Robert Mandel Symphonia Hurdy-Gurdy Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
- This is the hurdy-gurdy I have just bought from Robert Mandel in Hungary. I hope you enjoy it - there are a couple of playing clips towards the end but please bear in mind that I am a complete beginner! Also - excuse the rookie error. I tuned my trompette to the same pitch as my melody string rather than an octave higher than my main drone string. Subsequent to the video it broke!! I’ll explain about this in my next video!!
Find out more about Robert and his wonderful instruments here:
www.robertmandel.at
Sergio's TH-cam channel:
/ @sergio.gonzalezprats
Here are some key moments in the video which you can go straight to if you like.
00:00 - Introduction
01:02 - Overview Of The Parts And Specifications
09:12 - Measurements & Weight
10:10 - Fixing The Strap
10:42 - Playing Position
10:55 - Tuning
12:47 - Holding The Crank
13:08 - Playing A Simple Tune!
13:53 - Conclusion
Thanks for watching! - เพลง
Most notably, I hear the passion you have for it. I remember when I got my first gurdy. All I did was eat, sleep, work, and gurdy every day for about 6 months. I think the Hungarians are particularly good craftsmen. Balazs Nagy made my first gurdy (a large tenor model that plays in G and D) and I brought him to the States for concerts and lessons for a couple weeks when he delivered mine. He taught me so much in a few lessons, but really, you can teach yourself. The cottoning took forever to learn well, as did the rosining and tuning. I had trouble finding strings because mine was an unusual scale length. I did damage to my tangents using mandolin and guitar strings for the chanterelles. I had to sand out grooves because the strings would catch in the grooves in the tangents, but that resulted in greater distance between the string and tangent, which ultimately slowed me down. I found a woodworker to make me more. My dog broke when pulling the string off one day, so I cut a limb off my walnut tree and carved a working dog with a hobby knife and files. It works well, but it had a different sound than the original wooden dog. I've spent as much time working on it, as I have done playing it. Wish you luck, though. I love the thing, but I don't play it as often as I would like, mostly out of a sheer sense of preservation, but it is also very loud and disrupts my entire household.
I ordered one of these Mandel Symphonia models and I am expecting it any day now. It will serve as my practice gurdy, as the parts are easier to come by and will be easier to replace. Thomastik strings can be ordered readily online and the wheel and tangents are made of tougher stuff than wood, so presumably they won't wear out as fast. Hopefully, when they do, Mandel will still be around to make me another set! Love the video. Thanks!
Robert Mandel has undoubtedly championed the affordable hurdy gurdy. For basic, well made instruments he’s the best!!
Interesting to note the original “symphony” did not have the chien, the buzzing bridge. That is a concession to modern playing preferences…
Unfortunately, his website is gone. He stole over a thousand dollars from me. I paid for the instrument and it never came. Now his email is gone and his last Facebook post was in June.
Appreciated your vid, I just bought a Mandel Symphonia today :-)
Just planning to buy one from Robert Mandel. Really glad I found this review.
Good choice!
This has been really interesting. I've always been fascinated by the gurdy, and now, as my fiancé and I have joined a medieval show group, I've given serious thought to learning how to play it. However, the price points are really, really hefty.
Period wise a symphonia would be the way to go, and I had a good look at Mandel's instruments. (Bonus points for being from my country as well, which would save on shipping fees.)
Ultimately though, I will go with a nerdy gurdy, because my dad agreed to help me built it, and even if we fail spectacularly, it will be a nice project for the both of us and give me something to always remember him.
However, should we succeed and I actually manage to get to a semi-decent point in playing it, this will be my next one. Thank you so much again for this review :)
Thank you for posting! Mandel's instruments look beautiful and fantastically affordable, but the prices seem almost too good to be true. I really appreciate your review.
Had an inexplicable urge to have a go at the Hurdy Gurdy. I knew absolutely zip about the instrument, other than the amazing sound. So thanks for the the perfect introduction to this weird box of tricks...and the pointer to where to start looking for one. Cheers !
Absolutely fascinating Les! Love your videos. I wish there were two of you for a banjo/Hurdy-Gurdy duet.
Thank you Les, I am thinking of learning the Sinfonia and I am encouraged by you very helpful video.
Glad it was helpful!
Many thanks for posting this. Just paid off the balance on mine which should now be on its way to me! I'm a complete beginner on the HG too. Your post has come at just the right time for me. All the best with it.
Glad it was helpful! Good luck with your gurdy!
Hell yeah! Been looking forward to this video. Lovely simple exterior, I wasn't expecting it to look like this. Great to see the interior workings explained in detail too. Really wholesome tone to it, looks jolly good fun. Best of luck Les!
Thanks Jack!!
Nice one Les, I watched your videos when I started playing the Concertina (I started with the same Rosetti), I also play the Gurdy so it's a funny coincidence to see you've picked one up! Nice playing so far!
Thank you so much! This video has been extremely helpful already.
You're very welcome!
Really enjoyed that look into this fascinating instrument. I had no idea what the instrument was, other than as a reference in the Donovan song, until the late 70's when I got to see Jake Walton play one. Loved hearing them ever since. Look forward to hearing more from you on this intriguing music maker.
Thanks Frank - it's definitely going to be a challenge, that's for sure!!
Thanks Les I really enjoyed that. Not sure the Hurdygurdy is for me, but the explanation of the instrument was very interesting.
Glad you enjoyed it Jack.
i'm so glad you showed us some measurements and explained perfectly. i want to make one, probably modeled after this one and other 3 string. mostly because i have no other option to get one. it won't be good, but i'll get there.
what strings are used normally? guitar strings?
Great video, so is there a Standard Tuning for this instrument? or what's the most employed one?
Not that I know of!
Good for you Les. They are a fascinating instrument. I had a look at his website and there are no prices without emailing him……😎 I remember avidly watching your videos when I was learning to play melodeon and learned a lot from you. Keep up the great work and I look forward to watching you learn and progress. I watched the TH-cam documentary on the Hurdy Gurdy on the Down the Rabbit Hole channel the other night and what a history this beast of an instrument has!
Thank you for your kind comment!
Brilliant! ...still can't afford one tho...
How are you getting on? Have you posted more videos of you playing your symphonia?
Sadly I had to sell it. It proved too noisy for use in my house. Great instrument though!
trying to get my hands on one atm wanted to know if there was any way to play one before i buy my first?
Try contacting Robert Mandel directly to see if he's sold one to someone in your part of the world.
It is a beautiful instrument, simple but well built, with a nice finish, I would say it is not so much in the idea of medieval made, with screws and plastic anyway, may I ask how much it cost ? I could no find any pricing on Mandel's website.
Myself I bought a medieval hurdy gurdy from Mihaly Vrabel in Hungary, that is a nice one too, but the care on details and varnish was not so exact, it is working fine but I had a lot of work to adjust keys and the bridge, as he used a wood not dried enough apparently. Anyway I bought is for 620€ ...It still be very cheap in that domain.
My gurdy was about the same price as yours.
Thanks for the show-and-tell. I really enjoyed learning about instruments that we dont have here in the states.
On another topic, please tell me more about your magnificent snare drum on the top shelf (12:40)
Blessings in Jesus Name from our home in Kentucky to yours...🇺🇲
Glad you enjoyed my video. The drum is actually a tabor which is used in conjunction with a special three-hole pipe that I was teaching myself to play a while back.th-cam.com/video/k5liD3axAu4/w-d-xo.html this is the link to three videos I did. Must get back to it one day! God Bless, Les
How much did it cost
Please contact Robert Mandel in person