I followed a link on an ebay seller to a "Master Simon" that showed how that they make duduks. I'm not sure if his intention was to scare me away from buying from him, but after seeing that video, that is exactly what it did. I cannot believe the amount of questionable wood working skills that they can actually put out a duduk that has any kind of sound.
It has been said to me that "if only we were in Armenia to choose the duduks and reeds, as many there pick over the best, while we are left with the rest." After seeing this movie I can understand. I will applaud them in that they have made an instrument that is playable after splitting wood by hand, cutting blocks with an improper table saw (and technique) drilling the center improperly, using hot pokers to run up and down the duduk and the work over the finger holes, and to finally tune it to some degree. It is amazing that these instruments play at all. Surely even Master Karen Hakobyan with his modern equipments would be able to produce duduks that were far better quality, even though I have heard of him as making duduks more for entry level and that they don't seem to hold up over the long run as well.
I found it particularly interesting that when they were cutting the logs into lengths that they did not use a better way of measuring and "marking the log", and that on the second cut the guy running the chain saw didn't even cut down squarely to the opposite end, but more at an angle. And, with some sort of open toed slippers/sandals on as well.
Well, here you go, the link to the video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHuC_guTDtw it is amazing that these fellas haven't lost toes and fingers by now from the use or mis-use of some of their equipment.
I say all this from my experience in the marching of airplane parts at Boeing Airplane Company when I lived and worked in Seattle, WA. Obviously the quality of airplane parts would be more critical than that of making a wood wind instrument, but nonetheless, the duduk, GOOD duduks have certain dimensional attributes that should be able to be repeated over and over again.
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)