Nak Tarhu

This design makes the sound characteristics of the Tarhu available to players of traditional instruments that use the left-hand fingernail to fret the string (these include Cretan Lyra, Indian Sarangi, Turkish Fasil Kemenche, Bulgarian Gadulka, Rajasthani Sarinda etc) Like all tarhus, the Nak Tarhu has a strong, rich and clear sound capable of great breadth in tone colour variations.

Photographs

Select either low resolution (30k > 40 k) or high resolution (200k > 300k) underneath each image.
 
 
 
 

MP3 Sound Samples

Lyra Tarhu ( with horse-hair style strings) played by Ross Daly - Indian ensemble

Lyra Tarhu (with cello strings) played by Ross Daly - solo

3 Lyra Tarhus ( with horse-hair style strings) and 1 long-neck Tarhu all played by Ross Daly

Video of Ross Daly playing Epistrofi on Nak Tarhu

Video of Ross Daly playing Nak Tarhu in Israel

Models

There are now two different construction methods being employed for Nak Tarhu, either turned wood or hand-beaten brass. For more details on body types, see here Choosing a Body

Prices do not include case – Nak tarhu case $600

Brass

5 playing strings, 12 sympathetic strings - Hand beaten brass body, Blackwood neck, Ebony fingerboard. Schaller machine heads
$4500

Turned wood

5 playing strings, 12 sympathetic strings - Turned Red Cedar body, Rose mahogany neck, Ebony fingerboard. Schaller machine heads
$5000


The neck and extended head are carved from one piece. A hardwood fingerboard is glued onto the neck, forming a channel between the neck and fingerboard for the sympathetic strings. The 5 playing strings are tuned by Schaller banj 5th string gears, and the sympathetic strings are tuned by pegs mounted in the extended head.

String length is variable depending on musicians requirements. 29cm ( lyra length) or 38cm (Sarangi length) are most common.

 

Stringing

Nak tarhus are usually made with 5 playing strings. The strings are all cello strings, with the same string-set used as for a 5 string cello (on cello, E, A, D, G, and C). A variety of tunings are possible, depending on the vibrating string-length and personal preferences.

Sympathetic strings are of plain steel in a range of gauges. These strings sound best if the tension is kept low, which also means that breakages are very uncommon. The sympathetic strings are usually tuned to whichever scale is being played, or alternatively to a selection of chromatic notes when the music played involves a lot of modulation.