Marcodi Musical Products

[Marcodi]

Hello to all!
My name is Jason Melani and I am with Marcodi Musical Products. We are a brand new company with a brand new instrument named the Arpejji. We are going to have our full web site up soon but for the time being here is the Arpejji.

www.marcodi.com

Its been a long 5 years in bringing this product to life and we are excited from the responses that we have received.
Here are a few quick bullet points about the instrument.

- It is a touch-style or tapping instrument.
- We are mainly marketing it to keyboardist but we feel bassists and guitarist will want to explore the instrument as well.
- It is set on any keyboard stand and played by standing over it and tapping with two hands.
- It has 24 strings and covers 5 octaves from A to A
- The marking system is what we call EZ Ivories. All the white dots represent the white keys on a keyboard and all the black squares are the sharps and flats. The diamonds represent C.
- It utilizes whole tone tunning.
- It has 2 pre-amps. One for the first set of 12 string and a second for the second set of 12 strings. Therefore it does have two separate outputs.
- It is about the size and length of a electric or bass guitar.
- All instruments are hand assembled and finished.
- Mini peizo pickups.

Our web site will have video's, MP3's, pics, and additional info that will answer all of your questions. However for now please feel free to email me at jason.melani@marcodi.com

I do have to give props to the original inventor of the Starrboard, Dr. John Starret. He made a few prototypes in the mid 80's and has abandoned the Starrboard. The Starrboard is no longer made and was never made for mass produce. We simply have taken his idea and have radically changed it. The story is a good one and you will be able to read it on our web site.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and take care!

Jason Melani

[rjgoos]

Beautiful workmanship! Best of luck!

[lactose]

Now that's something I've never seen before. Looks really nice. I will be interested to check out the site when you get it up.

[GaryOpenhill]

Looks beautiful. Looks better than the starrboard haha! I hope we get to see a video demonstration soon!
CR*P! Now i have to get me one of those too!

[PhoBucket]

Classy instrument. Looking forward to the samples.

Best luck,
Ben

[Marcodi]

I don't know how to change my post so I will just post a reply to myself....
I probably should not have said that Dr. John Starret abandoned his idea. He may still be selling the Starrboard. Anyway just wanted to make sure I was not being looked at as wrong. Thanks to all of your kind comments!

[jdstarrett]

You are right, I am no longer making these. I have a couple that I will finish eventually when I retire or when I move back to Denver where my shop is. I made 11 StarrBoards total, and I have two acoustic versions and two 26 strings half finished still sitting in my shop. One of the MIDI ones (there are two) was stolen by a software engineer who I hired to make a nice software interface.

I hope you do well, and I hope people get a chance to play these new instruments. I think the time is right, and they look like they are really well made.

John Starrett

[PhoBucket]

What is the string spacing?
What is the scale length? 34"?

[seveneight]

What is the price?
What is the wait time?

[GaryOpenhill]

OOopss, John Starrett, I didnt know you read this forum! hope you didn't get mad at my comment about this one looking better than the starrboard!

[Marcodi]

Currently we are asking individuals that are interested to call us and we can discuss pricing over the phone. We are exploring different finance options for those would like to finance.
1 Year warranty however if there is an issue and it falls out if the warranty we will certainly deal with each situation differently. The wait time is 2-4 months as of right now. We hope to cut that down to 1 month. Every harrpejji is shipped with a custom case, power supply and interconnect cable.
Happy Thanksgiving!

[jdstarrett]

Gary, no offense taken. In fact, the first couple of StarrBoards were made from double wide rock maple pin blocks, just as the Arpejji is. I went to 27 ply baltic birch because I could get an instrument just as stiff with a lot less weight. The birch really needed a finish, though, because it is just not that interesting a wood, and I eventually I settled on that kind of dull gray I assume you are talking about.

I have a picture of one of these and one of the two acoustic SB on my page:

http://infohost.nmt.edu/~jstarret/instruments.html

The acoustic has a Koa upper area and Honduran rosewood fingerboard with maple position markers.

John Starrett

[GaryOpenhill]

Originally posted by jdstarrett
Gary, no offense taken. In fact, the first couple of StarrBoards were made from double wide rock maple pin blocks, just as the Arpejji is. I went to 27 ply baltic birch because I could get an instrument just as stiff with a lot less weight. The birch really needed a finish, though, because it is just not that interesting a wood, and I eventually I settled on that kind of dull gray I assume you are talking about.

I have a picture of one of these and one of the two acoustic SB on my page:

http://infohost.nmt.edu/~jstarret/instruments.html

The acoustic has a Koa upper area and Honduran rosewood fingerboard with maple position markers.

John Starrett

i guess i was thinking more about the quality of the photos! Marcodi did a good job!

