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| What are you into with your fiddle, Pasher? Orchestra? Chamber? Rock band? Vigilante Hurdy-Gurdy Killer? |
Cajun, Zydeco & Swamp Rock - Elvis Fontenot & the Sugar Bees
Also play a bit of folky stuff at sessions etc.
Cajun, Zydeco & Swamp Rock - Elvis Fontenot & the Sugar Bees
Also play a bit of folky stuff at sessions etc.
I’ll check that out at home- I have no player here. Thanks!
| Quote (TomS @ Nov. 02 2006,08:56) |
Incredible sound, Sloom. I really, really really want you to make a sound font of it. 
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Soundfonts and instruments that have drones always makes for interesting soundfont creation.
Do you 1st record the drone with nothing else and then try and mute it while doing the other notes ?
You also have mechanical sounds that I suppose you would want in there.
Makes for an interesting exercise...
Talking of interesting exercises - Tom, didn't you have a tuning job that you were busy with ? I suppose now with the imminent move everything else is on hold in your life ?
W.
| Quote (Wihan Stemmet @ Nov. 03 2006,03:13) | ||
Soundfonts and instruments that have drones always makes for interesting soundfont creation. Do you 1st record the drone with nothing else and then try and mute it while doing the other notes ? You also have mechanical sounds that I suppose you would want in there. Makes for an interesting exercise... Talking of interesting exercises - Tom, didn't you have a tuning job that you were busy with ? I suppose now with the imminent move everything else is on hold in your life ? W. |
On the 10-footer there are three cranks/wheels, one of which is dedicated just to the melody string. So getting each note in the scale to disk is easy- next, each drone wheel can get recorded in whatever ways bring out a distinct character, including different tunings.
One of the drones on this particular Gurdy has an articulated bridge feature that responds to a rhythmic turning of its wheel against the string. This sampled in several time signature figures would be important.
In the clips I posted there are the sounds of the wooden 'stops' being played to produce the melody. That's definitely a feature of the Hurdy-Gurdy- no getting away from the clacks and clicks, so they have to be some part of the sound to be genuine. If we record just durations of notes, none of these sounds will exist in the samples. We may have to record a battery of mechanical sounds as well, for end-user 'mixing' into the composition!
Crazy. Thanks for bringing that up, Wihan! Make that much exercise!
Tom, you tune pianos?
I have tuned a piano three times, and now will be doing it a fourth, and I must say anyone who chooses to do this for a profession has serious issues.
You keep coming back to it as well ?
You are definitely not a donkey - word is a donkey only knocks its own head once …
10 feet? Wowser. What sort of design is this? Every renaissance and baroque Hurdy Gurdy I have seen was little more than a box the size of maybe a standard guitar.
| Quote (Bubbagump @ Nov. 05 2006,08:28) |
| 10 feet? Wowser. What sort of design is this? Every renaissance and baroque Hurdy Gurdy I have seen was little more than a box the size of maybe a standard guitar. |
Right- in fact Steve played the small one last night at a poetry reading. Great sound, and it's a very together instrument for something as oddball as a hurdy-gurdy.
The Euronimous Bach Gurdy (10-footer) is a unique one, I don't think you'll find another. I really dig the huger sound of it too. As much as it sounds like a group of upright basses, it just doesn't sound like a group of upright basses. Or cellos...
I think I posted a link above to see a so-so picture of it. It's in the link for Steve Jobe's web-sit, fish around in there and you'll see it.
Donavon…hippies…LSD…when does the partying start? WOOHOO!!!
Hurdy Gurdy
Hurdy Gurdy
Hurdy Gurdy Man
FYI: That’s Jimmy Page on guitar (on the Donavon song).
That’s some insrument…very cool!
| Quote (phoo @ Nov. 05 2006,13:17) |
| FYI: That's Jimmy Page on guitar (on the Donavon song). That's some insrument....very cool! |
I did not know that. I have to go have a listen now! Thanks for the obscure factoid... yep, the thing's a dang novelty allright. A real ice-breaker for dull gatherings.
