Don Rickert Musical Instruments

Episode 2 of the Podcast, Cool Instruments for Hep Cats is Available NOW on Spotify and YouTube!

Episode 2 of 'Cool Instruments for Hep Cats' is available now as a regular audio podcast on Spotify and as a video podcast on YouTube. On Spotify On YouTube In this episode I talk to Dr. Roger Landes about bouzoukis (Greek as well as Irish), octave mandolins and citterns. Episode 2, a continuation of Episode 1, features discussion and demonstrations of several of Roger's very cool instruments. For more information about 'Cool Instruments for Hep Cats', see my earlier article, 'Our New Podcast and YouTube Channel: Cool Instruments for Hep Cats'. Upcoming episodes in the near future deal with such fascinating topics as 5-string and other alternative cellos, violoncello da spalla, octave fiddles and travel violins, with episodes focused on a plethora of other out-of-the-ordinary musical instruments to follow. Cool Instruments for Hep Cats is brought to you by D. Rickert Musical Instruments and Don Rickert Musician Shop. Read more →

Rickert Musical Instruments Is Branching Out with Mandolin Family and Related Instruments.

Email: [email protected] Phone: 706-896-0909 My name is Donald Rickert, I am a musical instrument designer, inventor, craftsman/maker, musician, luthier and Professional Industrial Designer/Design Researcher. I have been a luthier since 1970, transitioning to full-time professional luthier in 2006. See more details about me. About My Company, D. Rickert Musical Instruments My company, D. Rickert Musical Instruments, formally established in 2008, is based in Hiawassee, Georgia, USA. My business partner is luthier, Dr. Randy Hale. Our new joint venture, Rickert & Hale, Luthiers, will focus on mandolin family instruments. Please check out our new website: www.RickertandHale.com. See more details about D. Rickert Musical Instruments Who Plays Instruments Made by D. Rickert Musical Instruments? Since our founding in 2008, our instruments have made it into the hands of more than 250 musicians. A short list of some of the well-known musicians playing our instruments include: Alasdair Fraser, Darol Anger, Natalie Haas, Andrew Gonzalez (violoncello da spalla), William Hurd (violoncello da spalla), Kristen Rule (violoncello da spalla), Albert Chang (aka Sleightlymusical) (violoncello da spalla), Peter Walker (violoncello da spalla), Gary Payne, Aindrias de Staic, David Thames and Mary Anne Thames. See pictures and see/hear videos of some of the instruments made by D. Rickert and played by some of the artists listed above. Our Soon-to-Come “Big Mandolins” and Related Instruments When I say “Big Mandolins” I am referring generally to octave mandolins, mandocellos and what are commonly referred to these days as “Irish bouzoukis”. Roger Landes points out that, in Ireland, these instruments... Read more →

New Violoncello da Spalla in Progress, Big Mandolins, and Other Cool Projects at D. Rickert Musical Instruments

First things first: I have a new Violoncello da Spalla under construction. Here are some photos of the instrument in its current state. Click on any of the photos for a larger view. When it is paired with a lucky future owner, I will finish it. It will take about a month. In the meantime, we have several really exciting projects going on, which I will briefly describe below. Once the new Violoncello da Spalla is spoken for, finishing it will resume its place as a top priority. If you follow me, you already know that the pricing for my violoncellos da spalla, including a discount for payment up front. If you don’t know and you are curious about pricing, specs, etc., visit Don Rickert Musician Shop on the web. If you are currently weighing your options for a new instrument, this is an opportunity to avoiding being stuck in a long backlog. If you want to learn or refresh your memory of the beauty, workmanship and sound of my violoncellos da spalla, visit the following links on our main website for D. Rickert Musical Instruments. Demonstrations and Photo Galleries Demonstrations of Violoncellos da Spalla by Don Rickert Gallery: Violoncellos da Spalla by Don Rickert If you wish to learn more or buy this very cool instrument, our direct phone number in the U.S. is 1-706-896-0909. Our email is [email protected]. You can also learn more or buy now at: NEW Violoncello da Spalla Conservatory Model by D. Rickert or learn... Read more →

The New Mandolin Family Part 2: Octave Mandolins, Citterns and Irish Bouzoukis

This article is Part 2 of 2 and a follow on the article, The New Mandolin Family Part 1: Ancient Mesopotamia to Orville Gibson. We will pick up with other developments staring in the 1960s and culminating in today's New Mandolin Family of instruments. Here I will discuss the large tenor range instruments of the New Mandolin Family. These instruments are often called ‘octave mandolins’, ‘citterns’ and ‘Irish bouzoukis’. There is considerable confusion about whether these monikers are synonyms or whether they refer to clearly distinct tenor mandolin variants. I might be able to clear that up for you. I will also say some more about the modern mandocello, the largest member of the New Mandolin Family, such as the new breed of mandocellos that are hybrids of big mandolins and guitars. The Octave Mandolin, Irish Bouzouki and Cittern As previously stated, I believe the two most important antecedents to the octave mandolin to be the bouzouki and the Renaissance/Baroque cittern. It is uncertain who first coined the moniker “octave mandolin”. As described below, the instruments that we now call “octave mandolins” were until recently mostly called bouzoukis, citterns and even mandolas. Discussion of the origin of modern octave mandolins will hopefully shed some light. The Bouzouki The Greek bouzouki is, like the mandolin, a double-course stringed instrument. Indeed, the mandolin and bouzouki are presumed to be branches of the same lute family tree, the Arabic oud. The original Greek bouzouki, called the trichordo, was a three course/six-string instrument with... Read more →