










eric@phantasypsalteries.com
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Sometimes referred to as "trim," the binding is made up of the small strips of wood
that form a border around the rim of the top and bottom of the instrument, as
well as the front tip. The
binding serves several purposes: first, it helps seal the end-grain of the top
and bottom pieces, adding stability. Secondly, it protects the soft wood of the top
from bumps and dents. (This is where the density and hardness of different woods
can come into play.) And finally, the binding serves as an eye-pleasing frame around the
soundboard and back, giving the instrument a more finished look. Depending on
your tastes, you can choose a binding that either contrasts against,
or blends in with the color of the rest of the psaltery.
(I typically use the same wood for the bridge as I
do for the binding so that everything matches. If you would like me to use
separate woods for the binding and bridge, please note this on the custom order
form.)
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Curly Maple - A hardwood of moderate density, Curly
Maple is used more for more decorative purposes than protective. (Though
this type of Maple
is still much harder than most of the available soundboard choices available.)
Even in the small binding strips the tiger-stripe curls of maple are
still quite noticeable. See
description under Backs and Sides for more info.
To the left, the maple tiger stripes contrast the dark honduran
rosewood back well.
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Cocobolo - Very dent and scratch resistant, as well as being a good contrast
against lighter woods. Cocobolo has beautiful streaks of reddish orange lines
still visible in even the small size of the binding. See
description under Backs and Sides for more info. |
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Ebony - Almost completely black, and one of the most durable of all
woods. Ebony is an excellent
protective material. It also contrasts against just about every wood except
itself. A classic. |
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Padauk - A very flashy and eye-catching dark orange binding. Padauk can be used to either
contrast lighter woods, or also bring out warmer colors in some of the reddish
brown woods. (Such as a Western Red Cedar top.) Padauk is also somewhat hard and dent resistant. See
description under Backs and Sides for more info. |
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Bloodwood - A bright and bold binding that will contrast just about any wood.
It can also be used to bring out the reds in some woods like Western Red Cedar and Redwood. Bloodwood
is quite dense, and therefore offers very rigid protection for the edges of the
instrument. See
description under Backs and Sides for more info.
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Purpleheart - If you love purpleheart, but think that
making an entirely purple psaltery is just too much for you, consider using it for the binding
and bridge.
It can be used to contrast lighter woods, or it can bring out the purple hues in
some of the other woods. Because of its high
density, purpleheart also has excellent protective properties. See
description under Backs and Sides for more info. |
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Black Walnut - This is a great choice for lighter-colored woods that may have a hint of
brown in them already. Walnut's medium-dark brown color sets off spruce and maple
well. It is of moderate hardness, and offers decent protection. See
description under Backs and Sides for more info. |
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Lacewood - This wood has a medium reddish brown color
with small contrasting spots, similar to the appearance of lace. It is sometimes also called
Leopardwood because of its pattern. Lacewood is of a medium-high density, and
seems to stand up quite stubbornly to denting. |
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Yellowheart - Just as the name implies, this wood is a
bold yellow color.
Try to use your imagination to picture how this would compliment other woods. I find it
goes well with other vibrant woods such as Padauk and Bloodwood. Yellowheart is
of a high density, and will give good dent and ding resistance. |
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Hard Maple - A classic light cream colored binding. It is an excellent choice for
contrasting the dark and bold hardwoods of the back and sides. Hard Maple is a
traditional, even-colored choice - and it has a higher density and offers more
dent-protection than Curly Maple binding. |
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Holly - Sometimes this wood is referred to as "Snow White Holly." I
intentionally buy the purest and whitest holly available, though when finished
it is a slightly off-white color. It is the whitest wood
that I offer, and there is virtually no visible grain, so it is a very uniform
white. Holly is of a moderate density. |
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Verawood - This wood is a close relative to the
more-famous Lignum Vitae tree. These trees produce some of the heaviest
and hardest wood around - even heavier than Ebony. Verawood seasons to a
yellowish green hue, close to the color of an olive. But the real beauty
of this wood can only be seen up close, as it exhibits a feathery and wavy
grain pattern that is rather unique. |
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Purfling Lines - Sometimes,
the choice for the soundboard, (or back and sides), is of a very similar
color to a desired wood for the binding. (For instance: a Maple binding on
a Spruce top would be two light colored woods next to each other.)
One way to add contrast between these two woods is by adding a purfling
strip next to the binding. Purfling lines are very thin strips of paired
wood: one black strip and one white strip. Between the two contrasting
colors, the purfling lines are sure to create a separation barrier between
the binding and the main wood(s) used.
Even if the binding contrasts the rest of the woods used on the
psaltery, purfling can also be used to give a more finished and elegant
appearance. You can chose to add lines just around the top, on the back,
on the sides - both top and bottom, or all three.
To the left is a Holly binding, with purfling dividing it from the
Spruce top.
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Saddle: The saddle is the piece of metal,
plastic, (or other material), that lines
the top of the bridge and keeps the strings from sitting directly on the wood.
Generally, the harder the material, the more sustain the psaltery will have, at
the expense of responsiveness.
When using standard wound strings, I recommend using only a hardwood
bridge with no saddle at all. This is because wound strings already have a great
deal of sustain, and no saddle is usually needed to increase sustain. Also,
their larger overall diameter helps prevent them from slicing through the wood
(a cheese-cutter type of effect) that is more common with monofilament steel
strings.
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Hardwood Bridge (No Saddle) - This is my standard for
psalteries strung with wound strings. In this option, the
strings rest directly on the bridge and no saddle is used at all. This
provides the least amount of sustain, (which is still quite a bit with
wound strings), and the most
responsiveness.
Shown at left is an all-Purpleheart bridge with nickel-plated wound
strings on a Sitka Spruce top.
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Carbon Fiber - Made up of thousands of tiny filaments
of carbon, this space-age material has an excellent strength-to-weight
ratio. The saddle is a hollow carbon fiber tube with a charcoal black
appearance.
Since it is so light, a carbon fiber saddle will still have good
responsiveness. However, it does tend to increase the overall sustain of
the strings when compared to an all-wood bridge.
At left is a carbon fiber saddle on a Purpleheart bridge.
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Aluminum - The strongest and densest saddle
option. It is a
light silver color that
matches the color of the tuning pins, and is of a moderate hardness for a metal. This
saddle material will give maximum sustain, good wear resistance, but at
the slight cost of response. The saddle and strings will act more like a
tuning fork and maintain their vibrations on the string (sustain) rather
than pass them on to the instrument's body.
Shown at left is an aluminum saddle on an Ebony bridge.
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