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musical instrument details
Guriema New Style WZ1 Waldzither Cittern Tobias Kaul - Pristine. Cost €3,050 New
Estimated price for orientation: 1 275 $
Category: Mandolins
Class:
Description Condition: Used: An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. See all condition definitions- opens in a new window or tab ... Read moreabout the condition EAN: Does not apply
For sale is my beautiful German-made waldzither or 'forest cittern', with nine strings in five courses capable of a wide variety of tunings.When commissioned with its bespoke hard shell case in 2012 this instrument cost €3,050 without postage – equivalent to £2,615 today. It is now being offered with free EU-wide 'tracked and signed for' postage with a starting price of less than half that.This unique instrument is in 'as new' condition, and was custom-made in solid woods to my specification by master-luthier Tobias Kaul during his time with Guriema (To give an idea of scale Tobias can be seen holding this very instrument in the last photograph). This company which produces impeccable high-end stringed instruments is based in Markneukirchen in the Vogtland district of Saxony - the historic heartland of stringed instrument-making in Germany. Now that Tobias has moved on Guriema no longer offer this stylish model with its innovative design and construction. (Ironically, it was the quality of Tobias' craftsmanship that inspired me to turn from playing Irish traditional music to instrument restoration - see my other listings - and as a consequence this waldzither has remained largely untouched since it was made for me. To have it permanently stored in its case or hanging on a wall unplayed would be criminal, so I am putting it on the market). What was already a rare instrument has been made a 'one-off' by my decision not to have the standard cutaway on the treble side, and by the addition of a Breedlove-style 'sound monitor port' on the bass side to enhance the volume for the player. The other non-standard feature is the German-made Schaller tuners, which have pearloid buttons rather than the standard black, and are aligned normally rather than 'swept back' as in the regular WZ1.Below is a picture of a 'standard' WZ1 from the wonderful Facebook page of In some respects this is an electric instrument, designed to be played through a sound system using an outboard preamp such as my Fishman GII. It has decent volume 'unplugged' (especially with the extra sound port in addition to the standard two at the tail), but it would not be easily heard in a room full of banjos. It is fitted with a B-Band Under Saddle Transducer/UST system () and sounds peerless when amplified. When commissioning, I had specified a tuning (mainly in fourths) of DEADG low-to-high. However, as it has a similar scale length to short scale citterns such as and it could also be tuned in fifths, offering multiple tuning possibilities such as GDAEB (low-to-high). Useful and comprehensive information on waldzither tunings is available at . The intonation is perfect and the action is low and comfortable, aided by the slightly radius-ed fingerboard.The soundboard is extremely close-grained spruce, and the rest of the body (apart from the small circular cedar membrane in the back) is dark-coloured rosewood. The fingerboard and tailpiece are ebony, and the neck is mahogany. The end of the fingerboard hovers out above the soundboard. The nut and saddle are bone and it has a zero fret. It has mother-of-pearl fret markers – one at the tip of the fingerboard, a large one in the centre at the 12th fret, and others positioned along the bass side of the neck where they double as side markers. It has a wooden sleeveguard. The headstock faceplate is made of two heavy veneers in contrasting coloured woods, one on top of the other, and it has a truss-rod cover in paler wood bearing the ‘Guriema’ logo. The overall length is 33 ¼” (85 cm)”, the table is 13 ¼” (33.75 cm) at its widest point and the scale length is 20” (51 cm). The nut-width is a generous 1 ¾” (44 mm), and the body is 73 mm (almost 3”) deep at the heel and 11 cm ( 4 ½”) deep at the tail. The V-shaped back profile means that it sits comfortably against the body, despite its depth. International postage (to European Union countries only) with Royal Mail Parcelforce has limited tracking (only until it arrives in the destination country) and must be signed for on delivery. It will be bubble-wrapped, carefully boxed and the strings will be slackened off before packing.
Description
| Condition: | Used: An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. See all condition definitions- opens in a new window or tab ... Read moreabout the condition | EAN: | Does not apply |
For sale is my beautiful German-made waldzither or 'forest cittern', with nine strings in five courses capable of a wide variety of tunings.When commissioned with its bespoke hard shell case in 2012 this instrument cost €3,050 without postage – equivalent to £2,615 today. It is now being offered with free EU-wide 'tracked and signed for' postage with a starting price of less than half that.This unique instrument is in 'as new' condition, and was custom-made in solid woods to my specification by master-luthier Tobias Kaul during his time with Guriema (To give an idea of scale Tobias can be seen holding this very instrument in the last photograph). This company which produces impeccable high-end stringed instruments is based in Markneukirchen in the Vogtland district of Saxony - the historic heartland of stringed instrument-making in Germany. Now that Tobias has moved on Guriema no longer offer this stylish model with its innovative design and construction. (Ironically, it was the quality of Tobias' craftsmanship that inspired me to turn from playing Irish traditional music to instrument restoration - see my other listings - and as a consequence this waldzither has remained largely untouched since it was made for me. To have it permanently stored in its case or hanging on a wall unplayed would be criminal, so I am putting it on the market). What was already a rare instrument has been made a 'one-off' by my decision not to have the standard cutaway on the treble side, and by the addition of a Breedlove-style 'sound monitor port' on the bass side to enhance the volume for the player. The other non-standard feature is the German-made Schaller tuners, which have pearloid buttons rather than the standard black, and are aligned normally rather than 'swept back' as in the regular WZ1.Below is a picture of a 'standard' WZ1 from the wonderful Facebook page of In some respects this is an electric instrument, designed to be played through a sound system using an outboard preamp such as my Fishman GII. It has decent volume 'unplugged' (especially with the extra sound port in addition to the standard two at the tail), but it would not be easily heard in a room full of banjos. It is fitted with a B-Band Under Saddle Transducer/UST system () and sounds peerless when amplified. When commissioning, I had specified a tuning (mainly in fourths) of DEADG low-to-high. However, as it has a similar scale length to short scale citterns such as and it could also be tuned in fifths, offering multiple tuning possibilities such as GDAEB (low-to-high). Useful and comprehensive information on waldzither tunings is available at . The intonation is perfect and the action is low and comfortable, aided by the slightly radius-ed fingerboard.The soundboard is extremely close-grained spruce, and the rest of the body (apart from the small circular cedar membrane in the back) is dark-coloured rosewood. The fingerboard and tailpiece are ebony, and the neck is mahogany. The end of the fingerboard hovers out above the soundboard. The nut and saddle are bone and it has a zero fret. It has mother-of-pearl fret markers – one at the tip of the fingerboard, a large one in the centre at the 12th fret, and others positioned along the bass side of the neck where they double as side markers. It has a wooden sleeveguard. The headstock faceplate is made of two heavy veneers in contrasting coloured woods, one on top of the other, and it has a truss-rod cover in paler wood bearing the ‘Guriema’ logo. The overall length is 33 ¼” (85 cm)”, the table is 13 ¼” (33.75 cm) at its widest point and the scale length is 20” (51 cm). The nut-width is a generous 1 ¾” (44 mm), and the body is 73 mm (almost 3”) deep at the heel and 11 cm ( 4 ½”) deep at the tail. The V-shaped back profile means that it sits comfortably against the body, despite its depth. International postage (to European Union countries only) with Royal Mail Parcelforce has limited tracking (only until it arrives in the destination country) and must be signed for on delivery. It will be bubble-wrapped, carefully boxed and the strings will be slackened off before packing.