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9-stringed lyre-shaped gusli of 13 c (modernized)
$465
(sold out, but you can order an instrument with a similar look)
(this one goes to Denmark)
Contact the maker and order an instrument
Lyre-shaped gusli [gusli with a lyre opening] — is the oldest gusli type.
There was no evidence about this kind of guslies until 1957.
First lyre-shaped gusli archaeological find was discovered in 1957 in Novgorod at Nerevski excavation.
The condition of a find was good enough to build a detailed reconstruction of the musical instrument that
dates back to the first half of 13th c. Here it is.
At the present day totally there are already 20 archaeological finds of lyre-shaped guslies in Russia, Ukraine and Poland that dates back to 11th—13th cc.
And this is the reason to call lyre-shaped guslies a wide-spreaded cultural phenomenon of that time.
However there are various popular mistakes about this "Nerevski" gusli find. Those mistakes appeared after barbarous restoration of the original artefact.
Among other overbold assumptions, the 9th peg and the 9th string was added.
Frequently, when my customers ask me to make this gusli reconstruction, they say:
I want 9 strings as the museum artefact has. Generally young performers have strange aspiration for getting as much strings as possible.
It is a long story why this is a wrong strategy. But sometimes I say: OK, you will get 9 strings.
Sometimes my customers ask me: "it's obligatory for my gusli to have metal tuning pins with tuning wrench for easy tuning". This time was the same story.
At the moment I imagined the bulky monster with bold wirbelbank and piano pins at the top of the original 13c instrument that was absolutely thin and beautiful with curved birds and no weight...
And than I thought: Hay! I have an idea how to combine history and contemporainety. The wing of the gusli will be absolutely historical. I will move all this modernization to the oposit corner.
And that was the luck that original Nerevski find has enough thickness in stringholder area. This will be the place for metal pins.
Firstly I wasn't quite sure about both wooden pegs and metal pins in one instrument. But the first experience of tuning proved that everything is alright!
Comfort is a second name of this gusli! Quick wooden pegs tuning with a hand and detailed metal pins tuning with a wrench. Brilliant. The instrument looks at the stage totally hislorical, and all modern parts and hidden on the knees of a musician.
I stayed satisfied with convenience and sound. And I'm ready to make this one more time. Piezzo pickup will be good for this gusli — making it absolutely good for the stage. Contact me - I'll make this gusli for you!
Though I'm always vote for total reconstruction in detailes.
Body: spruce.
Spruce is ideal for bodies of lyre-shaped gusli.
Due to the unique construction of lyre-shaped gusli,
the material of the body must have all the properties that the soundboard in later instruments has.
Coating: waxing.
Soundboard: oak.
Oak is the only variant
of the wood for the soundboard of lyre-shaped gusli.This is due to the unique design of lyre-shaped gusli, which can be traced in all archaeological finds.
Pegs: maple.
Maple — is interesting as a material for pegs, because of wood-fibres are not accentuated, maple is hard, but in the same time its surface is sotf enough for the pegs to be perfectly adjusted to the conic tuning hole, spin smoothly and hold the pitch perfectly.
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Strings: plain steel strings,
med-tension, C-key.
Metal strings could have been already installed on the gusli of the 11th century,
and are most satisfying for a modern musician. The cross-sections of the strings in this set range from 0.021" to 0.011".
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Softcase:
There is the framed bag case in the set. Outer layer is from the waterproof bag fabric.
All the sides are laid with two layers of foam and a layer of hard plastic.
It is the best comprehensive protection for the instrument from water, drops and shocks.
There are comfortable shoulder straps for carrying, soft carry handles for horizontal and vertival carrying. There is one inside pocket for tuning wrenches.
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