Messenger Upright Electric Bass

A Bohdran (pronounced "bow ron") or Irish frame drum. It's played with a very loose wrist, either bare knuckled or with a wooden "beater".

Bohdran (Irish frame drum)


Built by our friend John Knutson, Ted's main bass is a Messenger Upright Electric Bass. It has an amazzzzing tone and sustain AND it's less filling (in the back of the truck)! Check out the Messenger Upright Electric Bass pages.

Messenger Bass Sound:

WAV 264k

RealAudio 30k


Anklung

This is a set of and a single bamboo Anklung. This set is tuned in a non-traditional western diatonic scale (do ra me...). The Anklung is indigenous to Bali and Java. On long term loan from Betty Nudleman of the Sonoma County Folk Society

Anklung sound:

WAV 150k


Gorbichan

Steel string, Model OM2 Collings Guitar. Made in Austin, Texas, the OM stands for Orchestra Model. This was a popular size and shape (smaller, thinner, narrower waist than the Dreadnaught style) for guitars between about 1910 to 1940, and is making a big comeback.
It has a very balanced and sweet sound.


The Gorbichan is from India. It consists of a bamboo bowl with a paper drum head stretched across the bottom, a long split piece of bamboo and a string running from the tuning peg at the top to the drum head. It's held and squeezed in the center while the string is being plucked or bowed. Squeezing lowers the pitch.

Collings Guitar

Gorbichan sound:

WAV 98k


Chip's new (old)10 string Electric Cittern. Custom built by Fatdog at Subway Guitars in Berkeley, CA, it's a hybrid instrument constructed from an old ('70's) Dan Electro parts. It has a hollowbody "longhorn" body and a short scale (21") neck with original "Lipstick" pickups. It's tuned GDGDG and sounds cool acoustic or electric. The sound sample below is a combination of "plugging in" and micing the instrument acoustically.

Cittern Sound:

WAV 314k

RA 30k

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