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The Ugears Hurdy Gurdy shows off the team at Ugears skill of expanding the creative world of hobbies and transforming the art of assembly into an exciting game.

Hurdy-Gurdy – the world's first mechanical musical model that you put together yourself. It is the most extraordinary mechanical model kit which is all-in-one: model for self-assembly, toy and fully fledged musical instrument.

The Hurdy-Gurdy plays dancing melodies, from folk to modern, being the bridge between the medieval times and the present day. A unique blend of the joy of creation, playing music, and engineering and design. Just build it together with your own hands and feel like Stradivari or a popular Hurdy-Gurdy star!

With a total number of components of 292 and an estimated time of assembly of 4-5 hours for beginners or quicker for experienced Ugears builders you'll love the end result of this cool kit.

Assembling Hurdy-Gurdy

The Ugears Hurdy-Gurdy comes with everything you need for assembly.

All the pieces have been precut into the plywood boards and are easily removed for assembly following the detailed instructions provided. 

The only non-wood parts, by necessity, are the two strings that rub against the crank powered wheel and the rosin used to wax it.

Estimated assembly time of the Ugears Hurdy-Gurdy is 4-5 hours for beginners and less time for professional builders. Assembles without glue or special tools and without toothpicks.

Tuning Hurdy-Gurdy

The model has a melody string for playing melodies and a bourdon string for a background sound. 6 keys correspond to 6 notes that are played by pushing the key while rotating the crank.

The released keys provide one more, seventh, note. The second (bourdon) string is tuned by tuning the peg in unison to the melody string or in any melodic interval (quart, quint, octave).

The construction kit includes pieces of rosin to wax the wheel and improve the sound.

Playing Hurdy-Gurdy

The Hardy-Gurdy by Ugears is a fully-fledged musical instrument.

To start the music flowing, the player just need to crank the handle with one hand to kick off a drone sound from the bourdon and melody strings.

Pushing the wooden buttons with the fingers of the other hand changes the pitch of the melody string, as "spring-loaded" wooden blocks essentially shorten the string.

The Ugears Hurdy-Gurdy brings the unforgettable time of working together on things that are popular among people of any age. Just put it together and you are ready to throw an original party giving a new spur to whatever music you like – whether it is folk or modern – playing your new unique Hurdy-Gurdy solo, duet, trio or quartet.

Peter and Anne-Maree
Hello from Peter & Anne-Maree

CoolThings Australia is a Australian owned & operated small business located in Launceston, Tasmania.

The CoolThings Australia mission is to help you be the coolest gift giver in your family and circle of friends.

You know the feeling you get when you give a gift and the response is "That's so cool!" - that is what its all about!

CoolThings Australia was started in 2003 by Peter and Anne-Maree and is still led by them to this day. Their purpose in business is to be givers themselves and they support multiple organisations close to their hearts locally, nationally and internationally.

Both Peter and Anne-Maree and their team of cool giftologists thankyou for your support and are looking forward to serving you today!

UGears Hurdy Gurdy Reviews

Barry Stewart - Verified Customer

28 June

(5)

This was a very rewarding build. The instructions were simple to follow every setup of the way. Rubber bands seem to be a problem for some builders, but they could not have been more straight forward to handle in this build. A great model, it looks so good finished.

Tony - Verified Customer

31 December

(5)

This was a 21st birthday present for my son who really didn't want or need for anything. This present fitted the bill perfectly and has been played with everyday so far.

Jeremy Davies - Reviewer

23 November

(5)

Fantastic design with high quality manufactured parts. Even the “hammer assembly tool” used to help tap pieces into place is a work of art! Great fun to build - and I’m managing a tune!!

