DASHTICK HURDY GUITAR
A lute-shaped, crank-driven instrument somewhere between a hurdy-gurdy, a cello and a sitar — built for drones, rattling overtones and sounds that refuse to sit still.
The Dashtick Hurdy Guitar combines an electro-acoustic construction with a spruce soundboard and an extended scale, roughly half-cello length, giving it a deeper, more expansive voice. Four melodic and drone strings provide the foundation, while five sympathetic strings run beneath the surface, resonating in response to the music.
A bone jawari bridge brings a sizzling, sitar-like buzz to the sympathetic strings, adding a layer of shimmering overtones and unpredictable acoustic texture. The lute-like headstock, fitted with nine machine heads, keeps the whole arrangement compact and distinctive.
The crank-driven wheel turns sustained notes into a physical, continuous sound — part bowed string, part drone machine, part mechanical ritual. And when the wheel is removed, the instrument can be transformed into a fretted cello, opening up an entirely different way of playing.
Simple in concept, unconventional in execution and unapologetically handmade, this is an instrument designed around curiosity rather than convention. A meeting point of old-world string traditions and the raw, experimental spirit of Dashtick Guitars.
Four strings to play. Five to resonate. One wheel to keep it moving. Or take the wheel off and go somewhere else.
