Sound Hole Designs

One of the very first sound hole images

A later image of a sound hole in my style

Making unique artistic sound hole images has always been integral to the overall design of my hammered dulcimers.  My first sound hole designs were heavily influenced by Richard Amarnick, a fellow art student who cut original works out of paper.  He would often cut up menus and napkins and leave the results on restaurant tables.  Since my sound holes are circular, I started with circular blanks of paper and cut into them creating hundreds of possible designs but only selecting the best. These designs were glued onto specially prepared curly maple blanks and cut by hand using either a fret or scroll saw.  The unique designs give each instrument its own special character.

Another in my style

Cut and engraved with a laser

Tulipwood maple leaf

An image with an abalone rim

Bowed Psaltery

Over time, customers requested that I help them create unique designs of their own choosing.  What started as a trickle now has become a flood, as a much larger proportion of my hammered dulcimer orders sport custom sound hole designs unique to that customer’s instrument. Some are quite simple, others very complex.  Some are so complex and with engraving that I have had to occasionally rely on laser cutting.  Each has been the result of a collaboration with the customer.  Designs present a myriad of structural and visual challenges involving a lot of give and take.  Except for the more traditional Celtic designs, I never repeat a design.  I have built over 1560 hammered dulcimers and they almost all have unique signatures.  I've even begun to create personalized designs for my bowed psalteries.  I’ve produced a slide show showing just a small percentage of the images set to the music of Steve Schneider and Paul Oorts.  I’ve included some of my early designs and a selection of more recent ones.  If you'd like to see more, you can see them on my sound hole page and in an album on Facebook.  Making an instrument personal has been a wonderful way of connecting with customers and keeping my creative talents honed.

Tsimbl

Although I don't sell a lot of them, I offer another version of the hammered dulcimer, the tsimbl.  This fully chromatic instrument is a close relative to the full sized cimbalom.  The layout is quite different then the traditional fifth interval American version of the hammer dulcimer but seems to suite players who play more Eastern European folk and Jewish Klezmer music. I make a couple of different sizes; a small 13/12 and an 18/17,  One of my most far flung sales was to Ignat Karmalito  who resides in Russia and plays with the group Digital Samara.  You might be interested in checking out their music.  If you'd like to see the instrument I built him as well as a tuning chart, visit my tsimbl page.

Here are some additional links to information about Tsimbls and Cimbaloms

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimbalom.
http://www.tsimbl.com/  
http://www.klezmershack.com/articles/horowitz/horowitz.tsimbl.html

Christmas

I hope you all have had a chance to explore the variety of instruments and accessories I have that would be suitable for gifts this holiday season.  There is nothing like giving a gift that can be used creatively.  One of my most popular instruments is my two octave zither.   At only $58, this affordable, easy to play instrument, is ideal for the children on your list.  Another favorite is my bowed psalteries.  I make two sizes, the two octave soprano at $180, and the two and half octave alto, at $250.  This instrument can be played by novice and accomplished musician alike.  The best place to check out what I still have available is my current stock page. 

I also have a wonderful selection of the finest looking cutting and cheese boards available, which also make very reasonably priced gifts.   They range in price from $10 to $30. 

Please place your order early as I often either run out of instruments or time.

Thanks and I do hope you have a wonderful holiday season.   James