Peter - Reviewer

16 November

(3)

A great idea and design with many areas to improve in. I have studied and received a cert 4 in instrument making and repair, as well is many years experience in the Industry. This kit is a very unique and different to all the other musical instrument kits I have seen. Putting it together was mainly enjoyable with several frustrating moments. The first minor, most fixable problem is there isn't enough wax in the kit, I ran out about half way through and need to use my own candle. Not a serious problem, but one that is easy to fix. The second minor problem was with the tuning. I have no idea what key the strings should be tuned to. It has some digital scan codes that will help, but I don't have the technology to use those codes. I personally think it would be quite easy just to inform the buyer in the book what notes the strings should be tuned to. I assume the drone sting is the same as the melody string but even then I have no idea what key it is supposed to be tuned to. The first big issue I came across was the neck join. If my understanding is correct, the treble end of the neck should be pushed towards the bridge as far as possible to bring it to the correct scale length. I found this very difficult to bring it fully forward. The instructions showed a sign about an online video for further instructions, there were several videos about the kit but none of them helped with brining the neck to the correct position. Eventually I decided to shave a small amount of timber around the connections, then put it under string tension. This pulled it closer but it it still wasn't perfect (if I shaved the joints a little more it probably would). The second major issue I had, which initially made my the instrument dysfunctional was the fracture of piece 69. This is an important piece that connects two tuning gears. Unlike most other gears which use two peices that connect to each other at a right angle, this piece doesn't. It also has two decrative cuts through it, which potentially caused the fracture. I do intend on cutting a replacement peace for it but the fact it fractured before I could properly play it is rather frustrating. I believe that three of these issues are rather simple to solve, firstly put more wax in the kit, secondly inform us of what notes the strings should be tuned to, on paper, not digitally. Thirdly either include an new piece that joins with piece 69, or remove the decrative cuts through piece 69, they weaken the timber. I'm not sure how to make the neck join easier as it is always a difficult part of all stringed instruments. Though I think there is much improvement needed, this product is enjoyable and currently a one of a kind instrument kit.



CoolThings Australia Response
Hi Peter, Thank you so much for your Review of the Hurdy Gurdy, I'll share your feedback with the UGears team that make the product. There are also spare parts available for this – Would you like a spare part for piece 69 sent out to you? Let me know. Natasha.
Rod - Reviewer

14 October

(5)

Absolutely stoked!!! I received the UGEARS Hurdy Gurdy as a Father's Day gift and could not be more impressed. It's beautiful, musical and I get to put it together. So happy right now!

David Schilling - Reviewer

13 October

(5)

Loved this model! All fit together perfectly and was fun to build and play with afterwards.

Kayne - Reviewer

4 April

(5)

Misses loved it and it arrived in great time

Shop Reviews

(5) Rick - Verified Customer

The surprise on the recipients face said it all. Speedy delivery. Kept up to date whilst in transit It’s almost unlimited in all the cool things (pun intended) you can get, especially for those who like gifts that are unique I’m adding an extra star, even though I’m limited to 5...

(5) Rick - Verified Customer

The surprise on the recipients face said it all. Speedy delivery. Kept up to date whilst in transit It’s almost unlimited in all the cool things (pun intended) you can get, especially for those who like gifts that are unique I’m adding an extra star, even though I’m limited to 5...

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I wanted 3 small cool gifts for my grandsons..so happy, they arrived on time. Hope the grandies love them....

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Great service fast delivery fab game...

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I needed to make a last minute present for the family 'Santa re-gift' group which was a slightly stressful situation!! I had a look at coolthings and was so impressed with all the interesting items available. I made my purchase & received a confirmation email straight away & my order was received the next day. Thanks so much, great ...

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Fun stress reliever by pulling mice through holes in cheese. Stretchy. Speedy delivery. Great communication. Would buy again from this store. Many unique gifts to choose from....

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As always a great experience dealing with this wonderful Tassie Company. I have purchased several products overtime and have also been please with the products purchased and the fantastic & prompt service. ...

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Prompt dispatch and delivery of ordered item. Easy site to navigate, and excellent customer service. I received a speedy reply to a question I had about my purchase....