the perfect didj

at this piont there isn't cnc technology that can mill long tubes, you would have to peice small peices together and unfortanatly the robotic arms that are talented enough to do this presicion, perfect glueing are very expensive...so you'll have to sell allot of hand crafted tubes first. my projection would be that in 185 years of selling hand crafted didjeridoo in north america you could save up enough to expand operation into a completly robotic sytem. shit by then we will even have robots to play them for us. fucking cool.

Ben, remember that whenever you purchase something, you are saying "Yeah, cool, do this".
Buying a Bali didj you are casting your lot with that industry. You will have become a part of everything they are.
It's not just about your out of pocket expense.
I'm thinking there may be other options you might want to explore.
Just my perspective ya know.......no offense intended....
peace,
robert

Well, the CNC part may be a little overkill IMO. I do like the idea of computer modeling used to map say the infamous "singing didge" then making this available as cardboard or wooden disc templates like shown in the Didgeridoo Phenomenon book.

Allan

Ben, the materials, wall thickness, and bends actually have alot more to do with the sound qualities than you'd think. For my crafting I've found that oak is just too dense and has too harsh of sound reflection to easily make into sweet sounding sticks. Alder and maple are both softer woods that add a bit of warmth to the tone and make much more pleasing instruments. I use different wall thicknesses at different points in the instrument, usually thinner up top to give better response and thicker through the center to support the power and then just a bit thinner again near the bell for more punch on some sticks. I can usually make quite a bit of adjustment to dial in a stick after my original glue up and first coats inside and out. Examples: If a stick is just a bit too high I can hollow out the top end a bit more to lower the pressure in the top and drop the fundamental. I can usually drop a stick by 30 cents or so with this method, however, increasing the interior diameter at or near the top will cause a greater distance between the fundamental and the trumpet so if I want to keep my trumpet pegged where it's at while lowering my fundamental I'll add a mouthpiece extension to make the stick a few inches longer which will drop the fundamental while leaving the trumpet alone. To raise the pitch of the fundamental I can either re-pour the interior to decrease my bore size in the top end which will draw the trumpets closer to the fundamental or chop length off the mouthpiece end to raise it while leaving the trumpet alone. Understanding how didges re-act in real life through relationship might give truer results than theoretical modeling, and can help me know how to adjust to time place and circumstance more easily. There are other factors that a computer simply can't interpret, such as the feeling one gets from simply handling an instrument, which can be heavily affected by aesthetics of bends or artwork, or history of ownership. Ondrej is so adamant that the action of playing didj is a straight projection and that any curve to the stick at all is going to cause it's own responses rather than the direct and intentional actions of the player so he can already know that he doesn't like the nuances of a stick even before he picks it up. I like some curviness myself with the sticks I make but before I started crafting I wasn't at all into sticks with bends or strange features, just straight tapers. Our expectations are a big part of our discoveries and the human component is absolutely necessary to make any didj do anything so it shouldn't be overlooked.
Even though it's already 11pm my enthusiasm for discovery will see me re-visit my shop this evening to hollow and glue up a very high pitched instrument. I know the qualities I'm asking from it but I'll still be surprised to hear it and discern where my tuning efforts will find the best results. For me this is a difference between art and craft. As a cobbler I'd take tracings and measurements along with all the clients choices and I'd start out on a project knowing exactly what the end product was to be. That was life as a craftsman. As an artist the process of creation and the influences present shape and affect the end result. I like the balance of having the knowledge of a craftsman but operating as an artist.