Don Rickert Musical Instruments

What Makes the Difference Between Pretty Good and Great Acoustic Stringed Instruments? (Revised 6-2023)

This article is an update to a similar article published about a year earlier. If you really care to see the original article, see: What Makes the Difference Between Pretty Good and Great Acoustic Stringed Instruments? If you wish to discuss anything covered in this article, see Don Rickert on Linktree: https://linktr.ee/donrickert. This link gets you to ALL of my detailed contact information, my websites and social media. Introduction Before I start, what are the criteria for judging the sound quality of musical instruments? I hope that the reader can agree that this is largely subjective, and often, culturally relative. For example, take the case of the octave mandolin and an "Irish" bouzouki (to differentiate it from a "Greek" bouzouki). Protests by enthusiasts notwithstanding, they are variants of the same instrument and can certainly be tuned in the same way. But an Irish bouzouki player might describe an octave mandolin as a bouzouki that is too "bassy" and/or "sounds too much like a guitar". On the other hand an octave mandolin enthusiast might describe a bouzouki as a thin and tinny-sounding version of a good octave mandolin, as well as having a scale length that is too long. The point here is that the attribution of "good" or "bad" with respect to the sound of large lower-pitched mandolin-like instruments is very subjective and arbitrary, and based on expectations set by many decades of recordings by influential artists. There exist many other comparisons between the sound of superficially similar instruments, such... Read more →

What is Tap Tuning and Why Does it Matter?

Tap-tuning is an art (grounded in science) that is shrouded in mystery. While some luthiers tap-tune only by ear, computer-assisted tap tuning allows the luthier to actually see a computer-generated frequency spectrum graph when muting a specific spot on the plate (e.g., top or back). Computer-assisted tap tuning has only been possible for a few decades. Until very recently, it was too expensive for most luthiers, as the software required used to cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. Finding the correct spot to mute, the right place to tap and the right place to record the tap tone is way beyond our scope here. If there is any interest in an article about the details of tap-tuning, leave a comment or contact me. Don Rickert on Linktree: https://linktr.ee/donrickert. This link gets you to ALL of my detailed contact information, my websites and social media. There are known “ideal” fundamentals (i.e., note perceived by the human listener) for most general types and sizes of instruments. For instance, a commonly recommended fundamental for an unattached violin top with the bass bar installed is F4. That is F above middle C (i.e. C4). The fundamental, which shows as a peak on a frequency spectrum graph, among other things, is a proxy measure for flexibility/strength of the plate. The thinner the plate the lower the pitch of the fundamental, and more importantly, its propensity amplify string vibrations, especially the lower frequencies. Tap-tuning is an iterative cycle of tapping-recording-analyzing-thinning the plate. With this real-time information,... Read more →

Donald Rickert is In the March/April 2023 Issue of Strings Magazine

I (Don Rickert) am in the March/April issue of Strings Magazine! I am honored to have been one of several experts interviewed for the article, A Pocket Full of Sound, by Karen Peterson in the March/April 2023 issue of Strings Magazine (No. 311, March/April 2023). I wish I could share the entire article here, but I am pretty sure that that would be a copyright violation. That being said, I feel pretty good about how my comments about the 18th Century pochette were incorporated into the article. Hats off to the author Karen Peterson for an excellent piece. Unless you are a Strings Magazine subscriber, or chose to spend $10 to download the March/April 2023 issue, you won’t be able to see it, at least now here. I can, however, summarize the key points: The pochette was a tiny violin-like bowed instrument that was usually tuned to a higher pitch than a regular violin. Note: Many pochettes, especially later ones, while still having a very small body, had disproportionately long necks, which made possible the same vibrating string length of a full-size violin, and thus, enabling them to be tuned to regular violin pitch. The tuning pitch of the Baroque period was a bit lower than modern pitch. The pochette dates back to the 1500s, when, in its primitive form, was often played by street musicians. During the reign of Louis XIV (the Sun King) beginning in the late 17th Century, the pochette came into its own among the aristocratic... Read more →

Celebrating 10 Years of Gangnam Style - Way to Go, Psy!

