A friend's tagelharpa has strings that are bundles of thin nylon fibers, not wound or anything. I think it gives it a more complex "muddy" sound that suits it better as a droning instrument. I think the cello strings sound a bit too clear and bright, it actually sounds a lot like a cello, but that makes it a lot harder to play nicely. You've done a fantastic job making a really beautiful instrument, makes me want to make one :)
your videos have really helped me to make my own tagleharpe it's done and the rosin ships today the sound is much much deeper than yours but thank you to helping me!!
I am going to start one soon. Was wondering if the sound quality would change depending on material? I was going to make mine out of pine to keep cost low. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
This is a topic that can go way down the rabbit hole. There are arguments for and against just about every wood available. My opinion is that each wood will give each instrument a subtle, but different character. Some might be good, some might be bad. But that's also in the ear of the beholder. I say go for it with what you've got. You'll have a very unique instrument you made yourself. If it sounds good to you, that's all that matters. In the future, you can try a different species and compare if you want. Good luck!
Please help me! Sadly, the string leg (bridge) is cracked along its lenght on my own tagelharpa. ☹️ Can you help me where I can order spare parts (new bridge)? I don't know anyone who can make them. ☹️
I honestly don't know where to get parts for this instrument. The only off the shelf parts I bought were the fine tuners and the bow. If you have a woodcraft or other woodworking supply, I bet you could ask one of the workers there if they know someone who would make one for you. Let them know you'll pay and they might even do it themselves?
the reason your talharpa sounds "less than ideal" is not per se your skill nor the talharpa itself, you should use a different bow, a curved one so you can actually tighten the strings on the bow with the fingers of the hand you are holding the bow with.
I tried to make a bow for it, one I could get some curve in for that reason. It did not go well... Someday I'll have to take a second shot at it and see what happens!
@@mattmakes6065 U can add a couple or 1(front or back) woodpiece with a hair slot to the existing bow to get some distance too.I did add a woodpiece to a already curved branch(i always use branches) bow i had,so i dont need to use the finger to tighten or slack the horsehair on the bow when playing. Also if your bridge is curved,u dont want a straight bow with tight hairs,it makes it hard to play on all 4 strings at the same time. Still if the bridge is flat,u still want a bow with some distance from the hair to the wood on the bow. Personally i prefer a slight curved string bridge and bows with a minimum of 4-5 cm distance between the hair and the wood. Otherwise it sounds good and your craftmanship is awesome!. I have used viola strings myself,but i recently changed one of my taglharpas to fishing line to get a "thicker" and less volume to it,because with steel strings the sound gets metallic and loud because i have quite big soundholes in it.
@@mattmakes6065 When adding the woodpieces it will be like a viola bow. There are plenty of taglharpa videos around,with different shapes,sizes and tones,different curves and preferences to the bow. Its mostly individually,especially when drawing and making the instrument yourself.
Accident and inexperience! I was building this more as a display piece, not something I play frequently. It plays, but it could use improvements. I went radius bridge basing the idea off a violin or similar. I didn't consider that you play multiple strings simultaneously on this instrument.
I am looking at building my own tagelharpa and had a few questions. First, how did you decide where to put the bridge in relation to the sound hole/tail piece/etc? Second, how did you secure the bridge (if at all)?
The initial strings I tried to make were nylon wrapped, wire core strings. They kinda worked, but were a huge pain. I ended up buying cheap eBay 1/4 cello strings. They worked much better.
Some of the tubing pegs were too loose to hold tension. So I added some super glue to the shafts and cured it with activator. That increased the diameter of the shaft enough to hold tension. I had to sand a little to give it the right fit, but it worked well. I didn't glue the pegs into the holes.
Dude!!!! You made this instrument just to put it under torture??? That´s just NASTY bro, we followed it since it was just wood... Not cool bro.... Jokes aside, I´m making one myself so I can torture it too! :)
A friend's tagelharpa has strings that are bundles of thin nylon fibers, not wound or anything. I think it gives it a more complex "muddy" sound that suits it better as a droning instrument. I think the cello strings sound a bit too clear and bright, it actually sounds a lot like a cello, but that makes it a lot harder to play nicely. You've done a fantastic job making a really beautiful instrument, makes me want to make one :)
Thanks! Good luck with yours if you make one!
That's a beautiful build and an ere sound. The possibilities of different sounds along with different instruments would be a blast.
It only has the potential to sound better. I am no player by any stretch of the imagination!
your videos have really helped me to make my own tagleharpe it's done and the rosin ships today the sound is much much deeper than yours but thank you to helping me!!
Glad I could help in some way!! I hope you can play it better than that mess I showed at the end!!
