On Saturday, June 11, we will be shooting video of Dr. Rickert of Don Rickert Design installing 18th Century type gut strings (copper wound g string and unwound pure gut d', a' and e' strings) on a short bodied (but 4/4 playable scale) pochette. The principles apply to the installation of gut strings on any fiddle. The demonstration will include essential modification to the tailpiece, proper grooving of the nut and the right way to wind pure gut strings on the tuning pegs.
If you want to learn to do it right so the strings do not slip on the pegs or break in the peg box or at the nut and tailpiece, you MUST watch this video. As far as keeping the old style strings in tune, especially during the summer months...good luck with that! A reasonable goal is to be able to play at least as much time as you spend tuning.
We will post the link when the video is on YouTube.
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin (also known as a backpacker violin or fiddle), designed by Dr Don Rickert, is a violin (or fiddle) designed for backpacking and travel where small size and extreme durability are important. The Adventurer IID is just over 3" wide, but has a full 4/4 string length. Due to its innovative tuned porting and other trade secrets, this instrument has the volume and power of a full-sized violin or fiddle.
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin is very similar in appearance to an historic (18th Century) pochette or "Dancing Master's" kit fiddle. Indeed, it looks very much like our own extremely popular Neil Gow II and Glasgow Pochettes. The Adventurer IId can be thought of as a modern pochette.
As mentioned in previous posts, we put a number of the most popular instruments from Don Rickert Lutherie on Wait List status. Plus, we raised the prices. We got the message that a lot of people were not happy with these changes.
As we explained in our prior posts, we had to raise prices because we were losing money on these instruments, especially when they had to be made on a short schedule.
Well, we have come up with a compromise.
The waiting list has to stay in place, as there is nothing that can be done about the speed of instrument construction, at least not at the present time, but we have established two ways to pay for the instruments.
Payment Options:
Option 1: Pay the discounted price up front. This price is often less than the price BEFORE we raised prices.
Option 2: Pay 50% of the full retail price now and pay the balance when the instrument is ready to ship.
In either case, we will let you know what the estimated wait time will be BEFORE processing your charge. Wait times right now are generally at least 60 days, but can be much longer for some instruments, but less time for several. The estimated current wait times for each instrument are listed for each instrument below.
The Instruments
Wait List Instruments These are instruments for which there is a waiting list. You can purchase up front by paying the listed discount price OR pay a 50% deposit on the full list price...balance due when the instrument is ready.
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin (also known as a backpacker violin or fiddle) is just over 3" wide, but has a full 4/4 string length. Due to our innovative tuned porting and other trade secrets, this instrument has the volume and power of a full-sized violin or fiddle.
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin is very similar in appearance to an historic (18th Century) pochette or "Dancing Master's" kit fiddle. Indeed, it looks very much like our own extremely popular Neil Gow Pochette. It can be thought of a a modern pochette.
We developed this customizable fiddle as an option for our fiddle retro-setup service offerings, for those who want us to make them a new authentic post-Baroque (mid 1700s to early 20th Century). It turns out that this makes an excellent contemporary fiddle as well.
Please note that the price of this instrument is for the varnished instrument (see the link to the full product listing above) prior to stringing and set up. In other words, the price of the completed instrument is higher.
Waiting period is currently 40-60 days. Retail: $1,200.00
The Rickert Flat-Top Mandolin has a mellow, yet still loud and powerful sound sought by Celtic (both Irish and Scottish) players, as well as many Old-Time mandolin players. This is a MUCH more historically-correct instrument for Old-Time music than either an F or an A type mandolin.
This sweet mandolin is our take on the now-defunct, and increasingly collectible, “Flatiron” Mandolin, which has a long and interesting story, as an independent company, as a division of Gibson, and later as a division of Weber Mandolins. Ours has a rosewood fingerboard, mahogany neck, as well as mahogany sides and back. It has a spruce top. Fittings such as tuners and bridge are top grade.
