Heh … yeah, same here. My bandmate actually plans to build one. We’ll see how that turns out.
Personally, I’m mostly a bagpipes guy, though ^^
I know of a website that sells them flat pack for about £500, but having spoke to a proffesional Medieval muscian, by the name of Peter Bull, I have decided to save up for a proffesionally made one, as he advised that even a Lyre can sound cheap and nasty…basicly you get what you pay for. So it’s many years of saving up they ar so damned exspensive. Bagpipes and Lyers go very well together.
Yep, that’s pretty much the same with all instruments (or swords for that matter, to stay on topic at least marginally … ^^ I’ve seen people buy a one-handed sword for 50 bucks and then be surprised that the blade broke off after half an hour of “fencing” … really, now?).
Many people will try and get them cheap, off of ebay or whatever else, only to buy junk that most of the time doesn’t even work (or sound hideous when it does). Rule of thumb: If you want quality, be ready to pay for it - quality never comes cheap.
Also, I think I’ll chuck in a new topic about medieval music, no need to clutter this thread with it ^^
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Indeed. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen people go the cheap route, especially trying to get a sharp to do cutting practice with.
No folks, a 200 dollar Chinese import will NOT cut as well as a 1200 dollar Albion blade. Nor be as sturdy, accurate or tough. Period.
This is why I have strict rules on what a person can use to cut with when I’m doing my cutting classes.
Yeah, I imagine cutting is still another league entirely.
Haven’t actually tried it yet, although I’m definitely going to at one point.
For now, my blunt-edged one-and-a-half Jíri Novak longsword and that train rail of a sword that passes for a one-hander with Krondak will have to do, though. The bad thing about anything medieval, be it martial arts, re-enactment or music, is that it’s a pretty damn expensive hobby to have … ^^
i started attending HEMA because i could wait for this game 
I say go for it! I do HEMA in Glasgow (where I stay) and it is honestly worth the time and effort you put into it. I find it really helps you to develop discipline and unlike Asian martial arts, there is less of a focus on being a high rank, and more of a focus on self improvement, which I feel makes it work every bit of work.
I would also advise getting a Rawlings synthetic sparring sword to begin with (providing you have a place to train that also uses wasters). Not saying it is better than steel (it just isn’t), but it’s a fraction of the price, and it is fine for just getting into things. 
Finally, I advise you to read and watch as many instructional things as possible, and most importantly TRY what you see.
And besides, there is nothing cooler than seeing people’s faces when you tell them you sword fight (“No, not flimsy sport fencing… I mean longswords!”)
Just have fun with it, and see where things take you. 
I am a Dark Ages re-enactor… so yes.
I’ve been studying longsword for a few years now, though the “group” I’m in has kind of fallen into just me and another guy trying to manage on our own (our instructor moved to Texas literally the week after I joined ). We started off mainly working from Ringeck’s gloss of Liechtenauer, but we’ve begun to look at expanding into both the English and Italians (via Fiore), based on the idea that A) there’s not a definitive German school or Italian school, but that it’s all one unified system (basically: the longsword is the longsword. Period), and B) the historical masters themselves were known to travel widely and learn from many other masters, so it doesn’t make sense for us to limit ourselves to only one master’s work.
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