I am going to start one soon. Was wondering if the sound quality would change depending on material? I was going to make mine out of pine to keep cost low. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
This is a topic that can go way down the rabbit hole. There are arguments for and against just about every wood available. My opinion is that each wood will give each instrument a subtle, but different character. Some might be good, some might be bad. But that's also in the ear of the beholder. I say go for it with what you've got. You'll have a very unique instrument you made yourself. If it sounds good to you, that's all that matters. In the future, you can try a different species and compare if you want. Good luck!
@@mattmakes6065 will do thank you for the reply. If all goes well with the 1st I will make more and compare.
I'd love to hear sound comparisons!
Nice work man!!
Appreciate it!
great instructions.
Thanks!
Please help me! Sadly, the string leg (bridge) is cracked along its lenght on my own tagelharpa. ☹️ Can you help me where I can order spare parts (new bridge)? I don't know anyone who can make them. ☹️
I honestly don't know where to get parts for this instrument. The only off the shelf parts I bought were the fine tuners and the bow. If you have a woodcraft or other woodworking supply, I bet you could ask one of the workers there if they know someone who would make one for you. Let them know you'll pay and they might even do it themselves?
What exact strings did you end up going with?
the reason your talharpa sounds "less than ideal" is not per se your skill nor the talharpa itself, you should use a different bow, a curved one so you can actually tighten the strings on the bow with the fingers of the hand you are holding the bow with.
I tried to make a bow for it, one I could get some curve in for that reason. It did not go well... Someday I'll have to take a second shot at it and see what happens!
@@mattmakes6065 U can add a couple or 1(front or back) woodpiece with a hair slot to the existing bow to get some distance too.I did add a woodpiece to a already curved branch(i always use branches) bow i had,so i dont need to use the finger to tighten or slack the horsehair on the bow when playing. Also if your bridge is curved,u dont want a straight bow with tight hairs,it makes it hard to play on all 4 strings at the same time. Still if the bridge is flat,u still want a bow with some distance from the hair to the wood on the bow. Personally i prefer a slight curved string bridge and bows with a minimum of 4-5 cm distance between the hair and the wood. Otherwise it sounds good and your craftmanship is awesome!. I have used viola strings myself,but i recently changed one of my taglharpas to fishing line to get a "thicker" and less volume to it,because with steel strings the sound gets metallic and loud because i have quite big soundholes in it.
That was the most helpful comment I've gotten so far! Thanks for the tips!!
@@mattmakes6065 When adding the woodpieces it will be like a viola bow. There are plenty of taglharpa videos around,with different shapes,sizes and tones,different curves and preferences to the bow. Its mostly individually,especially when drawing and making the instrument yourself.
May i ask why you spaced the 2 middle strings more than compared to the others? I think the bridge is suposed to be flat at the top, not radiussed
Accident and inexperience! I was building this more as a display piece, not something I play frequently. It plays, but it could use improvements. I went radius bridge basing the idea off a violin or similar. I didn't consider that you play multiple strings simultaneously on this instrument.
@MattMakes , Matrix Modulator has right, every strings should play together, but whole works and look its really nice!
Thank you!
I am looking at building my own tagelharpa and had a few questions. First, how did you decide where to put the bridge in relation to the sound hole/tail piece/etc? Second, how did you secure the bridge (if at all)?
Bridge location was fairly arbitrary. Since there aren't any frets, it doesn't really matter. And it's basically floating, just held in by tension.
@@mattmakes6065 thank you so much! Great video and great tagelharpa!
Thank you!
Great build. I enjoyed the commentary through the videos.
Thank you!
Bet your neighbor is pissed you took part of the fence. Lol
It'll take him at least a week to notice...
did you make wire strings or hair strings
The initial strings I tried to make were nylon wrapped, wire core strings. They kinda worked, but were a huge pain. I ended up buying cheap eBay 1/4 cello strings. They worked much better.
7:38 you did what now
Some of the tubing pegs were too loose to hold tension. So I added some super glue to the shafts and cured it with activator. That increased the diameter of the shaft enough to hold tension. I had to sand a little to give it the right fit, but it worked well. I didn't glue the pegs into the holes.
@@mattmakes6065 It almost sounded like you had superglued the pegs into the holes themselves aha
Ha! Yeah, no. That would be a problem! Sorry for not making that more clear!
Dude!!!! You made this instrument just to put it under torture??? That´s just NASTY bro, we followed it since it was just wood... Not cool bro.... Jokes aside, I´m making one myself so I can torture it too! :)
Nice look, but very very ugly sound, plz use horsehair strings
У меня кровь из ушей пошла от такого звучания
Not hard when u have all the tools try making it entierly by hands thats impressive
Have you tried that?
Awful.... and really bad craftsmanship....