Home-made Electric Clavichord

[@bipbong2906]

The built in vibrato function is brilliant

[@Maxime_Grisé]

I mean, it’s a clavichord. That’s just part of the instrument.

[@franciscoaragao9672]

That idea is aged 300 years.

[@senorverde09]

In antiquity it's called 'bebung' and was found on all clavichords. Sadly the idea didn't carry over when Hohner made the Clavinet some 400 years later.

[@matteomagurno3068]

@@franciscoaragao9672 400+

[@mason11198]

I'd see real application for this honestly. WE NEED MORE AMPLIFED CLAVS

[@BarryCap]

It sounds AMAZING! That’s what we call a clavinet!

[@Lucius_Chiaraviglio]

If only that wasn't trademarked . . . .

[@strider5964]

Post an update because I'd love to see more of this instrument. Not gonna lie I'd love to have one of these bc it's small, cheap to maintain and sounds cool as hell!

[@SangerStudios]

Thank you! I have done a little more work on the clavichord actually so I will post an update soon...

[@nahnope8581]

@@SangerStudios please update!!!

[@SangerStudios]

@@nahnope8581 Thanks for the reminder! I actually started work on another video this week, will try to finish and upload in the next week or so, watch this space!

[@SangerStudios]

I finally managed to get another video recorded: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqbSfHWld9t3hJI

[@patrickryanagapito502]

@@SangerStudios Good day. What kind of Belcat tuner did you have in this video?

[@LuisFlores-xr5bu]

It has a unique and satisfying tone that makes me build my ownone

[@gareginvardanyan9136]

Great job! Those keys look like organ pedals)

[@oscartagle2713]

Bravo, this is an amazing instrument and I enjoyed your improvisation!

[@lundsweden]

What a cool, simple yet fun n funky instrument! I definately want to build one!

[@tonyfox3551]

this is so cool. makes me want to get into woodworking again.

[@sparga]

So funky

[@jantroost4296]

@2.05 messing around with electric wire and capacitors: that will smoke in the end! That is the spirit of a genius

[@edwincancelii2917]

That electric clavichord sounds beautiful.

[@snargemccoy8813]

Your workshop is so pleasant I love it

[@ambulance_boy3834]

That actually sounds really good!

[@cure-is-c00l]

my absolute dream is to have an electric clavichord.

[@willschorre4196]

great design, very inspiring

[@RetroPlus]

That's so awesome! Sounds pretty great too, this really inspires me to make my own

[@emmet_guitarist]

Me too😍 I just made the plans

[@howardbent5437]

This is really neat. Good job

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Wicked! George Duke is smiling from the great beyond! ;)

[@philippe-lebel]

Cet instrument a une âme.

[@LuisFlores-xr5bu]

Cool tone

[@emreakbas3182]

Great work!

[@MargaretHarmer]

Amazing!

[@EstelonAgarwaen]

This is just sick. Great work!

[@MERKURETlegostudio]

I have to try to make my own

[@emmet_guitarist]

It's funny to build and play🙏🏻

[@therealphilipbeall5590]

Gettin there...

[@oskarantola2616]

Awesome work! I have wanted to build a clavichord, but all i've seen before have been too big and too complicated for me to build... But something like this would be just perfect! Can you give some dimensions of your instrument? It would be good to know, how long strings i need to get.

[@SangerStudios]

Hi, thanks! Well, I sort of made it up as I went along. I wanted it low-cost and low-maintenance, so I experimented with electric guitar strings, which dictated the dimensions. I don't have it in front of me but I think the length from bridge to nut is around 65cm and the lowest key strikes the string at about 60cm. I found that electric guitar 'D' strings gave me the best tone over the two octaves, but your results may well vary! There's some more information here: josephsanger.com/blog/category/instruments/new-instruments/electric-clavichord/

[@oskarantola2616]

@@SangerStudios Hi! Thanks a lot!

[@mr.engineear0987]

0 dislikes! Good job

[@johannesgartland4765]

Awesome, great work!

[@mccypr]

One of the coolest kookiest videos that I’ve seen! Thanks!🌞😎✌️

[@martinh1277]

What you need is a drawing of a historic clavichord to make a copy. Then put a pickup in it. What you need is a Hohner Clavinet, but without these anvils. That is about 1500 $.

[@musicalintentions]

incredible!!

[@BananeHammond]

👀 Wow !

[@drumbran]

This is soo cool!!

[@atarimasters]

Great job very interesting content and a very nice instrument you have made.

[@calinguga]

very nice

[@MarcosSilva-vt8uy]

Wow amazing, good job man✌

[@Farley640]

2:12 the best moment !!!

[@karlmarxstadt]

Woow!

[@emmet_guitarist]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 i'm going to build one😍😍😍😍

[@joaovitormatos8147]

Alternate title: Homemade medieval Keyboard guitar

[@Joshua93853]

Basically a homemade clavinet. Why spend a bunch of money on one when you can make your own?

