Photos and Sounds

Instrument Update - February 2009

The instruments in the archive are primitive and will sound so compared to the more fully developed instruments in the current update. I also strictly confined poor Dave Minter who played and recorded the archived instruments just to demonstrate the sound of each instrument slowly and no music please. He did just what I asked when he should have hit me.

I have now settled on a few building techniques which I now know will work well and last a long time and with which there is no problem with six strings and more.

Do it yourself instructions for building palm frond instruments are being written and will be available on this web site some time this year.

The instruments in the update are played and recorded by Danny Jackson, a guitarist in the lower Hunter Valley area. You will hear the first thing played by Danny with each instrument in his hands for the first time and asked to play musically. There is no post recording touch up.

The instruments in this update are all fretted pluckers under reasonably high tension and built for the sake of proving it can be done well with palm fronds. The next update will be fretless pluckers and bowing instruments only and at lower tensions because there is more tonal warmth and coolth down without your frets on.

Instrument 1.

This instrument is one of two built as a charity raffle prize at the Newcastle Blues Festival. It is decorated with an image of Robert Johnson. It is tuned dgbe and has doubled strings on the b and e.

Click here to hear this instrument.

Instrument 2.

This instrument is six stringed nylon guitar tuned and built for the birthday of a decent bloke who has been a bit sick. Medicine wheel motif. I hope he feels better.

Click here to hear this instrument.

Instrument 3.

This instrument is the six metal strings which would remain it you took away the standard six guitar strings from a twelve stringed guitar. It also has the name "Nashville high tuning". It has only one octave between the top and bottom string and the high note on the open strings is the g.

Click here to hear this instrument.

Instrument 4.

I suppose this instrument could be called an Aussie tenor guitar in the alternative tuning gdaee. It had lots of strings on and off before two nickel wound electric guitar strings for the bass side became unbeatable for me.

Click here to hear this instrument.

Instrument 5.

This instrument is the full deal from a builders point of view, a six metal string full scale guitar and it sounds like one too. There are no sound holes yet and maybe never because it makes plenty of noise and I like the contained sound.

Click here to hear this instrument.

Instrument 6.

Thanks to Richard in Puerto Rico - this instrument is tiple penca. A tiple usually has five strings tuned eadgc but this has six with a doubled c to balance the bridge. The scale length is 39cms. I hope you like this one Richard.

Click here to hear this instrument.

Instrument 7.

This instrument has a different body structure to the other instruments in this update. It is open at the end like a hollow log. It was intended to sound like a classical nylon guitar and it did from first putting the strings on. Unfortunately palm fronds to build this type of instrument are harder to find.

Click here to hear this instrument.