so let's get it going so we can "pay the bills" as the expression goes.

We very much look forward to your visit to the Adventurous Muse Store.

D.R.

Authentic Cases for 19th Century Musical Instruments

The type of case usually used for fiddles and guitars of the mid-19th century is often called a "coffin" case, owing to its resemblance to a coffin. Coffin cases were sometimes used for banjos as well. Here are some examples of some actual cases for period guitars and a pretty worn out fiddle case.

   

Shown below is a design diagram for the coffin cases that we will be selling. They will be made from 3/8" pine lined with heavy felt and will be available with either an oiled finish or painted black, per common practice. All joints will be super-strong box joints.

 

The cases will sell for about $325 for a guitar case and $220 for a fiddle case.

We will also be making heavy duty weather resistant fabric cases for guitars, fiddles, banjos and Irish harps.

All cases will be available in the Musicians' Sutlery section of the Adventurous Muse Store.

The Old Mill 1857 Martin Guitar Reproduction

Plans for this historic instrument were taken from an actual Civil War era Martin. This gut-strung Martin replica, far smaller than the Dreadnoughts of today, is what musicians actually played in the mid-19th Century. It is the direct ancestor of the Martin 000 steel-strung guitars of the early 20th Century. I will soon be available, as will its wooden "coffin" case in the Musicians' Sutlery section of the Adventurous Muse Store.

Free Mountaineer Backpacker Fiddle at Adventurous Muse

Of course there is a catch...you've got to purchase $600 or more worth of stuff from the Adventurous Muse Store. It is that simple. Delivery time on the Mountaineer Backpacker fiddle will be about 6 weeks.

How Much Longer for the Robert Burns Birthday Sale?

Robert's birthday was almost a week ago, but we promise to keep it going until Saturday, 3:43am EST...maybe even 7:59am EST.

Just to reiterate; that is 20% off of everything at Adventurous Muse except our new Mountaineer Backpacker Fiddle (it's already priced low enough) and CodaBows. We already sell them at the maximum discount allowed by CodaBow, which is 10%.

Special Offers at Adventurous Muse Store

Special offer #1: Any purchase over $50...get a FREE copy of Cigar Box Fiddles: About Them & How to Make Them. We'll send you the link as soon as your purchase clears.

A number of customers (who paid $30 for the book) have already completed lovely cigar box fiddles using this book as their guide.

This book provides a general introduction to cigar box fiddles, their history, the differences between the solid wood 19th Century style fiddles and “modern” cigar box fiddles made from cheap plywood. The majority of the book deals with the actual making of two different types of cigar box fiddle, as well as a variation, a whiskey bottle box fiddle. 150 pages with over 100 illustrations.

 Link to comprehensive outline and the book cover.

Go to the Adventurous Muse Store to claim your copy...yeah, you've gotta buy something first.

Old Mill Historic Banjos at Adventurous Muse

Don Rickert Design is launching a new line of musical instruments under the Old Mill brand. The name obviously is derived from our new studio and workshop on the grounds of the historic Old Roswell Mill in Roswell, GA.; furthermore, we like the way it rolls of the tongue.

Initial offerings from Old Mill Musical Instruments will be reproductions of historic mid-19th Century through early 20th Century instruments. The mid-19th Century instruments are targeted to Civil War history enthusiasts and Re-enactors, who want want the most authentic instruments available anywhere.

Here is some information about our first four historic Old Mill banjo reproductions, to be available at the  Adventurous Muse online store soon.

19th Century Minstrel Banjo (1840s - 1860s)

This one will be very similar to the instrument depicted in William Sidney Mount's famous painting, The Banjo  Player, shown here.