Waiting period is currently 40-60 days. Retail: $800.00
The NEW Glasgow Pochette by Don Rickert Lutherie: Those interested in the more primitive style of pochette, we now make one just for you. It looks a lot like the Neil Gow Pochette, but with smaller sound holes. It is called the Glasgow Pochette. Internally, it has a centered bass bar with no sound post. It comes to you strung with real gut (Pirastro Chorda or the BETTER custom-made gut strings). Everything has been done to achieve the best sound possible; thus, the Glasgow Pochette sounds like an extremely well-made old-style 18th Century pochette.
The Rickert Mountaineer II Backpacker Fiddle is a really skinny (but full 4/4 length) travel fiddle that is extremely durable for the most punishing environments. The Mountaineer II Backpacker Fiddle is an improved version of the Mountaineer Backpacker Fiddle. The Mountaineer is designed to accommodate specially-designed chin rest and a new INTEGRATED Rickert Shoulder Rest Adaptor by Don Rickert Lutherie. Your own favorite shoulder rest clips to the new Rickert Shoulder Rest Adaptor
The instrument is just 2" wide and is standard 4/4 length (body just under 14" and total length about 23").
This instrument has now been on journeys in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Middle East, North Africa and the African sub-continent.
Waiting period is currently 45-80 days. Retail: $1,500.00
Our extremely popular Neil Gow Pochette, an interpretation of an 18th Century pochette (pocket fiddle or kit) on display in the Burrell Museum in Glasgow, Scotland. The 18th Century Neil Gow Pochette, in addition to being charming and beautiful, sounds wonderful. In fact, it has been chosen to be part of Pochette and Kit exhibit at Ringve - the Norwegian National Museum of Musical Instrument.
Typical of the many comments we recieve on the Neil Gow pochette's sound is the one below, which was posted on YouTube.
Wow - that sounds great ! To my understanding, this size/style of instrument usually doesn't have much of a bass response - but this one does. Some luthier magic there (and a good player too)!
The main shortcoming of our original Neil Gow Pochette is that it is made to be played in the style of the late Baroque period, tucked in the arm pit and resting on the arm. Unless the player is an early music enthusiast, he or she usually wants the benefits of a shoulder rest and a chin rest. In fact, many Neil Gow owners have come up with ingenius methods to attach a shoulder rest and chin rest. Well, with the introduction of the Neil Gow 21C Travel Violin, work-arounds are a thing of the past.
The new Neil Gow 21C2, which it looks like the historic reproduction instrument, is different in many ways. A key improvement of the Neil Gow 21C2 has an integral Rickert Shoulder Rest Adpator, to which your own shoulder rest attaches, and and improved chin rest. There are also other important differences that make it sound even better than its predecessor, such as a tweaked bass bar and a Western Red Cedar top, known for its deep powerful timbre. Finally, the new Neil Gow 21C2 comes with the incredible Wittner Fine-Tune (internal planetary-geared) tuning pegs.
Waiting period is currently 60-90 days. Retail: $1,650.00
Our extremely popular Neil Gow Pochette has been chosen to be part of Pochette and Kit (another name for a pochette) exhibit at Ringve - the Norwegian National Museum of Musical Instrument. Read about it at AdventurousMuse.com.
WANT TO PLAY A FIDDLE LIKE THE ONE THAT NEIL GOW (one of the founding fathers of Scottish fiddling) played. THOMAS JEFFERSON often played a fiddle of this type as well (yup, the President was a fiddler as well).
The Octave Violin Darci Jones Model (aka the "Type II" Model) was designed by Dr. Don Rickert, IDSA of Don Rickert Research & Design in collaboration with Fiddarci Lutherie in Birmingham, AL, who also builds the instruments, is a William Sidney Mount "Cradle of Harmony" inspired instrument, but with Chanot-type "slit" soundholes, with many modifications based on recent research in bowed string instrument acoustics. See The William Sidney Mount Historic 1852 “Cradle of Harmony” Violin.
