Posted by Dustin Brown on December 31, 2012 at 7:39pm
2012 MONSTER Contest EntryInspired by the Giant Octopus in "20,000 leagues Under The Sea"A Harp Fiddle designed with treasure chest style cigar box body and a tentacle rising from black waters and lashed to the side as its harp. The instrument is designed to be bowed and plucked as the player sees fit. It rests comfortably from shoulder to elbow when held.The Harp Tentacle:A hand carved mahogany arm with 20 poplar suckers. The color comes from applied mahogany oil stain and it's finished with nitrocellulose lacquer that was applied very thick to create layers of bubbly "slime", wet look slick spots, and dimensional drips across the piece. The strings are mounted with Zither pins and attach into a hand carved rosewood bridge on the fiddle body side with ebony pins. The 6 harp strings are tuned (F#, B, C, F, D#, B).The Fiddle:A LaSirena King Poseidon Cigar Box shaped like a treasure chest with holes in it the size of the tentacle suckers. It has a rosewood pinned tailpiece, ebony bridge pins, maple bridge, sapele neck, ebony fingerboard, and matched ebony head plate. There are Abalone inlays on the neck, a bone nut, and zither pin tuners. The bow is hand carved from rosewood and strung with natural horsehair. It is notched at the tip and secures with an ebony bridge pin in the handle. The 4 violin strings are tuned (G, D, A, E).The only wood pieces not hand made on the instrument are the maple bridge and the ebony bridge pins. The whole piece sits on top of a hand carved mahogany base that has black oil stain for the finish.
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This is wild. We're trying to figure out if the horn is an actual horn, wood or strange petrified sea creature. At any rate it looks well made and fascinating.
Comments
Thanks for all the compliments, glad everyone enjoys it as much as I did making it.
This thing frightens me on some deep, deep level. Whatever contest it is......you win...........
You should submit it to that TV show "Oddities" that I think is on the History Channel. What do you call it?
Looks like some amazing craftsmanship. Must be the most unique ever!
Thanks for the interest, the Tentacle is carved from a stack of mahogany and the suckers are carved from poplar dowel rods and glued into holes.
My candidate for the weirdest CBG of the year award.
This is wild. We're trying to figure out if the horn is an actual horn, wood or strange petrified sea creature. At any rate it looks well made and fascinating.