The Tibetan Tiger Harpobanjitar #2 (re-named The Mutarjo by its owner), is the second harp/banjo/guitar hybrid I've made, using the same mold for the cast tiger sculpture of the back as used for Tibetan Tiger #1. This second version features 6 main strings on a guitar-like neck, with a second neck-structure holding 7 sub-bass harp strings that run parallel to the main strings. This string set-up is similar to other instruments generally called harp guitars; in this case, the strings are resonated by goatskin stretched tightly over a circular wooden frame, very much like a banjo. On this instrument, the skin is tacked and glued to the hollow circular frame, in a fashion similar to early 19th-century banjos, rather than being held on with metal hardware as is common on more modern banjos.
The painted sculpture of a tiger that forms the back of the instrument was cast out of paper grocery bags and aliphatic resin glue into a thin, sturdy, resonant shell.
The tiger sculpture was inspired by Asian tiger-art, including traditional tiger paintings from the doors of Tibetan monasteries.
Materials:
Big Leaf maple
Walnut
Acacia decurrens
Ebony
Spruce
Pegheds Planetary tuning pegs
Here's a short video of me demonstrating Tiger # 2:
The Tibetan Tiger Harpobanjitar #2 (re-named The Mutarjo by its owner), is the second harp/banjo/guitar hybrid I've made, using the same mold for the cast tiger sculpture of the back as used for Tibetan Tiger #1. This second version features 6 main strings on a guitar-like neck, with a second neck-structure holding 7 sub-bass harp strings that run parallel to the main strings. This string set-up is similar to other instruments generally called harp guitars; in this case, the strings are resonated by goatskin stretched tightly over a circular wooden frame, very much like a banjo. On this instrument, the skin is tacked and glued to the hollow circular frame, in a fashion similar to early 19th-century banjos, rather than being held on with metal hardware as is common on more modern banjos.
The painted sculpture of a tiger that forms the back of the instrument was cast out of paper grocery bags and aliphatic resin glue into a thin, sturdy, resonant shell.
The tiger sculpture was inspired by Asian tiger-art, including traditional tiger paintings from the doors of Tibetan monasteries.
Materials:
Big Leaf maple
Walnut
Acacia decurrens
Ebony
Spruce
Pegheds Planetary tuning pegs
Here's a short video of me demonstrating Tiger # 2: