I’ve had sketches for variations of this instrument in my composition book since the late 90s. The original idea was for a sympathetic resonance type instrument, having about twenty strings, enclosed in a box, with an amp built in it that you would plug into like an effect.  After playing around with Serg’s ‘Kimmy McGibbler’ I decided I wanted an instrument with a China Cymbal as acting as a ‘third bridge’. So this got folded into the plan.

The wood for the body comes from a broken Harmonium. It’s got a nice vintage look to it, more distinguished than the plain plywood of the Specto. I drew a lot from the Specto, for the tuning/bridge, with plywood underneath the harmonium wood, giving the Zither Pins something to ‘bite’ into for tuning stability. The bridges, just like the Specto, are cabinet door handles.

The strings are .022 gauge piano wire. I had to use piano wire for two reasons. The first being that normal guitar strings aren’t long enough for the instrument. The second being that I wanted plain, unwound strings, tone-wise.

I’m currently sorting out the pickups/electronics. I’m thinking three humbuckers per side, with a couple of pickups in the middle, underneath the China cymbal, to be able to pick up the cymbals reverberations/clangs.

Here are some pictures of the build up to now.

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