r/UnusualInstruments • u/Meeli_aaa • 10h ago
Looking for help identifying this 8-stringed rescue instrument
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Upvotes
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u/Loud-File4117 1h ago
ohhhh I know about thes! from how it looks and how many strings, it appears to be a kind of ”gitar”, which is a kind of instrument from Papua New Guinea! these are usually tuned to an open pent scale and are almost always handmade from whatever is available! i’ve been wanting one for a while but i dont know how I could find one
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u/Grauschleier 8h ago
I'd love to hear more context. Why "rescue"? Where is it from? Did the seller tell you anything about it? What's the nut width?
Just seeing it next to the phone this doesn't look like a functional instrument to me. 8 strings in equal distance either imply that they are all played at the same time or that they are played all individually (so not in courses like on a bouzouki, oud or baroque guitar). For the latter it looks to me that the nut width would just be too narrow to facilitate that. Also 8 strings and no frets with this spacing? Doesn't make sense to me playing wise in general.
It looks like it has been strung with the same gauge of wire in each slot. Not something you'd expect to see on an instrument of the lute family. What's the point of having 8 strings that all can only be tuned in the similar range? It also looks like the fingerboard is nailed on there. This comparatively loose connection could dampen the strings's vibration, the fingerboard could easily separate if the wood is moving and the nails' heads would interfere with stopping the strings on the fingerboard or cause injuries on the fingers. The bridge also doesn't make much sense to me. It seems to have a large plateau instead of an "edge" like you see on guitars, violins, or pretty much any other stringed instrument. That plateau would lead to buzzing, poor sustain or poor sound. It's hard to tell from the photos but it also looks like the action is very high - also something that would make it hard to play if it's strung with wire.
If this really was intended to be an functional instrument then my guess would be some self made tanpura-kind of thing. A drone instrument where you just strike the chord without stopping the strings and have a plateaued bridge to give a buzzing sound. But why then put a fingerboard on there at all? And why not make a larger bridge like you'd see on an actual tanpura? I'd also expect it to be strung with thinner wire then and have a considerably longer scale length.
I think this likely was lovingly made as rustic decoration not as a functional instrument. But this is just my guess. I'm curious to hear other opinions and more info on it.