The W.S. Mount Octave Violin, designed by Dr. Don Rickert, IDSA of Don Rickert Research & Design in collaboration with Fiddarci Lutherie in Birmingham, is our William Sidney Mount "Cradle of Harmony" inspired instrument, with many modifications based on recent research in bowed string instrument acoustics. See The William Sidney Mount Historic 1852 “Cradle of Harmony” Violin.
Like the Darci Jones Model, this is a purpose-built (not a re-strung violin or viola) octave instrument with unbelievable projection and a nice deep timbre (unlike some other instruments, which are loud but 'thin')...this instrument has a sound distinct from a 'cello but projects like a fine 'cello!
Waiting period is currently 45-60 days. Retail: $3,200.00
Payment Options:
$2,800.00 (You Save: $400.00)
$1,600.00 now + $1,600.00 when shipped ($3,200.00)
In a post yesterday we surprised many with the annoucement that pochettes, backpacker and travel violins and fiddles, as well as most octave violins and fiddles have become Wait List Items. Also, the prices have gone up dramatically on many of these items. The octave violins will stay at their current pricing for the time being.
There will be a number of other changes at the Adventurous Muse Store ove the coming days, so check back often.
We just got some great news. We will be very busy VERY soon. This means that if you want us to make you an instrument, now is the time to order. This is NOT a trick or a joke!
Spring is almost here and NOW is the time to think about acquiring one of the finest backpacker-travel violins by Don Rickert Lutherie. Plus, there is a pretty good chance that you need a REALLY GOOD carbon fiber bow...we'll talk abou that as well.
Currently, Don Rickert Lutherie makes three models of modern backpacker-travel fiddles:
Adventurer IId Travel Violin
Mountaineer II Backpacker Fiddle
Neil Gow 21C2 Travel Violin
Now, all three models are fit with:
Wittner Fine-Tune Planetary Pegs
A Wittner polycarbonate tailpiece
Helicore Medium strings
The legendary Extreme Pochette Case by Don Rickert Design
Don Rickert Lutherie's newest chin rest, designed NOT to slip off!
Don Rickert Lutherie's newest shoulder rest adaptor system, which is illustrated in the photos of an Adventurer IID below. You simply attach your favorite shoulder rest.
The fittings, case and strings alone on the introctory prices on these newest generation of backpacker/travel violins from Don Rickert Lutherie have a value of over about $600!
You Probably Need a State-of-the-Art Carbon Fiber Bow, but Could not Handle the Price: Problem solved!
Furthermore, we have bent over backwards to put a high-performance braided carbon bow in your hands at a price you can afford.
The special outfits that say "...with $400 Bow" include a state-of-the-art braided carbon fiber bow by a famous bow manufacturer. We cannot list the maker's name owing to minimum advertised price restrictions...we already sell bows from this manufacturer at the lowest advertised price allowed (10% off of list). You can figure it out, though, by browsing through Bows and Strings section of the Adventurous Muse Store.
Here is the savings breakdown on the bow that comes with the fiddle+bow outfits, as well as the upgrade bow options:
"Standard" Bow: $250 discount off list; $205 discount off of our sell price
"Better" Bow: $327 discount off list; $268 discount off of our sell price
"Best Bow: $427 discount off list; $348.50 discount off of our sell price
Call us free of charge to discuss the bow details using the Google Voice "widget" below:
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin is the replacement for the now retired Adventurer IIc. Introductory price under $1,600!
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin (also known as a backpacker violin or fiddle) is just over 3" wide, but has a full 4/4 string length. Due to our innovative tuned porting (improved version of the Adventurer IIc porting) and other trade secrets, this instrument has the volume and power of a full-sized violin or fiddle. The Adventurer IIc sounded great, but the IId sounds even better, to the point of being astounding.
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin is very similar in appearance to an historic (18th Century) pochette or "Dancing Master's" kit fiddle. Indeed, it looks very much like our own extremely popular Neil Gow Pochette. It can be thought of a a modern pochette.
This instrument was designed by Dr. Don Rickert.
