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will_the_actor - Posted - 07/19/2024: 09:52:43
This is kind of a long one;
TLDR: microtonalguitar.org is making me a 7-string fretboard for my Orpheum No. 1
So around four years ago I started looking into bass notes for my instrument - since in NYC, with so much treble, I couldnt hang in the jazz clubs
Long-neck seemed boring and non-ergonomic. Tuning to my voice took me out of concert tuning. Adding strings seemed the way to go. Most of us, I’d wager, know about the English zithers in the 19th century with their 6,7,8,9, and 12 string designs
Since Michael Nix is bringing back the 7 string, I went with that. Happily the gypsy guitar is tuned to open G, so I just got one of those, and put a G4 in the 7th position for the drone
Here’s where it got tricky (btw, I’m two years into this by now). Capoing the string:
Remember I wanted to be in the jazz clubs, which really means changing keys during play. Playing clawhammer just gets clunky when we’re in G# and changing to, oh Idk, D#
On top of this, I really loved fretless. So I needed an easy way to have low notes, change the drone tuning, and want to play fretless or semi fretless
At this point, I am not even sure if this still qualifies as a banjo. Meanwhile, my starter banjo, a cheap little chinese thing, is beyond repair. 8 years of play, two of which are stomping around Brooklyn with no case. You can’t tune it anymore. I need a new instrument
So being the *genius* that I am, I got me a 14 inch orpheum project banjitar. Lol. Now I need a new neck
In the meantime, I start listening to microtonal music and just lose it. All my hopes, dreams, and musical ambition now are hooked on 32-tone octaves. Well, crap.
I contact the boys over at microtonalguitar.org. They will make a seven string fretboard. The necks are incredible. If you havent seen them, check it out! The neck has long grooves running from the heel to the nut, under each string. A module fits in the groove, usually a fretlet, a small miniature fret that modulates the string at any position along the neck. They even have modules that create fretlessness for individual strings. Okay this looks promising.
I ask them about single string capos. Turns out they have a module but it only works for nylons, and therefore is just a prototype for now.
I think we over here at the hangout could take this wild project and run with it. If anyone is excited like I am, I’d love to chat.
And when my 7-string, microtonal Orpheum No. 1 is finished, there will be pictures!!
Pomeroy - Posted - 07/19/2024: 13:44:37
Nice to hear someone interested in other than 4 or 5 strings.
Actually there is hardly any awareness at all in the wider banjo community of the historical contexts in which 6 and 7-string banjos were played. For sake of accuracy 7-string zither banjos were a relative tiny bit part in the epilogue of the 19th century English context you refer to, or, in regard to that timing, more descriptively something that occurred as the end credits were rolling on screen. Whereas before 1889 'conventional' design banjos with 6 and 7-strings were more prevalent than 5-string in England.
Edited by - Pomeroy on 07/19/2024 13:51:36
rmcdow - Posted - 07/20/2024: 12:16:21
That is a really interesting fretboard, that I have actually thought of making myself. The sticker price is a bit to swallow. Here is what I heard back from them for a 5 string banjo. The neck is priced at €1500 with a lead time of 2-8 weeks for orders
will_the_actor - Posted - 07/20/2024: 12:25:36
Yeah… I agree its steep. I swear though, when I hear microtonal music, something about it puts me to sleep in the best way. Like when Frankensteins Monster hears the violin. So if I can participate in a new musical movement, its worth it (to me)
What did you think of the single string capo idea?
rmcdow - Posted - 07/20/2024: 14:26:41
quote:
Originally posted by will_the_actor
Yeah… I agree its steep. I swear though, when I hear microtonal music, something about it puts me to sleep in the best way. Like when Frankensteins Monster hears the violin. So if I can participate in a new musical movement, its worth it (to me)
What did you think of the single string capo idea?
Not sure I am familiar with that idea.
I ran into a qanun once that the host of a party had, and had learned to play. It was unusual for a woman to be taught this instrument, but she had a middle eastern instructor who overlooked the tradition of it being only a male instrument. I spent the entire party tuning and playing it. Each course of three strings had levers/mandels on each course, and by flipping these levers down to shorten the string, 72 divisions could be made of each octave. I absolutely loved the sound it made, as everything could be made into tune if you have an ear for it. It made me think of how to do this on a banjo, and that is what led me into the microtonal fretting idea. The music made when using this ability is much more soothing to me than that of a piano or other fretted instrument that doesn't have the ability to change the tuning of the string on the fly.
'Vega Whyte Laydie' 1 hr
'Good Sunday Morning' 4 hrs
