Reimagining musical instrument design
I have spent many years of deep experimentation on an intuitive investigation of alternative ways to propagate sound energy. The design process of developing these instruments has hinged around the pursuit of efficiencies.
I have come to the conclusion that I can have the greatest flexibility with design and sonic response if there is a separate structure that manages all of the forces exerted on an instrument. Allowing the soundboards maximum movement has greatly enriched the tonality and sustain of sound energy introduced to the instrument.
This has massive implications for the shapes, styles and range of instruments it's now possible for me to create.
I have added multiple playing faces into once humble percussion instruments, turning them into melodic instruments.
Freeing the backs of my resonator guitars from acting as structure, has broadened the response and tonal range of those instruments.
Designing adaptive instruments from scratch with a chassis means that I can purpose-build highly responsive playing faces that fit with the ergonomics of players with specific capacities.
A way in
In my teens and early adult years, I pursued a career in music. I stepped away from that goal but the need to play music remains constant, as does my need to explore any instrument I can get time with.
I was exposed to traditional instrument making in my mid-teens and even though it had a deeply profound effect on me I could never find a way in. It felt too prescriptive.
In my mid-thirties I built an Electric Lap Steel which is a perfect first instrument because of its simplicity. I decided to make it pretty, so if it failed sonically it would look good on the wall. I did a great deal of investigation, so although it has its flaws it plays well and has a lovely deep voice and rich tone.
Hand Drums & Percussion
A few years on I borrowed a Cajon drum for a gig. It was cheap and nasty but gave me an insight into what a great instrument a Cajon is to play, and that was a single-faced empty box. On returning it, I immediately missed having it. I decided to make my own, which evolved into a deep investigation of percussion instrument design and construction. Luckily I found a stunning piece of high-grade plywood at a local cabinet maker’s which was fundamental to making a really sweet-sounding instrument. I recognised the correlation between high-grade materials and good tone. My first Cajon was a quantum leap from the instrument I borrowed and it was just the beginning.
Since then I have been reimagining the design of the Cajon from an empty box with a single playing face into a multi-faced, tuned percussion instrument with an integrated chassis. Shifting the structure from the exterior of the instrument into a consolidated X chassis opened the floodgates of possibilities! It proved pivotal as I could make each side a super responsive, tuned playing face. That enhanced tonal response and volume of the whole instrument.
I am currently prototyping lightweight, ergonomic multi-voiced Bongos, Lap Cajon’s and Shakers.
7 faced Bongo prototype
From little things…
In 2013, master luthier Bryan De Gruchy offered me one of his Dobro’s at a crazy price but I had a young family and couldn’t justify the expense. I was left wanting a Dobro. The only way I was going to get one was to make it. I came up with multiple designs and intuitively I knew it needed to be a departure from traditional methods. I spent a few months working up design iterations trying to decide how this instrument might eventuate.
A friend made a rudimentary but very cool sounding two-stringed bowed instrument out of an old can and a garden stake. I found the idea deeply inspiring. I was gifted a beautiful old oil can and built a Cantar with a neck made from three layers of nineteen-millimetre plywood. The instrument is nothing special to play but the resolve to stack plywood for the headstock/neck was a revelation as I discovered I could build any form in three dimensions with sheet material.
Resonator Lap-Steels
My ethos was strong from the start to find new ways to approach materials, design and the playing experience. I could make structure from narrow pieces stacked for the sides and use the bulk of the material for lateral strength in the neck. Immediately I started building a Dobro shell from nineteen-millimetre ply.
This Dobro has a 50/50 weight distribution and weighs only four kilograms (two kilos lighter than my brass bodied tri-cone). It has a ply sound-well and no back bracing. It’s a lovely tactile object, with a wide neck and a smooth, angled junction where it meets the leg of the player; it’s easy to pick up and hold. The back is mahogany which was the only real concession to tradition aside from the hardware. It’s not a guitar that has been modified to be a lap steel, it’s an instrument designed to be played on your lap, and it feels like it.
Though this instrument isn’t a De Gruchy, it does have a lovely, even voice and projects as a resonator should. I have played it a lot which I guess is ultimately what makes an instrument successful.
This construction method has now been superseded by a skinned skeletal frame which is incredibly strong, stable and less than half the weight. The layered design was invaluable as it led to the dismantlable prototype. This generated a huge progression in my ability to develop ideas.
