New Josh Humphrey five-course multiscaled redwood over walnut

[Markkunkel]

Josh says, Hi Mark- we're really getting close! Here is the body with neck glued on, the back ready to go, and a shot of the back glued and clamped.

Excited,






Excited it is!

MK

[Markkunkel]

and.....



awaiting some koa binding, which found its way on to those ledges:

[Markkunkel]

Yesterday, from Josh…the back, bound, before its first coat of shellac:


and after ("It glows!" Josh says):



and the bound top, awaiting its first finish coats:



Josh says, "This is going to be fun!" I'm thinking it already is…

MK

[Markkunkel]

getting there, closer and closer by the day, it seems:


and a closer view of those lovely Gilbert tuners:


THANKSGIVING!

[Markkunkel]

Well....

from this:



to this:















Josh says, "All I can say is wow! I love this instrument...

Final shaped the bridge and set the action; plays well, and intonation is great.

Pickup went in fine, and she fits in the case snugly.

The sound though- I am in love with the sound. It is so full and resonant, warm and rich. Balanced, active, alive... in a word, wonderful. The sound is totally different than flat-top instruments, and I think I prefer this sound very much!

I can hardly wait. Thanks and thanks and thanks, Josh... sound file to follow on arrival.

Mark

[Denman John]

Hi Mark,

Lovely instrument you have there! How are you liking the Gilbert Tuners? I would love to hear your take on them.

Merry Christmas
John

[Markkunkel]

Hi Mark,

Lovely instrument you have there! How are you liking the Gilbert Tuners? I would love to hear your take on them.

Merry Christmas
John

Hi, John.

Sorry to be a bit tardy in response…I'm on day 19 post knee replacement surgery (not a fun experience) so haven't been able to respond to your inquiry until now. But I have got some nice playing time in (including here in the middle of the night when all others are able to sleep!).

In a word, I am loving EVERYTHING about this new instrument, which made its arrival a couple of weeks ago. The woods are wonderful, the build is both rustic and polished, the playability spot-on, and most of all the tone…Josh seemed to nail this one, and compared with the (half-dozen or so) other citterns I've had the multi scale approach seems to remedy some intonation and other problems. It's a splendid-sounding instrument, rich on the bottom and thick in the middle and detailed without being thin on the top. Very very nice.

I'll try to record and post a sound sample/review when I'm a bit more up to it.

As for the tuners…I was a bit uncertain, having had no experience with them previously, but decided to go with Josh's recommendation and boy, I'm glad that I did. They're nicely engineered (as is I suppose obvious from the picture), but manage in this application to be elegant as well. What I look for in tuners is minimal backlash and smoothness of use, and these get very high marks on both counts. I'll let you know come first string change how all that goes!

Thanks for your interest, and all the best,

Mark

[Michael Wolf]

Mark,
I wish you all the best for your new knee. Doesn´t sound like fun indeed.
I think the design of the new cittern is really fabulous. I like the body line, the slotted headstock is beautiful and the hole color scheme, too. What is also great is the design of the bridge. It doesn´t look so out of place like it does on some other fanned fret instruments, where you have a normal bridge only tilted. I´m really looking forward to sound samples.

[Markkunkel]

Hello, Michael. Always a pleasure to hear from you! Yes, Josh did some creative things with this build. Even given a relative modest string spread (of 1" over 24" or so) on this one, it's hard not to get things looking weird at the nut and the bridge. Josh solved the former problem (involving typically a canting not only of the nut but of the headstock) with a zero fret, which I think works marvelously well, and the latter with the bridge design as you point out. It makes for a coherent and not too radical implementation, I think.

And there are lots of other creative and technically/aesthetically integrative little things going on all over the place with this instrument. It's a good one.

I'll record and pass along some sound samples soon…

all the best,

Mark

[JHumphrey]

Update- the cittern as found its way to Norway. It is being well used and enjoyed:

[vernob]

Wow. Wow. Wow. A great thread. More pictures than usual. Gorgeous ones. Those of us who are nuts for these instruments can just soak it up. Thanks so much. Good luck. Enjoy it.

[Markkunkel]

Yeah, what a wonderful instrument this was/is. I had to sell it due to emerging hand issues that made the stretches problematic, but it has tone and vibe and quality in abundance, and is just plain cool.

And thanks to this worldwide community it made its way to Espen Wensass in Norway and he is making beautiful lively splendid music with it.

Thanks, Josh, and thanks, Espen, and thanks, USPS overseas!

Mark

[billhay4]

This is fine looking work.
Bill