[@MelloCello7]

Idk if Clavinets have the vibrato function, and we'll, it's cool as heck to be able to do it yourself;)

[@BarryCap]

Yeah, good point. I don’t have the money to buy a clavinet, but I don’t think I’ll build one either (for now), that’s insane work here!

[@gersoneduardojimenezbarret9086]

don't you have the money for a clavinet? dude, this is the cheapest way to have an acoustic key instrument in your posession, acoustic pianos are way far from many of us. There's nothing like the acoustic sound, that could explain why many people enjoy playing the guitar, is cheap and has pure acoustic sound!

[@yossarian00]

​​​@@gersoneduardojimenezbarret9086 i can buy a good digital piano for the price of a clavinet. theyre not cheap. neither are they acoustic.

[@tamahome1970]

Stevie wonder's approved

[@klusha_1]

Where are the millions of views?!!!

[@joelkc5162]

based video

[@ironguito]

wow! what a wonderful job man! thanks for the inspiration! let me ask you to get it right, how are the strings tuned? i thought it was enough just hitting the string. but reading about how octaves work in your project i see the place you hit the string is important, right?

[@ironguito]

maybe ill try to do one with bass strings

[@SangerStudios]

@@ironguito Thank you very much, I'm glad you feel inspired! Yes, there are two types of clavichord: unfretted, which have one string per key, so it doesn't matter so much where the strings hit; and fretted, like this one, which share one string for two or more keys. Usually fretted clavichords have their shared notes together, like a semitone apart, so the keys need to strike the string closer together on the shorter strings - just like how on a guitar fretboard the frets get closer together as you move up the neck. The calculation for mine is very easy, as to raise the pitch by an octave you need to halve the length of the string, so on each string there are two frets, one half as far from the bridge as the other. I hope that helps...

[@ironguito]

Sanger Studios heeey friend! i just finished my prototype, where can I show u? i intend to make an insta post soon maybe a yt video, but eish u could see it firstly, in fact, it would be an honor for me master 🥰

[@SangerStudios]

​@@ironguito Wow, thank you! I'd love to see it. I don't really want to post my email address here, but if you like, you could send me a message/link using the contact form at www.josephsanger.com and I'll check tomorrow (it's late here!) Congratulations on finishing the prototype!

[@ironguito]

Sanger Studios i just posted on my insta: ironchavesluthier i would love if u would give your comments and opinion! and thank you againg for your precious time my friend 🤩

[@mathias841]

AWESOMR

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Hohner made Electric Clavichords

[@YIPPY-xf8pi]

Not bad sir.

[@Fh-jz9lq]

what's the song you've played in the end?

[@SangerStudios]

No song, I was just messing about really.

[@Fh-jz9lq]

@@SangerStudios no wayyy... i wanted to play this myself so badly

[@avamk3062]

Hello, I would love to know how you have determined the distance between the tangents of the octaves? Brilliant project !

[@SangerStudios]

Hi there! That's pretty straightforward: to get a pitch an octave higher, you halve the length of the string.

[@ObiTrev]

0:08 Donut Plains 3

[@NamAnhNguyen-uq2mo]

How can we mesure the scale on fretted clavichord, sir? Thanks!

[@SangerStudios]

On this instrument, the length of the string from the lowest key to the bridge is about 60cm, I think

[@bourniplus]

Awesome! May I ask how you made the tangents?

[@SangerStudios]

Thank you! The tangents are nails I found in the hardware store with flat blades for ends. I think they are something to do with carpets. The ends are quite sharp so I filed them down a bit to save strings. You can see one at 1.06. There's also a bit more info at www.josephsanger.com

[@bourniplus]

@@SangerStudios Cool! They're perfect for making tangents! Again, great work!

[@bourniplus]

@@SangerStudios Well it's me again. While at the hardware store today I looked for those, and I also googled "carpet nails" and couldn't find anything similar. If you ever find the package again, I'd really appreciate any other clue! When I built my mini clavichord I used finishing nails and flattened the heads with a hammer, but wasn't so happy with the result.

[@SangerStudios]

@@bourniplus Oh no! Well the reason I didn't quite know what they were is that I live in Japan and my Japanese isn't really good enough to read the packet, but next time I'm up at the workshop I'll have another look and see if there's any info I missed.

[@SangerStudios]

Hey, sorry for the delay! Christmas etc. got in the way. I found the packet, which had a web address for the DIY supplier, and I've found the nails on their site here: daidohant.com/product/special-nails/%E3%81%A4%E3%81%B6%E3%81%97%E9%87%98/ - the packet I bought from my local DIY store is 180 nails, 1.8x32mm. It looks like the head diameter is 4.5mm, other options seem to have wider and narrower heads, too, which may be better. I really hope that helps you, no idea if they can deliver overseas. There do seem to be some amazon links on the site. I still don't know what the nails are supposed to be used for!

[@Fellow_Traveller1985]

Do all the strings have the same gauge?

