Here’s some picture of a custom psaltery that I recently completed.

The top is Curly Redwood, with a laser-cut Padauk rose and a Curly Maple rosette ring. The binding and bridge are also made of Curly Maple. I love the look of curly woods: it almost reminds me of draped fabric, and seems to beg you to reach out and touch it to see if it’s really flat.

This psaltery also has black pins, and phosphor bronze wound strings.

For the back/sides, African Wenge was used, which is a very dark, elegant, (and resonant) wood.

This psaltey also features a herringbone backstrip, a tripod mount insert, and a rear soundhole.

The backstrip blends in very well with the Wenge, and almost makes it look as if the psaltery could be unzipped.