eric@phantasypsalteries.com

Here you will find one-of-a-kind items for creating a truly unique instrument. Rare and figured tops or backs, gemstone note markers, inlays -  you never know what will show up here! The woods and materials shown here are sold on a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) basis. Unlike more common lumber and materials, what you will find here are things that cannot be simply reordered. When they're gone, they're gone!

This page is used in conjunction with the custom work page to give you even more options in creating a psaltery that is truly a "phantasy." The prices listed here are meant to be in addition to the base price of a custom bowed psaltery.

To order, go to the custom work page, and under the corresponding category check the button for "Other" and simply copy the item # into the box:

(Note: All wood products on this page have been dampened with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol in order to give a more accurate representation of what the color and figure will look like on a finished instrument.)

Tops

 

	Bearclaw Sitka Spruce - This top shares all of the same acoustic properties as regular Sitka Spruce, but with the tell-tale "bearclaw" figure. This top is nearly completely covered with blotches of bearclaw figure. The appearance of this figure, along with the Spruce itself, will change and shift depending upon the angle at which it's viewed.
	Price: $45 Item #: TP-06
	Figured Honduran Mahogany Top - This bookmatched, quartersawn top has a little bit of curl, and also has a nice reddish color.
	Price: $15 Item #: TP-02
	Curly Redwood Top - Whenever I come across an unusually vibrant Redwood top, I make it available here. This top is no exception.  This bookmatched, quartersawn Curly Redwood top has a pronounced, deep curl all the way down the length of the soundboard, with nice patterning and grain-lines as well.
	Price: $65 Item #: TP-03
	Bearclaw Sitka Spruce - This top shares all of the same acoustic properties as regular Sitka Spruce, but with the tell-tale "bearclaw" figure. This top is nearly completely covered with streaks of bearclaw figure. The appearance of this figure, along with the Spruce itself, will change and shift depending upon the angle at which it's viewed.
	Price: $40 Item #: TP-07
	Curly Redwood Top - Whenever I come across an unusually vibrant Redwood top, I make it available here. This top is no exception.  This bookmatched, quartersawn Curly Redwood top has a deep, silky curl that looks like folded fabric. Lots of character in this top!
	Price: $65 Item #: TP-05
	Bearclaw Sitka Spruce - This top shares all of the same acoustic properties as regular Sitka Spruce, but with the tell-tale "bearclaw" figure. This top is full of streaks of bearclaw figure with good symmetry. The appearance of this figure, along with the Spruce itself, will change and shift depending upon the angle at which it's viewed.
	Price: $45 Item #: TP-08
	Bearclaw Sitka Spruce - This top shares all of the same acoustic properties as regular Sitka Spruce, but with the tell-tale "bearclaw" figure. This top has longer lines/trails of bearclaw figure that would complement a standard triangular-shaped rosette well. The appearance of this figure, along with the Spruce itself, will change and shift depending upon the angle at which it's viewed.
	Price: $50 Item #: TP-09
	Bearclaw Sitka Spruce - This top shares all of the same acoustic properties as regular Sitka Spruce, but with the tell-tale "bearclaw" figure. This top has a lot of uniquely formed streaks and blotches of bearclaw figure with excellent symmetry. The appearance of this figure, along with the Spruce itself, will change and shift depending upon the angle at which it's viewed.
	Price: $55 Item #: TP-10
	Bearclaw Sitka Spruce - This top shares all of the same acoustic properties as regular Sitka Spruce, but with the tell-tale "bearclaw" figure. This top is mostly covered with streaks of bearclaw figure with decent symmetry. The appearance of this figure, along with the Spruce itself, will change and shift depending upon the angle at which it's viewed.
	Price: $45 Item #: TP-11

Backs and Sides

 