This extraordinary travel / backpacker fiddle (or violin if you prefer) is fit with Wittner Fine-Tune™ internal planetary geared tuning pegs and has a reclaimed old Sitka Spruce top (soundboard) and is shipped in an Extreme Pochette Case. It is also fit with the new Rickert Shoulder Rest Adaptor, which is integrated into the instrument. The Adventurer IId also comes with a bridge brace (see the last photo) to keep the bridge from falling, especially when removing the instrument from its tubular case.
Dr. Rickert used every known technique and implemented some of his own theories for coaxing power and depth from an instrument that is just over 3 inches wide, including floating plate (a.k.a. free plate) design, "wrap-around" soundboard, tuned porting (see those tell-tale holes where the neck meets the body in some of the photos?) and the latest in bass bar research for starters. The bass bar is a Don Rickert design inspired by published designs of other contemporary luthiers such as Joseph Curtain (i.e. NOT a patent infringement of the Zaret Patent Bassbar).
The Rickert Mountaineer II Backpacker Fiddle is the replacement for the now retired Mountaineer Backpacker Fiddle. Introductory price under $1,300!
The Rickert Mountaineer II Backpacker Fiddle is a really skinny (but full 4/4 length) travel fiddle that is extremely durable for the most punishing environments. The Mountaineer II Backpacker Fiddle is an improved version of the Mountaineer Backpacker Fiddle. The Mountaineers is designed to accommodate specially-designed chin rest and a new INTEGRATED Rickert Shoulder Rest Adaptor by Don Rickert Design Lutherie. Your own favorite shoulder rest clips to the new Rickert Shoulder Rest Adaptor The instrument is just 2" wide and is standard 4/4 length (body just under 14" and total length about 23"). The instrument is fit with Wittner internally-geared planetary pegs (i.e. Wittner Fine-Tune pegs)
This instrument has now been on journeys in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Middle East, North Africa and the African sub-continent.The Mountaineer II is just 2" wide and is standard 4/4 length (body just under 14" and total length about 23"). It is intended to be played with a full-size bow; however, there is nothing to stop one from using a short bow...it just won't sound as good and the player will develop bad bowing habits. Furthermore, the best new carbon fiber bows are only available in 4/4 size.
Does the Rickert Mountaineer Backpacker Fiddle sound as good as the Adventurer IId or Neil Gow 21C2 Pochette?: While the Mountaineer sounds amazingly good for a such a small instrument, no travel violin in the world compares to the sound of an Adventurer IId or a Neil Gow 21C2 Pochette, both of which have full-length bass bars and sound posts.
The Mountaineer utilizes an innovative internal bracing to perform the functions of the bass bar and the sound post. The advantage is that the Mountaineer II can withstand shock and extreme temperatures without the risk of the bassbar becoming unglued or the sound post falling out of place.
Our extremely popular Neil Gow Pochette, an interpretation of an 18th Century pochette (pocket fiddle or kit) on display in the Burrell Museum in Glasgow, Scotland. The 18th Century Neil Gow Pochette, in addition to being charming and beautiful, sounds wonderful. In fact, it has been chosen to be part of Pochette and Kit exhibit at Ringve - the Norwegian National Museum of Musical Instrument.
Typical of the many comments we recieve on the Neil Gow pochette's sound is the one below, which was posted on YouTube.
Wow - that sounds great ! To my understanding, this size/style of instrument usually doesn't have much of a bass response - but this one does. Some luthier magic there (and a good player too)!
The main shortcoming of our original Neil Gow Pochette is that it is made to be played in the style of the late Baroque period, tucked in the arm pit and resting on the arm. Unless the player is an early music enthusiast, he or she usually wants the benefits of a shoulder rest and a chin rest. In fact, many Neil Gow owners have come up with ingenius methods to attach a shoulder rest and chin rest. Well, with the introduction of the Neil Gow 21C Travel Violin, work-arounds are a thing of the past.