It is the coolest new instrument to my world in years.
Donovan rocks.
I thought that Jimmy Page played on that track too, but two different articles in wikipedia say this. 
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| His next single was released in May 1968, the swirling psychedelic “The Hurdy Gurdy Man”. In the liner notes from EMI’s reissues it is revealed that the song was originally intended for Donovan’s old friend and guitar mentor Mac MacLeod, who had a heavy rock band called Hurdy Gurdy. After hearing MacLeod’s power trio version, Donovan considered giving it to Jimi Hendrix, but when Mickie Most heard it, he convinced Donovan that the song was a sure fire single that he should record. Donovan tried to get Hendrix to play on the recording, but was on tour and unavailable. Jimmy Page was also considered to play on the track but he was out of the country touring with The Yardbirds. They then brought in a brilliant young British guitarist, Alan Parker. It is possible Jimmy Page did play on other tracking sessions for the Hurdy Gurdy Man LP, although not on the title track. |
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Donovan has stated in an interview with Little Steven Van Zandt that he had originally desired Jimi Hendrix to play on “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” but as he was unavailable, he got Jimmy Page to play. Jimmy Page has often been credited as playing electric guitar on the track but Alan Parker has been named by Page, Jones and Cattini. |
and according to songfacts.com
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| There is a lot of bad information about what musicians played on this. John Paul Jones, who became a member of Led Zeppelin, was the musical director, and many people thought Jimmy Page and John Bonham played on this as well. According to Clem Cattini, who really did play on this, here is the lineup: Donovan - Acoustic Guitar John Paul Jones - Arrangement, Musical Director and Bass Guitar Alan Parker - Lead (electric) Guitar Clem Cattini - Drums. The session was produced by Mickie Most and engineered by Eddie Kramer. Says Cattini, "John Paul Jones told me this was recorded 2 years before he met John Bonham and he only ever used me on his sessions. In fact, we worked together in Lulu’s band for 2 years. Also at the time I did a lot of work for Mickie Most who was the producer. |
So I don’t know really. Donovan says that Jimmy Page played, but everybody else says he didn’t.
Too much herbal tobacco in the studio perhaps?
I’d trust everyone else to set the record straight. Heck I thought Skunk Baxter played lead on Reeling in the Years until recently when I found out it was Elliot Randall.
http://www.superseventies.com/sw_reelingintheyears.html
It’s good to get the real info straight eventually.
Sloom: Listened to your HG last night. I always did like the sound …yeah, “otherworldly” is a good description. I also priced some out – generally around $1500…so, how bout a soundfont?
cliff
| Quote (g8torcliff @ Nov. 08 2006,07:43) |
| Sloom: Listened to your HG last night. I always did like the sound ....yeah, "otherworldly" is a good description. I also priced some out -- generally around $1500....so, how bout a soundfont? cliff
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It's a good bit of a project, but the plan is layed out as far as what to record. There are three gurdys, each with its own specs, sounds, etc. But yep, it's in the works!
I think the one here was around 15 G, actually. At least, that's what went into it. Unreal, right?
Glad it's getting around, this sound. I do think it's a fun hype to put out and do something with.
Sloom,
Before you start any work on creating a Hurdy Gurdy soundfont, you may want to check this out:
HurdyGurdy VST
I haven’t downloaded it to see if it is good or not, but thought you may want to avoid replicating what has already been done.
Incidently, this was my first google search so the sound may not be that unique. Makes me wonder: In this day of a huge internet making the world smaller and smaller, are there any ideas that haven’t been thought of…
cliff
Thanks for the heads-up. I downloaded it, and will have a look tonight.
I don’t think this marginalizes our idea yet though, but I’ll look more too. The recording/editing thing we’re talking about here is pretty ambitious, and we have a nice selection of instruments to deal with. I also have access to some major hurdy-gurdy (I got tired of capitalizing this word!) players/builders. And we’re talking about a large library of samples, as opposed to a VST plug-in.
But I’ll keep my eyes open- we’re obviously not the first to mull this over. Good looking out Cliff- thanks!