Originally known in Korea, not as a K-pop artist, but as a controversial and satirical hip-hop artist, Psy (slang for “psycho” – real name, Park Jae-sang) achieved international fame in 2012 with the music video to his humorous pop song “Gangnam Style”. Psy is considered to be the first K-pop artist to make a breakthrough in the Western music industry. He now runs a record company and management agency for up-and-coming K-pop artists. His office is located in the Gangnam neighborhood of Seul, where it all started. If you are unfamiliar with Psy, "Gangnam Style", or even K-pop, you might need to come out of your cave for some air. Anyway, congratulations Psy for producing the first video EVER to have more than one billion views on YouTube! Read more →

Do You Really Need a Violoncello da Spalla?

You might find it strange that I am asking this question. After all, I am a luthier who makes violoncellos da spalla. Should I not just be happy when someone wants me to make one for them? Donald Rickert, Ph.D., IDSA Email: [email protected] Phone: (706) 896-0909 (main); (706) 400-1481 (mobile) Caveats Before you read this, you need to know the following: I am not playing “devil’s advocate” here. I am quite serious in asking the question. I am not a violoncello da spalla “hater” or even a violoncello da spalla skeptic. I do not care whether or not J.S. Bach actually had a hand in the invention of the violoncello da spalla or whether the instrument was actually a thing in the 18th Century. I do think that is cool, however, that Bach might have been involved. Likewise, I do not care whether the violoncello da spalla is a “21st Century aberration”. Whether it is or not is simply irrelevant, although I think that it is rather rude to call it such. Regardless of its actual use in the 1700s, the violoncello da spalla has a real place in the contemporary performance of Baroque Period repertoire. I build instruments for a living and one of my favorite instruments to make is the violoncello da spalla. My violoncellos da spalla are played by some of the preeminent players of the instrument. Just remember what I just said as you read what follows. I am a violoncello da spalla devotee! My Discovery... Read more →

The Mezzo Violin: One Way to Achieve Deeper Timbre with Outstanding Projection

Many players of violins, especially fiddlers, spend much effort dreaming about and seeking instruments that, while tuned the same (for a fiddler, this is often something different than the standard G3 D4 A4 E5) but with a less shrill, indeed darker, timbre, with excellent sonority. As Darol Anger colorfully put it, many fiddlers… "…tire of all those high screechy sounds up next to our face all the time! As in many marriages, an instrument's most salient qualities often metamorphose into those qualities most irritating to the player. The violin's ultra-soprano range can be a source of joy or nerve-shattering neurosis, and has inspired many players to seek the warmer-toned viola as a solace." --Darol Anger, Strings Magzine,1992 The Mezzo Violin The Mezzo Violin has been around since the 1960s. It is the closest thing to a standard violin in the “New Violin Family” (previously called the “Violin Octet”), the brainchild of the luthier and researcher Carleen Hutchins. See also: Violin Octet (Wikipedia) The above image shows a complete Violin Octet. The Mezzo Violin is the larger of the three smaller instruments in the foreground. The Mezzo Violin has a body typically about the size of a 15 ½” viola, but with a disproportionately shorter neck, which affords a playable string length the same as a regular violin (i.e., that would be about 13”). Parodically, while having a larger front and back profile, Mezzo Violins, at least later examples, actually have narrower ribs than a conventional violin. My understanding is the... Read more →

The Truth About the Current State of the Custom Musical Instrument Business

Introduction The image is not a new musical instrument but a faucet. If you continue you will understand I make my living making very good custom musical instruments, including: Violoncellos da Spalla Octave Violins Travel Violins Octave Mandolins Citterns Mandocellos I would very much like to sell you one. If you are reading this, you can easily figure out how to contact me (706-896-0909; [email protected]). Now, I’ll cut to the chase – Very few people are buying custom musical instruments these days. It is even worse than the worldwide financial crisis of 2007-2008. Well, maybe not worse, but just as bad. Very few makers of custom hand-built musical instruments will admit publicly that the current state of affairs is really dire, which is a polite way of saying that it sucks! Why? — because it is generally not a good marketing strategy to say out loud that business is challenging and things like you might lose your home to foreclosure and the like. The “Market” could not care less. Well, the truth is the truth! For me, the time of daunting backlog queues is a thing of the past. Since Q3 2021 it has been quite the opposite. You do not see economists on National News programs talking about any of this, as small businesses that make bespoke goods are, quite simply, a tiny segment of the overall economy. Since you will not be hearing from economists on the current dire situation for custom luthiers, I will tell you what... Read more →

