Phantasy Psalteries by Eric Meier


What is a Psaltery?

The "Phantasy" Difference

Psalteries for Sale

Find Your Own Psaltery

Extras and Accessories

Woods & Materials

My Gallery

Sound Clips

The Treasure Trove

Shipping and Ordering


Contact Me

eric@phantasypsalteries.com


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The Treasure Trove


Tops

Backs and Sides Custom Tuning Wrenches Gems and Inlays Miscellaneous

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:

Treasure Trove example

(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 psaltery.)

Tops

Western Red Cedar Bowed Psaltery Top (TP-14) Western Red Cedar (extra dark)—Acoustically, this top is exactly the same as the regular cedar tops that I use: it's light, responsive, and has a mellow tone.

Visually, this top is different from just about all the other tops I offer in that it is very dark: a perfect match for darker back and side woods. It is a consistent dark reddish brown that's even darker than most Redwood tops I've encountered. 

Price: $50

Item #: TP-14

Spalted, Curly Hawaiian Mango Bowed Psaltery Soundboard Spalted Curly Hawaiian Mango—Acoustically, Mango falls somewhere between Spruce and Mahogany. This tonewood is commonly used on ukuleles, and is denser and more durable than Spruce, yet not quite to the same extent as Honduran Mahogany.

Visually, Mango speaks for itself. This top has excellent curl, and a wide range of colors from dark brown to yellow and even pink. This wood is sound, strong, and quartersawn.

Price: $80

Item #: TP-13

Bearclaw Sitka Spruce Bowed Psaltery Soundboard 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: $25

Item #: TP-10

Backs and Sides

Macassar Ebony Bowed Psaltery Macassar Ebony—A true rarity. Usually only available as small blocks and spindles for turning, I was fortunate enough to obtain a piece large enough for two psalteries. One set went to making the phantasy psaltery for 2009, and the other set is for sale here.

Macassar Ebony is incredibly dense, and has a complex, glassy tone. Its level of resonance is among the very highest class. 

Price: $225

Item #: BK-20

Curly White Oak Bowed Psaltery Curly White Oak—This set of curly White Oak is among the finest figuring I've ever seen in any wood species: it's quite three-dimensional. The grain and coloring add visual interest as well.

Acoustically, White Oak performs closest to Mahogany. Its density is intermediate: heavier than lightweight woods such as Maple or Mahogany, yet not as dense as any of the Rosewoods.

Price: $75

Item #: BK-18

bk-06.jpg (90671 bytes) 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 Bowed Psaltery Curly Ovangkol—This set is the highest quality Ovangkol 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...

Ovangkol 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

Flamed Bubinga Bowed Psaltery Back/Side Set Flamed Bubinga—Not only does this set's figure have a characteristic rippling that is commonly called "flame," but the color of this wood also has a lot of red in it.

Bubinga is dense and resonates well. It has been used more and more on musical instruments in place of scare/endangered rosewoods.

Price: $65

Item #: BK-16

Spalted Curly Ash Bowed Psaltery Back/Side Set Spalted Curly Ash—Ash has an excellent strength to weight ratio, and is of moderate density. It should compare closely to Maple in terms of tone—expect good depth and a clean, sweet tone.

This set has tons of character, with both a strong curl, and also good color variation with the spalting. 

Price: $45

Item #: BK-15

Figured Padauk Bowed Psaltery Back and Sides Set 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

Cocobolo Bowed Psaltery Figured Cocobolo—This back has an absolutely wild grain pattern and a full range of colors, ranging from deep brown and black, to red and shades of orange. The sides are reddish orange with dark brown/black streaks.

Cocobolo is a true rosewood, and gives a very glassy and complex tone. It is heavy and dense, and resonates very well.

Price: $155

Item #: BK-22

Bocote Bowed Psaltery Figured Bocote (Mexican Rosewood)—Though Bocote is not technically in the true Rosewood genus of trees (Dalbergia), it looks and sounds so great that it has been called "Mexican Rosewood" by some. Expect a deep, full, haunting tone, with lots of sustain.

Price: $95

Item #: BK-23

Custom Tuning Wrenches

(These tuning wrenches are also available for individual sale without a psaltery. Find out more information about them on the sub-site: Archimedes' Workshop.)

 

Neptune

banksia01.jpg (65765 bytes) banksia01c.jpg (76065 bytes)

Features:

  • Made from an Australian Banksia Pod.

  • Cocobolo base cap with Anigre veneer stripe.

  • Refitted with an extra-large aluminum ferrule.

  • This is a large tuning wrench!

  • Handle Length: ~ 8 1/4"

  • Overall Length: ~ 12 1/4"

Item #: TW-03

Price: $55

 

Gems and Inlays

ammonites.jpg (88891 bytes)

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

 


Copyright © 2010 Eric Meier