	Figured Cocobolo - This set is truly unique. I had a narrow yet thick piece of Cocobolo with some outstanding sapwood included with the orange heartwood, (click here for sapwood closeup), and I decided to try an experiment. I used a double-bookmatch for the back, so it is actually comprised of four pieces of Cocobolo cut sequentially from the same board. The result was dramatic. Cocobolo is a true rosewood, and gives a very glassy and complex tone. It is heavy and dense, and resonates very well.
	Price: $90 Item #: BK-14
	African Wenge - This wood is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorites for the frame of a bowed psaltery. It is incredibly resonant, (similar to most of the rosewoods), and yet its weight - although above average - is still moderate, so it has a decent depth of tone as well. And as you can see, this wood has quite a striking and dark beauty. It's probably the darkest colored wood that I have available for the frame of a psaltery.
	Price: $85 Item #: BK-12
	Figured Canarywood - This incredibly figured set has the best figure I've ever seen in Canarywood. As soon as I saw this board, I knew it would be something special. The bookmatched back looks like a flame, and I think that some mineral deposits may have helped give this board some extra color. I only have two sets like this. Canarywood is of moderate density, and should fall somewhere between Maple and Padauk acoustically. It should make for a very balanced tone, with a decent compromise between resonance and responsiveness.
	Price: $45 Item #: BK-02
	Figured Canarywood - This incredibly figured set has the best figure I've ever seen in Canarywood. As soon as I saw this board, I knew it would be something special. The bookmatched back looks like a flame, and I think that some mineral deposits may have helped give this board some extra color. I only have two sets like this. Canarywood is of moderate density, and should fall somewhere between Maple and Padauk acoustically. It should make for a very balanced tone, with a decent compromise between resonance and responsiveness.
	Price: $45 Item #: BK-03
	Figured Oregon Myrtle - A lovely two-tone color is combined with a curly figure to give this set a unique appeal. I found this board mostly by chance while on a trip out to California. I could only fit a small piece in with my carry-on luggage, and when I got home, I made a slight mistake in sawing it up, and as a result, this is the only two-tone myrtle back that I have! Another gem. Myrtle is nearly identical to Maple in terms of acoustics. Expect a sweet, crisp tone with good response.
	Price: $95 Item #: BK-04
	Curly Shedua - This set is quite stunning, with a strong curl on the back, and a medium curl on the sides. I almost did a double-take when I saw this board! I knew it was destined to make music... The bookmatched back shows a lot of rich variations in color. I also have a set with sapwood running down the middle available a little further down. Shedua is very close to Walnut acoustically. It is perhaps slightly more dense, with a bit more ring. It is a good intermediate wood that falls in between light/responsive and heavy/resonant.
	Price: $90 Item #: BK-05
	Curly Honduran Mahogany - This set of mahogany has a medium/high curl on the back, and a strong curl on the sides. Finding mahogany with a curl this good can be difficult, and this is really the only set that I have with this level of curl. The bookmatched sapwood in the center also adds a little bit of character to the back as well. Acoustically, Mahogany performs close to Maple, but with a hint of extra resonance.
	Price: $65 Item #: BK-06
	Curly Shedua - This set is the highest quality Shedua I have available, with a strong curl on both the back and the sides. I almost did a double-take when I saw this board! I knew it was destined to make music... The bookmatched back shows a lot of rich variations in color, especially with the sapwood running down the center. I also have a set without sapwood available above. Shedua is very close to Walnut acoustically. It is perhaps slightly more dense, with a bit more ring. It is a good intermediate wood that falls in between light/responsive and heavy/resonant.
	Price: $105 Item #: BK-07
	Figured Oregon Myrtle - I found this board mostly by chance while on a trip out to California. I could only fit a small piece in with my carry-on luggage, and when I got home, I made a slight mistake in sawing it up, and as a result, I only got two backs out of the board. (The other is a two-tone back listed a few rows up.) The grain on this bookmatched Myrtle back forms an hourglass shape, with a moderate amount of curl. Myrtle is nearly identical to Maple in terms of acoustics. Expect a sweet, crisp tone with good response.
	Price: $45 Item #: BK-08
	Curly Honduran Mahogany - This set of Mahogany has a medium amount of curl on the back and sides.  The bookmatched back will definitely have more character than a regular mahogany set would, yet it is still moderately priced. Acoustically, Mahogany performs close to Maple, but with a hint of extra resonance.
	Price: $50 Item #: BK-09
	Curly Honduran Mahogany - This set of Mahogany has a light/medium amount of curl on the back and sides.  The bookmatched back will definitely have more character than a regular mahogany set would, yet it is still moderately priced. Acoustically, Mahogany performs close to Maple, but with a hint of extra resonance.
	Price: $45 Item #: BK-10
	Curly Cherry - This is some of the best Cherry that I've seen. All red with tons of character. The pictures speak for themselves. Don't miss your opportunity to use some of the lightest, most responsive wood around for your next bowed psaltery - and it's beautiful too.
	Price: $65 Item #: BK-11
	Figured Padauk - This set has a lot of variety and color. It was hard to capture the details in a single photo, so here is a closeup of a section of the back. This wood has a nice striped appearance. Padauk in general makes an excellent tonewood for bowed psalteries. It has a somewhat modest weight, yet it still has a lot of ringing resonance. What I would call a good "ring-to-weight" ratio!
	Price: $45 Item #: BK-13

Gems and Inlays

 

Ammonite (shell) - Ammonites are extinct mollusks, with a spiral-shaped shell. The fossilized shell is cut in half, and the shell-half is then inlaid flush with the surface of the instrument, with the inside section of the shell facing outwards. The price is for one shell-half, and includes both the cost of the fossil and the time taken for the inlay process. Since the shell is relatively deep, it is best suited to be inlaid on the side of the frame of the instrument, where the wood is thicker. Diameter of one shell half is about 3/4" to 1". One procedure is to inlay one shell-half in each facet of the two back sides of the pinblock. Since each half is cut from the same fossil, they are symmetrical and should be nearly identical in color and pattern.

Price: $25  Item #: IN-01

Miscellaneous

Snakewood Binding and Bridge - In a word: exotic. This is both the rarest and the hardest wood I offer. This figured wood features blacks, reds, and browns all mixed to form a nice pattern that has a mottled appearance resembling that of a snake's skin.  It is hard to find pieces that are figured across the entire length of the board, and as a result, this wood is in very limited supply.  Snakewood is also one of the densest woods in the world, surpassing even many of the species of ebony in density. It would make a great looking binding, and not to mention a stunning bridge too.

Price: $125 Item #: MS-01