Back in the Saddle Again! (And the Economics of Attention)

First, thank you for your valuable attention. This will make sense if I can hold on to your attention for a few more minutes. In the words of Aerosmith: I'm back I'm back in the saddle again I'm back I'm back in the saddle again Man, nobody can screech our lyrics like the great Steven Tyler! Gene Autry expressed the same sentiment in his song of the same title, written in 1939 and recorded numerous times by him and widely covered. If you have to ask, it means doing something that you stopped doing for a period of time. I stopped building instruments for a while. Here is why. After the passing of my Partner and Soulmate Alycen in August of 2021, I took a long hiatus from seeking new instrument build commissions. During a period of several months after her death I caught up on a distressing backlog of instrument builds, all of them violoncellos da spalla and a custom leather case for a violoncello da spalla. I also pretty much ignored doing frequent updates to my blogs and other social media, and boy, am I paying for that now! I have been posting lots of articles the past few weeks. I have regained “first page” status on Google searches for anything remotely related to “Violoncello da Spalla.” We have a long way to go with getting the word out on my octave violins, travel violins and such. And the market for mandolins is so large, that it could... Read more →

Violoncello da Spalla in Old-Time Music: A Match Made in Heaven

If you don’t know what a violoncello da spalla is, click here for a description. The short explanation is that it is a very small 5-string cello that is suspended by a shoulder strap and played across the chest more or less under the chin, as shown in the image of our friend Peter Walker in full Scottish Highland dress. The violoncello da spalla has no well-established connection to 18th Century Scotland; however cello was definitely widely used in Highland fiddling as basso continuo to the fiddle. The dominant figure in Scottish Baroque fiddling, Niel (aka "Neil") Gow (1727 – 1807), was usually accompanied by his brother Donald on cello. Anyway, the violoncello da spalla is an early to mid 18th Century (i.e., Baroque) instrument that is enjoying a resurgence of popularity, particularly among experienced viola and violin players who are Baroque period enthusiasts. Why violists and not cellists? (Actually, many cellists have taken up the instrument; however, most of my highly accomplished violoncello da spalla clients are violists). Because of its playing position, one bows from the treble side like a viola or violin, which is backwards to a cellist. Cello has been used in Old-time music for a long time. The first time I saw a cello in an Old-Time string band was at the U.S. National Folk Festival, which was at that time held in Northern Virginia at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, in 1976. And the cellist was playing a 1/2 size... Read more →

International Strange Music Day 2022

Do you have a taste for the bizarre when it comes to music? Well, I sure do! Well, today is our day, International Strange Music Day (August 24, 2022). Here is a snippet from the website, www.daysoftheyear.com. “For those who have a tendency to lean toward the unique and bizarre, this is one day that will feed that strange musical soul! International Strange Music Day pulls out all the stops when it comes to going beyond the normal and opening up to a world with new horizons. When it comes to the ‘strange’ part, this can mean either unfamiliar or bizarre – or both! The choice is entirely personal and up to the individual. In either case, International Strange Music Day is meant to expand the ear toward new sounds.” There are a number of genres that people who are into these things have associated with International Strange Music Day. Click here to learn more those genres. These genres are not necessarily meant to be funny; however, “Chap Hop” (as in "Good to see you, Old Chap") is laugh-out-loud funny. Think of hip hop performed by stereotypical oh so English Eaton (e.g., the cricket and regatta set) types, complete with straw boater hats and striped jackets and rapping in Queen’s English about stereotypical aristocratic English things. So, what about things like fart music? But of course! I will leave you with the following. Happy Strange Music Day 2022! Read more →