The new Neil Gow 21C2, which it looks like the historic reproduction instrument, is different in many ways. A key improvement of the Neil Gow 21C2 has an integral Rickert Shoulder Rest Adpator, to which your own shoulder rest attaches, and and improved chin rest. There are also other important differences that make it sound even better than its predecessor, such as a tweaked bass bar and a Western Red Cedar top, known for its deep powerful timbre. Finally, the new Neil Gow 21C2 comes with the incredible Wittner Fine-Tune (internal planetary-geared) tuning pegs
Of course, these benefits can only be derived if your fiddle is structurally sound, it is well set-up and you use a high-performance bow. If any of these requirements are not met, especially the good bow requirement, you are wasting your money on good strings.
So why would anyone want to use a 400+ year old type of string on a modern fiddle?
The answer is simple. If you are serious about a genre of music from a byegone era going back to about the middle of the 18th Century, you should use the type of string that players used then and have your fiddle set up in the authentic manner of the period. The post-Baroque violin (i.e. the modern violin) is about 250 years old. If you want to play music any older than the 1930s the way it was really played, gut strings are part of the deal. To find out the details of what else is involved besides the gut strings, an article will be published within the next few days. For those who just can't wait, here is a summary:
New tuning pegs drilled for gut strings and reaming the peg holes for perfect, smooth tuning without use of fine tuners
New bridge (generally higher)
Remove the fine tuners from the tail piece
Remove the chin rest
Adjust nut for the wider diamter gut strings
Install correct gut strings for the period being replicated
Sound post adjustment
You have to learn to play using the correct "hold" for the period you are re-enacting. In all cases, this will involve NO chin rest and NO shoulder rest
Types of Gut Strings and Their Period Authenticity
But beware, not all gut strings are right for the job and stringing a fiddle with gut is a lot more involved than just winding on any old gut strings. Read on.
Most of the real gut string sets available today are modern (as in mid 20th Century), with metal windings on the a, d and g strings and a steel e-string. The e-string may be itself wound, typically with aluminum, or plain with either a silver or gold coating (called "goldstahl"). These modern gut strings are intended for orchetral playing and are no more historically correct for old genres than good synthetic core strings
Some of the modern gut string sets, such as the Pirastro Passione strings have polymer woven in with the gut and are extremely stable (i.e. they stay in tune well). Other popular modern gut strings are Pirastro Euxoxa and Pirastro Oliv strings, both of which are a bit more like traditional gut strings, but they are still modern wound strings with metal e-strings for classical violinists.
Those who do care about historical authenticity to have their fiddles properly set up with gut strings are often disappointed with results. Probably the most commonly available pure gut string sets, which has a wound g-string (appropriate from about 1790 onwards) is the Pirastro Chorda set.
The most common complaints are great difficulty keeping thier instruments in tune and frequent string breakage. Incorrect instrument setup an poor fitting tuning pegs are contributing factors, but the Chorda strings just do not seem up to the task for fiddling.
The Best Gut String Available
After extensive research we have concluded that the best string available for fiddle retro-fits are those made by the world-renowned Damian Dlugolecki. It is Dlugolecki strings, which are highly resistant to breakage and are quite stable (once broken in) that we now prefer for our Neil Gow II and Glasgow Pochettes, as well as retro fiddle setup for the following:
A very good friend of mine, Rabbi Kevin Hale, put this question to me. It is a very good question. To repeat, the question is "Should a Novice Violinist or Fiddler Learn on a Pochette or Backpacker Fiddle?"
There is, indeed, some precedent for one learning to play the violin on a pochette (pocket fiddle). For instance, unsubstantiated historical lore tells us that one of the greatest Scottish fiddlers ever (and co-inventor as the Scots Strathspey as distinct musical form), Neil Gow, learned to play on a pochette.
It is our opinion that a beginner should learn to play on a standard violin or fiddle. Pochettes, travel and backpacker violins and electric violins, while they may be ergonomically idential to a regular violin, respond to the bow in subtle but different ways than a standard violin. An electric violin requires a much lighter touch on the bowing and small instruments such as pochettes and backpacker violins vibrate in ways differently enough from a regular violin that an experienced player must learn to adjust his or her bowing accordingly.
A good example of the subtlety of bowing differences is switching back and forth between violin and viola. This is easy for an experienced player but extremely difficult for a beginner.