I'm glad you made it to this forum, because i remember there was some problems with registering before.

Btw, the arpejj is tuned in wholetones. I guess it looses the ability to tune it to just system with all it's modulations, so its inferior to the starrboard in that sense! But i'm sure their decision is well thought trough.

[harpejji]

Hi, All!

My name is Tim Meeks, the other founder of Marcodi and the guy who developed the arpejji, which is indeed a descendent of the starrboard. First let me say that it really warmed my heart to know that Dr. Starrett phoned us and wrote some words of encouragement within hours of us "going public" with our new product. Wow! What a great feeling. I have so much respect for what he did over 20 years ago when there were far fewer tools and resources available to aid in product development. We are happy to have grabbed the baton and to take the idea to the further.

To answer some questions that have come up:
- Scale Length: From bridge to 1st playable fret = 29.0" (happy compromise between guitar and bass scales). All fret slots are precision CNC-machined for accuracy within a couple thousandths of an inch. Each string has a fully adjustable saddle (intonation and action).
- String spacing is 0.540 inches, which turns a 1 octave stretch on a piano into a 2 octave stretch on the arpejji. It is very easy to play, for example A0 + A1 + A3 simultaneously with the left hand. Makes for some really thick bass.
- Overall range = A0 to A5 (5 octaves in total). Note that A0 is deeper than the low B on a 5-string bass.
- The tuning system of the arpejji is indeed whole tone, and this decision was one of our most important ones. Most tuning systems create random-looking patterns of black and white markers, but only chromatic tuning (like the starrboard) and whole tone tuning (like the arpejji) allow for a visual clustering of black markers which mimics a piano. In addition to providing 2 times the interval stretch of a piano, whole tone tuning also provides twice the overall range given the same # of strings.

You might also be interested to know that:
- The arpejji uses through-body stringing to enforce sustain and to minimize overall instrument length.
- There is no string winding during installation. Opposite the ball end, the string is tightly clamped into tuner blocks with set screws. This eliminates the tendency for strings to unwind a little and lose pitch.

Thanks to all for your compliments on the looks. I think keyboardists deserve an instrument with a little more beauty than a black or silver "appliance" with a computer screen on the front.

Glad to be a part of tappistry!!!

[jdstarrett]

"i guess i was thinking more about the quality of the photos! Marcodi did a good job!"

I found some old pictures and updated my StarrBoard page. Nothing like a kick in the ass to... uh, kick you in the ass.

http://infohost.nmt.edu/~jstarret/StarrBoard.html

John Starrett

[harpejji]

... to answer a previous post about just intonation...

The arpejji is primarily designed to be an equal temperament instrument (like a piano). You could tune the strings to just intonation (in relation to each other for a given fret), but since each fret repeats a series of 6 notes (rather than 12) your just-ly tuned scales would be 6 note scales (eg C-D-E-F#-G#-A#).

Our feeling is that the benefits of expanded interval reach and cost/weight/size efficiency outweigh the forfeited benefit of 12 tone just intonation, which has its own disadvantages.

[harpejji]

Here is another attempt to attach a view of the arpejji not yet on www.marcodi.com. In this view, you will see the hand-holds, jack area, and more bridge detail.

[Marcodi]

HOPE THIS WORKS

[Marcodi]

Sunny side up... Keep in mind this is not totally assembled.

[rpmartino]

Are you guys going to be at NAMM?

[rjgoos]

Originally posted by rpmartino

Are you guys going to be at NAMM?

Dang it, Rob...will you stop rubbing it in...;)

[Marcodi]

I wish we could but not this year. We will definitly be there next year. Here is a shot of the tuner channel. The tuner cover is held in by magnet's.

[rjgoos]

Tim, Jason,

Thanks for the great pictures, and best of luck with the new instrument.

A technical question...what is the specification for the "gap" between the bottom of the string and top of the fret, at about the mid-point of scale of the instrument? This is an index that we use to discuss how low the "action" is on a tapping instrument.


Thanks.

[harpejji]

rjgoos-

By "about the mid-point of scale" do you mean the fret nearest 50% of scale? And by scale, do you use the distance from bridge to nut or from bridge to 1st playable fret? Would you also use the middle string (eg string 12 of 24)? (Each string on the arpejji has a different action setting.)

Tim

[rjgoos]

I was just curious, seeking a general idea, about half way between nut and bridge, what is the specification for the gap between the bottom of the string and top of the fret beneath it. Some people use an actual gauge, others use US coinage to describe the gap....half-dime, dime, penny, quarter, etc.

[lactose]

I am trying to decide if it would make more sense to play this from the front or the side.

[haimeh]

are there video or soundclips?

