It´s a Harp Guitar.




Bob

_________________
Not everything you can count, counts. And not everything that counts, can be counted

The Expert's Mind has few possibilities.
The Beginner's mind has endless possibilities.
Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi

Naawww - where's the harp part?

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

OK, nano, the man playing that beast is Stephen Bennett. . .he plays Harp Guitars. His web page is https://harpguitar.com/?page_id=315 He also has quite a presence on YouTube. Most of the instruments he plays are more ´orthodox´ shaped Harp Guitars. . .the kind I have been serenaded by in Mexican Cantinas. . .Arpas Guittarras. He´s not clear, but I think that one is a very old Symphonic Bass Harp Guitar. . .the free bass strings extend down past the second tone hole. Clearly not a ´Larson´ style Harp Guitar.

Bob

_________________
Not everything you can count, counts. And not everything that counts, can be counted

The Expert's Mind has few possibilities.
The Beginner's mind has endless possibilities.
Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi

_________________
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa

Pretty wild stuff. And there's an Irish connection to the Yaybahar: "Thar Toinn / Seaborne" (2020) album by Irish singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh features yaybahar played by her husband musician Billy Mag Fhloinn. The Irish Eco review of the album’s final track “Port Na bPúcaí” calls yaybahar "an otherworldly-sounding instrument" that "makes an entirely mysterious sound that resonates with the lore surrounding the song and complements Nic Amhlaoibh’s singing nicely." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaybahar

Here's Port na bPúcaí by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (vocals) & Billy Mag Fhloinn (yaybahar):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C5QqFapcuw

Well, I wish we could find out more, because I don't see free strings; I wonder if they could be inside the body, but that doesn't sound practical for a number of reasons.


When I heard the yaybahar played in oleorezinator's link, my first thought was, You could call whales with that thing. Apparently I haven't been the only one.

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

Perhaps the theremin isn't all that rare anymore in some musical circles, but I think it's fair to say it's a bit not-so-usual in the pantheon of more conventional instruments. Here's Maestro Leon himself playing his unique invention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5qf9O6c20o

[quote=¨Nanohedron¨]Well, I wish we could find out more, because I don't see free strings; I wonder if they could be inside the body, but that doesn't sound practical for a number of reasons. [/quote]

Here is a continuation of the story on this strange beast. The player is indeed Stephen Bennet, an extremely talented guitarist and player of what are called Harp Guitars. He very kindly pointed me to Gregg Miner and his marvelous Museum,
http://www.minermusic.com/ Mr. Miner pointed me to this page: http://minermusic.com/inst_list.htm The one we were seeking is in the ¨Flat Top, Extended Base¨ sub-family. It is by Charles Stumcke, Boston, 1853. Gregg Miner tells me he also has a Scherr, by Emilius Scherr, the patent holder, built c. 1937, Philadelphia. WARNING: This rabbit-hole is enormous and has fantastic photographs! You have been Warned!

Bob

_________________
Not everything you can count, counts. And not everything that counts, can be counted

The Expert's Mind has few possibilities.
The Beginner's mind has endless possibilities.
Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi

A dizzying array indeed. Compared against the list's harp guitar stringing descriptions (5+6, 8+6, what have you) the extended base (NOT bass!) guitars are listed as having only six strings and no more, so we may safely conclude that these are not harp guitars, but an eccentric design. But to what purpose? That's my question. There must be a reason for it beyond mere whimsy, or it wouldn't have been repeated, I should think. Counterbalance, maybe?

Here's the Scherr:

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

Here is a detail of the Scherr (from the 1830´s, not 1930´s )

These were patented and marketed as ´Harp-Guitars´, but aren´t ´Harp-Guitars´ in the modern organological sense in that they don´t have free, unfretted strings.

My ill-educated guess is that with nearly a complete scale-length and an auxiliary tone hole in the extension, the idea was to get unfretted strings to ´ring-out´ as you played.

When I studied classical/flamenco technique I was taught to either damp or let ring sympathetic strings to enhance the mode/scale of the piece.

Bob

_________________
Not everything you can count, counts. And not everything that counts, can be counted

The Expert's Mind has few possibilities.
The Beginner's mind has endless possibilities.
Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi

Was the Scherr played in this fashion?

_________________
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa

And in regard to how the Scherr might have been played
is the curious intersection of the bowed and plucked.
The smaller viols and even the viola da gamba
were sometimes played across the knee like a guitar
opposed to on the lap or between the knees.

.

_________________
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa

Oleoresonator beat me to it. The extended foot would make the wooden floor a resonator and enrich the bass. I often put my mountain dulcimers on a table for the same result.