Sedgwick
Two sitar guitars. The top one was made for an American musician Sharif. The one below was
made for a client is Southern Germany. The one below has the sympathetic strings running down
the side of the neck and not through the neck. The one above is fully buzzing, the one below has
the sympathetic strings and the top two string with the buzzing effect.
Sedgwick Sitar Guitar & Sympathetic Strings
I have always loved the 'Eastern' mysticism and esoteric sounds.
The most popular and recognizable Eastern sound comes from
the Indian instrument the Sitar, which has a soft droning buzz
effect. The instrument I have made is no way a replacement of
the sitar, but a guitar that sounds like a sitar. What makes the
Sedgwick instrument more amazing is that it can be set up in
different ways. From a full buzzing sitar guitar to a regular guitar
or something in between. This makes the whole instrument
much more versatile.
This instrument is a Sedgwick model with a few extras that
include Paua Abalone rosette, Koa Bindings and a cutaway. The
metal bridge pins are by Goulding Guitars and this guitar also
has a custom stereo K&K pickup.
There are 3 ways the guitar section can be set up.
•
You can have the Indian style saddle covering all 6 strings
•
You can have the Indian style saddle for the 1st and 2nd string. A regular bone saddle goes
under the lower 4 strings. This gives a wonderful blend of East meets West.
•
Have a regular guitar saddle.
A couple of advantages with this kind of instrument has is that you can use many more open
tunings than a sitar and you can also use a capo. There is also the possibility of exploring some
Indian slide guitar music.
Guitar / Jawari Saddle
Guitars
Sympathetic Strings
The Sympathetic Strings are a separate section. These strings are not plucked and just resonate, so you hardly have to change them. They can be tuned
chromatically, to a scale/mode or to a chord. They add a subtle drone and reverb to the sound. With the pickup installed you can boost the signal of
sympathetic strings. There are 2 types of bridges for the sympathetic strings, a little guitar bridge or an Indian jawari bridge to give them a buzz. These little
bridges are interchangeable, just slide it out towards the soundhole. You can also mute the strings if necessary. Part of the inspiration comes from the
Sympitars made by Fred Carlson and the English Violet. The English Violet had twice as many sympathetic strings as the viola d’amore.
History repeats... In a blog by Gregg Miner, he writes about an 'Guitar D'Amore'. A historic guitar with sympathetic strings going through the neck, very
much the same way I made my instrument. This special guitar was built either 1850 or 1856 by violin maker Tomasz Zach in Prague. Zach also made quite
a few viola d’mores. Australian historic instrument maker and repairer Ian Watchorn has restored the guitar D’Amore. He also did a wonderful detailed
description of it's restoration.
© Copyright 2003-2021 Stephen Sedgwick
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