Features:

• Maple or Walnut Neck
• Boucher-style headstock
• Violin-type tuning pegs
• No truss rod (a 20the Century invention)
• Ebony or rosewood flat fingerboard
• 5 or 6 string configuration (note: the 6-string is NOT a guitar banjo, but rather a banjo with an extra low drone string)
• Fretless or tied "gut" frets
• 11" rim
• Maple dowel stick with nickle-plated bracket, ferrel and end-bolt
• NO tone ring (a 20the Century invention)
• Brass tension ring
• 8 brackets
• Nylogut Minstrel Strings
• Remo FiberSkyn or genuine skin head (add $75)

Transitional Minstrel-Early Old-Time Open-Back Banjo 

The type of banjo was probably available during the 1860s but was more common in the 1870s. The one pictured has metal frets, which would have been an 1880s retrofit.

Features:

• Maple or Walnut Neck
• Square headstock
• Violin-type tuning pegs...5th string peg in modern orientation, as illustrated in the photo
• No truss rod (a 20the Century invention)
• Ebony or rosewood flat fingerboard
• 5 or 6 string configuration (note: the 6-string is NOT a guitar banjo, but rather a banjo with an extra low drone string)
• Fretless, tied or or metal frets (metal frets would have been a retrofit in the 1880s)
• 11" rim
• Maple dowel stick with nickle-plated bracket, ferrel and end-bolt
• NO tone ring (a 20the Century invention)
• Groved tension ring
• 12 brackets
• Nylogut Minstrel Strings
• Remo FiberSkyn or genuine skin head (add $75)

1880s Style Old-Time Open-Back Banjo

Features:

• Maple or Walnut Neck
• "Modern" headstock
• Friction Pegs - non-geared 5th string peg
• No Truss Rod
• Ebony or rosewood fingerboard
• 5 or 6 string configuration (note: the 6-string is NOT a guitar banjo, but rather a banjo with an extra low drone string)
• Metal frets (metal frets were introduced in 1878)
• 11" rim
• Maple dowel stick with nickle-plated bracket, ferrel and end-bolt
• NO tone ring
• Grooved tension ring
• 16 brackets
• Nylogut Minstrel Strings
• Remo FiberSkyn or genuine skin head (add $75)

Late 19th Century/Early 20th Century Old-Time Open Back Banjo

Features

• Maple Neck
• Modern headstock
• Friction-type tuning pegs...non-geared 5th string peg in modern orientation
• Truss Rod
• Ebony or rosewood fingerboard
• 5-String
• Metal frets
• 11" rim
• Maple dowel stick with nickle-plated bracket, ferrel and end-bolt
• Rolled brass tone ring
• Grooved tension ring
• 18 brackets
• Nylogut Minstrel Strings
• Remo FiberSkyn or genuine skin head (add $75)

"Modern" Old-Time Old-Time Open-Back Banjo

Features:

• Maple Neck
• Modern Style headstock
• Planetary tuning pegs...geared 5th string peg in modern orientation
• Dual-Action truss rod
• Ebony or rosewood fingerboard
• 5-String
• Metal frets
• 11" rim
• Single rim rod and neck attachment bolt
• Whyte Ladyie Tone Ring
• Notched tension ring
• 24 brackets
• Metal Strings (buyer's preference)
• Remo FiberSkyn head or buyer's preference

The Irish, the Harp and Civil War

The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death ye will find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" cried the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"

("The Minstrel Boy", known by anyone with even a drop of Irish blood in his or her veins, is an Irish patriotic song written by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) in remembrance of friends killed during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.)

The Harp is mentioned twice in first verse. The instrument has deep symbolic significance of every Irishman. There were Irish-only (not necessarily their own choice!) regiments on both sides of the American Civil War. Images of a Federal (Union) and Confederate battle flags, remarkably similar in design, are shown below. The old Irish Harp figures prominently in both.

The 28th Massachusetts (designated 4th Regiment Irish Brigade) Battle Flag (Federal)

 

10th Tennessee Irish Infantry Brigade (Confederate)

The Musicians' Sutlery section of the Adventurous Muse online store will be carrying a number of small Celtic and Irish harps, ranging from about 2 lbs to 9 or 10 lbs. Some of these are pictured below. They will range in price from around $100 to $700. We will also sell weather-resistant period appropriate carrying bags.

     
   

Harp images Copyright Your World Instruments 2010