Modern Psalmodicon (soprano)

thingiverse

After building [the huge dulcimer](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5864366), I wanted to build something lighter and more compact. And here it is — soprano [psalmodicon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalmodicon). It's bowed instrument, rooted in Scandinavian spiritual traditions. This one is a _modern_ psalmodicon. It's much shorter than known historical examples, and has higher tone (soprano). The traditional “toothed” design of the fretboard was modified by adding “visual clues” for easy finding steps of diatonic scale (see scheme). The instrument is very easy to play, as you see, even child can do it. And sound is reasonably nice. ## Non-printable parts - rigid tube, diameter 1 cm and length of 367mm ( even 367.5mm will fit), aluminum or carbon. - blind rivet with 3mm diameter pin. - violin string, first (highest, E) is recommended - tuning peg (see picture) - bow for playing (plucking also works) ## Printing Not tricky at all, just pretty big. Use PLA, HIPS or ABS. PETG sounds worse, but you may try. Some parts are already positioned for optimal print quality. Parts in STEP files are not positioned. You have to print four parts: * end part * head part * fretboard (use either positioned or not positioned version) * bridge ## Post-printing Put tube in tube canal, glue two parts together. Glue fretboard to it's place (there is a guiding line). Remove mandrel from inside rivet, hot fit rivet to the end part (see photo). Fit tuning peg. You will need to make a hole for pin screw inside the pegbox. Install string and bridge (see scheme). Do not glue bridge, you may need to fine-tune it position later. The “calculated” position of the bridge is shown on the instrument deck, see scheme. Note: this is position of the edge of the top part of the bridge (where string touches it) from the fretboard side, not the middle line of the bridge. Adjust string action to your preference by cutting string groove in the nut. Or keep it as is. Use high-pitched strings, it won't play good with lower notes. ## Tinkering I've included the STEP files for easy tinkering. You may want to fit different peg or redraw the sound holes. Please, share your modifications with community!