A 39-string acoustic Harp-Sympitar with MIDI capability

Started by Elantric-fgn, September 04, 2009, 05:06:05 PM

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Elantric-fgn

http://www.beyondthetrees.com/NDtext.html


The New Dream has 4 distinct banks or sets of strings:

    * 1)The six main strings are on a 24-fret neck; the heel-less neck joins the body at the 24th fret on the treble/cutaway side.
    * 2)The six sub-bass strings run over a bass-side body extension which features a full chromatic octave of frets beneath each string. A system of individual-string capos has been developed to enable each sub-bass string to be capoed independently of the other strings on each of it's first five frets. This allows for relatively quick and extensive sub-bass tuning changes without having to alter the tension on the strings/instrument. It also allows the potential for the sub-bass strings to be fretted by reaching over the main fingerboard, creating new musical possibilities.
    * 3)The fifteen super-treble harp strings run parallel to the main strings, on the treble side of the top. These are fitted with geared tuning pegs for gross tuning, violin fine tuners for general tuning and harp sharping levers for quick half-step changes of individual strings.
    * 4)The twelve internal sympathetic strings go inside the neck and over a jiwari bridge on the underside of the instrument's top (see my Sympitar page for more on this) They have an access hole in the back of the neck, where they can be plucked by the thumb of the left hand for tuning purposes or musical effects. A trap door in the back of the body allows access to the guts of the instrument, aiding in things like sympathetic string replacement or adjustment, pickup adjustment and battery replacement, and internal repairs. There is a lever for muting the sympathetic strings located in the area where the neck-heel would ordinarily be.



Although designed to be fully functional as an acoustic instrument, each set of strings has it's own dedicated electronic pickup system: MIDI-capable RMC hexaphonic systems for the main and sub-bass strings; and custom piezo pickups for the treble-harp and sympathetic strings, with onboard Bartolini pre-amps.



OWNERS MANUAL
http://www.beyondthetrees.com/NDmanual.html
. . . the future ain't what it used to be . . .

Melvin C

Yikes!  That is one heck of an acoustic instrument. Add the pickups and WOW!

dreambig33-fgn