Uploaded November 2016 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Bowing an acoustic guitar, mandolin and cigar box guitar. Since my bow was otherwise occupied, I shred on the violin using a pick.
Contribute on Patreon: patreon.com/sahergalt
Facebook: facebook.com/sahergalt
I decided to create a "string section" from uncommonly bowed instruments. Instead of violins and cellos, I chose a cigar box guitar, acoustic guitar and mandolin. Turns out these latter two aren't bowed for good reason: you can only access the highest and lowest strings with the bow and only at the narrowest of angles. But the cigar box guitar was born to be bowed! You can bow it from a variety of angles and it gives an intense, resonant sound when played this way.
I decided to flip the script on the violin, too, and played it with a pick rather than the bow...while running it through a half-stack. This sounds insane and creates epic feedback swells.
I also recorded individual notes of the bowed ensemble across two octaves to be used as a sample library. You can download the (attached) sample pack and use the individual audio files or load up the included nki file into Kontakt and trigger the samples by a MIDI capable keyboard. Wielding this eerie and gritty sounding ensemble at the press of a key is a lot of fun--I hope you enjoy it! Get the free sample library by contributing to my Patreon here: patreon.com/posts/7311104
Bowing an acoustic guitar, mandolin and cigar box guitar. Since my bow was otherwise occupied, I shred on the violin using a pick.
Contribute on Patreon: patreon.com/sahergalt
Facebook: facebook.com/sahergalt
I decided to create a "string section" from uncommonly bowed instruments. Instead of violins and cellos, I chose a cigar box guitar, acoustic guitar and mandolin. Turns out these latter two aren't bowed for good reason: you can only access the highest and lowest strings with the bow and only at the narrowest of angles. But the cigar box guitar was born to be bowed! You can bow it from a variety of angles and it gives an intense, resonant sound when played this way.
I decided to flip the script on the violin, too, and played it with a pick rather than the bow...while running it through a half-stack. This sounds insane and creates epic feedback swells.
I also recorded individual notes of the bowed ensemble across two octaves to be used as a sample library. You can download the (attached) sample pack and use the individual audio files or load up the included nki file into Kontakt and trigger the samples by a MIDI capable keyboard. Wielding this eerie and gritty sounding ensemble at the press of a key is a lot of fun--I hope you enjoy it! Get the free sample library by contributing to my Patreon here: patreon.com/posts/7311104
