Syntagma Musicum, published by German musicologist Michael Praetorius in 1614-20, contains the woodcut of an unusual hurdy gurdy. Curiously, a fingerboard replaces the nyckelharpa-style keybox.
Intrigued by this challenge, Ken built two versions of the instrument as an experiment. One has solid spruce top and tied gut frets; the other has a parquet mahogany and spruce top and metal frets. He forged the handles on both hand cranks in his blacksmith shop.
