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where to buy a hurdy gurdy

It’s easy to get ripped off if you don’t know what you’re doing, so we’ll give you some advice on where to buy a hurdy gurdy and what to avoid.

What exactly is a Hurdy Gurdy?

Like the bagpipe, the hurdy-gurdy is a mechanical type of fiddle that produces an eternal sound by means of a rosined wheel (attached to a handle) that rotates along strings via a crank.

Key Points to Think About When Purchasing

Budget

What does a hurdy gurdy cost? To put it another way, these musical tools are not cheap. The complete package sold by Altarwind (see below) retails for a whopping $4495 and can easily set you back $2000 or more.

The high cost is justified by the high level of labor and skill required to make one. These are not factory-made shoe boxes, but rather works of art. New ones can rarely be found for less than $1000.

Comparing Brand-New Items to Pre-owned Ones

You can save money on a hurdy gurdy by purchasing one that has been previously owned, but you run the risk of getting a decorative piece rather than an instrument you can actually play.

Purchasing from a reputable manufacturer ensures that the instrument has been constructed and adjusted appropriately.

You could also try a website like eBay to make a purchase, but before you do, it’s in your best interest to get some professional advice. There are a ton of low-quality hurdy-gurdies floating around the web, just waiting to be purchased by some naive music fan. Avoid being that jerk.

Create Superiority

Keep an eye out for knockoffs. Due to their high price, many shady workshops (particularly in Asia and Eastern Europe) produce fake instruments and sell them to unsuspecting customers.

If you aren’t sure what kind of instrument you want, it’s best to spend the extra money and go with a reputable luthier. They’ll sell for around $1,200, but aren’t worth even that much.