Baritone Violins

Slideshow with audio of initial octave violin prototype based on the W.S. Mount instruments

Here are some pictures of the pre-production version of the Type II Octave Violin used for consumer testing. It has the same playing dimensions as a regular violin or fiddle, but is much fatter and is based on the bent plate principles of William Sidney Mount's 'Cradle of Harmony', patented in 1852. This instrument has volume, projection and playability that baffles even the most persistent skeptics.

Click the speaker icon in the lower left to hear it. Sorry about the ad that you will have to endure...just wait a few seconds for it to go away.

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

People Playing Rickert & Ringholz Baritone (Octave) Violins as Part of Design Research

This photo montage video shows many various photos from the design research for octave violins conducted by Dr. Don Rickert of Don Rickert Research & Design(tm) (Rickert & Ringholz Musical Instruments(tm)). The details of Dr. Rickert's design research is described in other postings on this site.

The backing audio is, as usual, Darci Jones of Fiddarci Lutherie(tm) and the band Hooley. We actually have a short video clip with audio of Natalie Haas, the world famous 'cellist, playing an early Chanot-type prototype built by Dr. Rickert...you will find it in another post. Other notable people in the montage are Alasdair Fraser (talking to Dr. Rickert rather than playing) and Laura Risk. Alasdair Fraser either has a brand new Rickert & Ringholz-Fiddarci Lutherie Cradley of Harmony Octave Violin.

Electric Violin (Series 2) Conceptual Design by Don Rickert

This electric violin design experiment has a chambered (mostly hollowed out) body with a carved

spruce top without soundholes. The design of the Les Paul guitar had more than a small inspirational influence on the body design. It uses a Shadow Twin stereo pickup system. It has on-board active electronics (Fishman mini guitar internal preamp) and two output jacks, one a 1/4" jack and a small one for headphones, intended primarily for on-stage monitoring purposes rather than silent practice. The back is simply screwed onto the instrument for easy removal and access to the electronics and damper mechanism, desribed below.

A unique feature of the this design is that it has an internal damper for the top, which can be adjusted from zero damping to a lot of damping. This allows the player to have a top with lots of acoustic resonance or an acoustically "dead" top like a solid body electric (an asset for electric violins in some playing situations). Adjusting the damper with the small knob, which can be seen in a few of the photos, makes a dramatic difference in the sound, as well as propensity for feedback in high-volume amplified situations.

We have two YouTube videos (see next posting), one video with no damping and no after effects and one that is completely damped and using an external "exciter" effects box...note that this instrument is set up as a baritone, tuned an octave lower than a regular violin.

Click on any of the thumbnails below for a larger view.

 

The first video of this Don Rickert experimental baritone (octave) violin has the damper off (i.e. live top) and an "exciter" effects box is being used. The player is Darci Jones. We will post the second video as soon as it is found and uploaded to YouTube.