[harpejji]

Lactose-

I think there will be some who will want to play it from the side, especially those with more of a guitar or bass background.

However, I think there are more advantages to playing it from the front:

- Marker system is easier to recognize
- Your fingers automatically stay out of each others way. With side-playing, two fingers might end up fighting to play on the same string.
- Octave layering is easier to finger.
- Piano-like glissandos (where the gliss note and the final note each have distinct attacks) are easier to accomplish.
- In my opinion, it has more performance appeal when played from the front. It just looks cool to see someone play it, because it kind of reminds you of someone riding a sled or a boogie board. When played from the side, I think it is more reminiscent of a pedal steel or traditional keyboard (ho hum). Just not as fun to watch.
- String sliding is more comfortable, and again, more interesting to watch... more "athletic".

Another option is to set it on a stand and approach it from either front or side, depending upon the song.

[harpejji]

rjgoos-

Not sure about the exact gap dimension. I would have to measure it.

[jdstarrett]

Originally posted by arpejji
Lactose-

I think there will be some who will want to play it from the side, especially those with more of a guitar or bass background.

However, I think there are more advantages to playing it from the front:

- Marker system is easier to recognize
- Your fingers automatically stay out of each others way. With side-playing, two fingers might end up fighting to play on the same string.
- Octave layering is easier to finger.
- Piano-like glissandos (where the gliss note and the final note each have distinct attacks) are easier to accomplish.
- In my opinion, it has more performance appeal when played from the front. It just looks cool to see someone play it, because it kind of reminds you of someone riding a sled or a boogie board. When played from the side, I think it is more reminiscent of a pedal steel or traditional keyboard (ho hum). Just not as fun to watch.
- String sliding is more comfortable, and again, more interesting to watch... more "athletic".

Another option is to set it on a stand and approach it from either front or side, depending upon the song.


Another technique that is easy either with the Arpejji or the StarrBoard is tremolo -- the fingers lie over equivalent pitches and play them rapidly in succession. On a StarrBoard, these lie along diagonals up a fret and down a string. On the Arpejji, these lie on diagonals up two frets and down a string. Then one hand can repeat a note rapidly while the other plays a melody, chords, whatever. It is a nice effect, unavailable for tunings with a wider pitch string to string such as a Stick, and is easy in either front playing or side playing position.

Another nice effect is to scratch equivalent pitch strings (wound strings only) with the fingernails, moving up and down in a fret space, with the fingers on different strings moving in different cycles. This gives a nice sustain, and if you learn to do it with one hand, the other can play over an infinitely sustained note.

John Starrett

[harpejji]

John-

About string scratching... I find it particularly useful when playing a driving 1/8th note bass line. Here is how you do it:

- Use your left thumb to fret and hold a note
- Use your left index finger to repeatedly scratch/pluck the string.

Because you are not tapping on a fret with each note, the result is a more pleasing, less percussive bass line.

And actually, I find it to work better with flatwound bass strings, because the scratching sound is not as harsh. Flatwounds have just enough texture to respond to the same technique. The bottom 9 strings on the arpejji are flatwounds and this is one of the reasons why.

In the technique you describe, how are the strings being fretted (or are they not fretted)?

[jdstarrett]

Originally posted by arpejji
John-

About string scratching... I find it particularly useful when playing a driving 1/8th note bass line. Here is how you do it:

- Use your left thumb to fret and hold a note
- Use your left index finger to repeatedly scratch/pluck the string.

Because you are not tapping on a fret with each note, the result is a more pleasing, less percussive bass line.

And actually, I find it to work better with flatwound bass strings, because the scratching sound is not as harsh. Flatwounds have just enough texture to respond to the same technique. The bottom 9 strings on the arpejji are flatwounds and this is one of the reasons why.

In the technique you describe, how are the strings being fretted (or are they not fretted)?

They are fretted by the scratching finger. I have a recording of the effect somewhere, and I'll see if I can find it and post it. It sounds sort of like a didgeridoo .

John Starrett

[harpejji]

For the benefit of future searches, please note that the product name has officially changed from "arpejji" to "harpejji". The purpose of the name change was to achieve a stronger trademark.

FYI- Look for a special feature article on the harpejji in the January issue of Music Trades magazine.

[harpejji]

... and my Tappistry user name is now "harpejji" too

[harpejji]

Before today, marcodi.com was just a home page. As of today, the full website is now up and running. Now that we have the framework in place, pictures, videos, mp3 files, etc. will be quick updates.

Enjoy!

[Marcodi]

Hi all,
I just wanted to let everyone know that the video's are up. They are not the best and we are going to continue to improve them. However they do answer a lot of questions. Let us know what you think and thanks for all of the positive feedback.

Jason Melani