Bottom line: One should have at least 1000 hours of playing time on a regular violin before adding pochette or backpacker fiddle to his or her instrument armory.
Originally, a custom design for a Neil Gow 21C2 customer in England, this NEW shoulder rest adaptor allows the player to attach an "old school" shoulder rest, such as the popular foam-and-rubber band favored by traditional fiddlers, to the Neil Gow Pochette II, Neil Gow Pochette 21C2 or the Adventurer IID Travel Violin.
While the photos do not show it clearly, this shoulder rest adaptor folds so that it fits into any of our pochette or backpacker fiddle cases.
*********************
Except for the Neil Gow Pochette II, which is specifically designed to be an authentic 18th Century instrument, Don Rickert Lutherie has made an integrated shoulder rest adpator part of the design of our new generation of pochettes and backpacker violins and fiddles. These adpators allow the player to use his or her own modern shoulder rest with these very skinny instruments.
Some players, however, while they do use a shoulder rest, they favor what we call "old school" methods, such as a piece of foam attached to the instrument with a large rubber band. The new Old School Shoulder Rest Adaptor for Backpacker Fiddles, available at the Adventurous Muse Store, makes this possible. The adpator also allows the use of the Play-on-Air inflatable shoulder rests, popular with many violinists as well as traditional fiddlers.
NOTE: This adaptor can generally only be purchased with a new instrument for a mere extra $99. The Neil Pochette II can be easily retrofitted ($250, including the adaptor) and some older models of the Neil Gow Pochette 21C, 21C2 or Adventurer IIC/D Travel Violin can be retrofitted (price depends on your instrument...contact us to discuss)
We at Don Rickert Lutherie (Don Rickert Design) are now using our Facebook page (donald.rickert1) to post photos of instruments...they get lost in all of the posts we make and Facebook keeps them in one place. Tried Google Picassa for the purpose and it got less than two thumbs up.
We are in the process of putting ALL of our worthwhile photos and drawings on Facebook. The first is a series on the new Adventurer IID Travel Violin, mostly having to do with assembling the instrument as it comes out of the case.
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin is the replacement for the now retired Adventurer IIc. Introductory price under $1,600!
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin (also known as a backpacker violin or fiddle) is just over 3" wide, but has a full 4/4 string length. Due to our innovative tuned porting (improved version of the Adventurer IIc porting) and other trade secrets, this instrument has the volume and power of a full-sized violin or fiddle. The Adventurer IIc sounded great, but the IId sounds even better, to the point of being astounding.
The Adventurer IId Travel Violin is very similar in appearance to an historic (18th Century) pochette or "Dancing Master's" kit fiddle. Indeed, it looks very much like our own extremely popular Neil Gow Pochette. It can be thought of a a modern pochette.
This instrument was designed by Dr. Don Rickert.
This extraordinary travel / backpacker fiddle (or violin if you prefer) is fit with Wittner Fine-Tune™ internal planetary geared tuning pegs and can be ordered with either a Western Red Cedar or reclaimed old Sitka Spruce top (soundboard) and is shipped in an Extreme Pochette Case. It is also fit with the new Rickert Shoulder Rest Adaptor, which is integrated into the instrument. The Adventurer IId also comes with a bridge brace to keep the bridge from falling, especially when removing the instrument from its tubular case.
Dr. Rickert used every known technique and implemented some of his own theories for coaxing power and depth from an instrument that is just over 3 inches wide, including floating plate (a.k.a. free plate) design, "wrap-around" soundboard, tuned porting (see those tell-tale holes where the neck meets the body in some of the photos?) and the latest in bass bar research for starters. The bass bar is a Don Rickert design inspired by published designs of other contemporary luthiers such as Joseph Curtain (i.e. NOT a patent infringement of the Zaret Patent Bassbar).
MP3s to Play or Download from this site We have given up on hosting our music files on Facebook and iLike, which seem to be perpetually broken, so we are moving files to this page.
NOTE: We still post MP3s to MySpace; however, there seems to be no way for you to download them.
