Saw U

This came from the same collection as the Nepali Sarangi, but appears to be more of a functional instrument rather than an ornamental piece. It was in surprisingly good playable condition and was really the prize of the instrument hoard. Unfortunately I’m not particularly proficient with a bow so I can only make limited use of it, including in sampling. There are plucked and bowed samples with slightly varied range, and a poly patch where the legato has been disabled – this saves losing the
preset legato settings, but you could also just bypass the legato script under the hood in the main patch if you don’t mind re-doing those.
The saw u is a Thai bowed string instrument, probably adapted from the Chinese ‘hu’. The resonator is a coconut shell; this particular instrument has a tonewood soundboard rather than hide. It has two strings, normally tuned a fifth apart. It apparently typically uses silk strings, though this one came with fishing line, giving it a raspier and more metallic tone. I plan to replace these with some wound-nylon strings in the future, so there may be a sequel, ‘Saw U II’, to look forward to.