[@SangerStudios]

@@Fellow_Traveller1985 yes, they're all electric guitar D strings. There are more videos in this series which go into more detail, if you're interested!

[@PedroPetracco]

Dang!

[@artdude8278]

How does it sound unplugged?

[@SangerStudios]

Very very quiet. Like an unplugged electric guitar.

[@artdude8278]

@@SangerStudios alright, but hey I've been digging around the internet for places to buy tangents. Where can they be found?

[@SangerStudios]

@@artdude8278 I've no idea if anyone makes ready-made tangents. I suspect clavichord makers fashion their own from brass. As for how I made mine, check my replies on bourniplus's comment. This is the only clav I've ever made though. I suspect heavier brass tangents would work better.

[@ChrisDragotta]

How much longer and bigger would it have to be to get another octave lower?

[@SangerStudios]

With this design, the string length doubles for every octave, so it would get pretty big pretty quickly! If you used more strings with different gauges and did the fretting differently, then anything is possible.

[@miguel2740]

How much did you spend on strings?

[@SangerStudios]

They are electric guitar strings, which are very cheap. I think they cost about 1500 yen in total (about 12 euros).

[@miguel2740]

@@SangerStudios but I see that you used strings of a certain gauge, right? You bought them separately, 12 euros buy a single set of strings here in Mexico, so it's going to be expensive. it is really necessary that the keys have some inclination to one side to get the note, I am doing a project, it is almost to imitate the mythical clavinet.

[@SangerStudios]

@@miguel2740 actually I was lucky, the music shop I went to was selling spare single strings at half price! And the key angles are important, yes. If you watch my second video I explain a little more about it.

[@miguel2740]

@@SangerStudios I think you can change the pitch instead of the key angles, like the clavinet and not a Clavichord

[@SangerStudios]

@@miguel2740 yes, you can do that with a clavinet and some clavichords which have one key per string. Mine is a fretted clavichord which has two or three keys sharing one string, which means that the metal tangents have to strike the strings in precise places. I chose to do this by angling the keys.

[@MegaCadr]

How are the keys pivoting? Do you use some sort of balance pins? Great job, btw!

[@SangerStudios]

Hi there, thank you! Yes, I used some nails I found with points at both ends.

[@MegaCadr]

@@SangerStudios Do you happen any pictures (or somewhere to look at something similar)? I've never quite understood how that works without the keys wobbling side to side or something.

[@SangerStudios]

@@MegaCadr Hi there, On a conventional clavichord, the keys sit on a balance pin and then there is a thin wafer of wood at the back of the key that runs vertically in a slot, to keep the key straight. Here's a blog by a much better carpenter than me: renaissance-keyboards.blogspot.com/2010/09/clavichord-day-21-easing-keys.html That was way too difficult for me, so after a lot of experimenting I just cut slots in the back of the keys themselves and had them running over the same pins as I used as balance pins. There are a few more photos of the clavichord on my homepage here: josephsanger.com/blog/2019/07/01/electric-clavichord/ If you scroll down to the photo captioned "tangents" you can see the backs of the keys. For the balance pin holes in the keys I tried to drill as small a hole as possible, then widen it out at the top so the key can move forwards and backwards more than side to side... On a "real" clavichord or piano I think they drill a larger hole and then put felt inserts in the sides. I hope that helps somewhat!

[@MegaCadr]

Sanger Studios thanks! That clears up a lot.

[@roryoconnor4989]

this is incredible. did you use the ratio of a guitar fretboard? i'm looking to embark on a similar project and wondering how you figured out the spacing on the tangents. any help would be so appreciated!

[@SangerStudios]

Hi there, thank you! I didn't use the guitar fretboard ratio as my clav is fretted in octaves rather than semitones. There's a little more information in my second video about this clavichord (there's a link in the video description above), and also in the comments of that video - someone called "Ned" asked a very similar question. I hope that helps, feel free to ask if not! good luck!

[@roryoconnor4989]

@@SangerStudios whoa, thanks for the quick response! I really appreciate it, and absolutely love this beautiful, expressive instrument you’ve built! You’re a champion 👑

[@Murgoh]

cool, sounds more like an electric guitar than a clavichord, I guess it's the strings.

[@Hellcommander245]

So a clavinet?

[@SangerStudios]

Similar, but the keys on a Clavinet work in quite a different way.

[@FFEntertainment1501]

Like a guitar or piano

[@olibarrell]

Spider Legs!

[@SangerStudios]

Hahahaaa! That's a blast from the past!

[@candreel]

\o/

[@diegovillacrez8349]

This sounds like my ring tone

[@TofranBohk]

Fonky

[@no-lifenoah7861]

very flashy

[@JayHeartwing]

It sounds like a sexy funk guitar. Can I have it? Jk jk

[@sifridbassoon]

tuning pegs! that's CHEATING! 😁

[@SangerStudios]

Haha

[@robfriedrich2822]

Clavinet