This Old Fiddle

The winter fiddle project is finished. Instead of cleaning every nook and trying to "restore" it, I decided to leave all the gunk and grime. It came by that grime honest. It's ~100 years old, has been played, left in attics and trunks, and moved more times than I can count. But it's still here. And all that gunk was along for the ride. So, I figure it's got a right to be here.

Here it is.

Here's an early shot of this fiddle in action. I'd give anything to be able to pull up a step and listen to this jam session.

And here's a recording of my grandpa playing his other fiddle in 1967 with a still shot of this fiddle.

Currently listening to: Miles Davis 'Round About Midnight

Fall Project

So, I said Fall project, but it might end up stretching into a Winter project.

This old fiddle belonged to my grandfather, Ray Masters. Check out this earlier entry for more info on him, and some clips of him playing a different fiddle. This particular fiddle was actually his first. It was purchased in Laflin, MO from a man who worked for the railroad probably sometime in the early 1920's. It's just a basic, lower quality, 3/4 size fiddle that he learned to play on.

This one needs lots of attention. Saddle, nut, bridge, tailpiece, pegs, fingerboard re-finished and re-glued, etc.

I'll try to post some updates of the (most likely SLOOOOW) process of getting it back in respectable shape.

Now Listening to: Django Reinhardt

Thank you Mr. Bourgeois.

I stopped by a great guitar shop here in St Louis today that carries some fine acoustic guitars.

After surveying the land, I'm convinced I can't do any better than these two from Dana Bourgeois.

On the left is an early DS240. EIR/Adirondack Spruce with forward shifted/scalloped bracing. It's like a giant D-28 in a Gibson's body. Sounds a mile wide. On the right is an early Country Boy in Mahogany/Bearclaw Sitka Spruce. It's just what a Mahogany guitar should be. Gobs of focus on the fundamental, lots of mid-range thump and FAT tones on the treble strings.

To paraphrase Norman Blake...Thank you Mr. Bourgeois, I'm alright.

Now playing: Clarence White 33 Guitar Instrumentals

Thanks for the memories!

This past weekend I made the eastward trek to Louisville, KY and had the opportunity to witness on of the best thoroughbreds of the past 30+ years (maybe ever) finish her career. Even though she came up a nose short, she definitely cemented her legend and proved to all the so-called scribes and odds makers that she was the real deal. She danced for the crowd at the paddock like she always does. And she put on what many who have watched the race say was one of the best performance they've ever seen.

So, Zenyatta, thanks for the incredible memories!

Proof I saw one of the greatest ever!

This Old Cassette

For as long as I can remember, this old cassette tape has been around. In a cedar chest, then in the storage compartment of the family hi-fi, back to the cedar chest. I don't remember the first time I tried to listen to it. I just remember how horrible it sounded. It was scratchy, warbly, and the music it contained was unlike anything I'd ever heard.

Jump forward to my 12th birthday. I'd just bought an acoustic guitar at Shivelbine's Music and Sound in Cape Girardeau and was practicing like crazy trying to play Buddy Holly tunes from another cassette I'd found at our house. My Aunt invited me to a Bluegrass festival. I had no idea what that was, but I was up for the camping trip side of it. From the second I got there, it sounded and felt familiar. It was the music I'd heard on the cassette. That was 1990 and from that moment I've been completely infatuated with old-time and bluegrass music. I've had stints where I tried to escape it. A few years when I tried to give up music...4+ years in a pretty raucous rock and roll band. For better or worse, I can't.

A few months ago I was visiting my parents, snooping through the old records in the Victrola and Hi-Fi and found THE cassette. I brought it home and dubbed it into a digital editing software and proceeded to chop it up into tracks and clean up the audio as best as my software will allow.

This old cassette contains the sonic remains from a night in 1967 when my grandfather, who hadn't played his fiddle in years, joined his sister-in-law and brother-in-law for a jam. What makes it special to me is that I never met my grandfather. He passed shortly after this recording.

But here he is. Sawing on an old Stradivarius-copy fiddle (bought off a man on the railroad in Bollinger County, MO)...and doing it pretty damn well.

Get Along Home Cindy

Bury Me Beneath The Willow

I never got a chance to jam with my grandfather...but in a round-about way I did get to make some music with him after all.

Dulcimer Build Finale...

Got a day off, so I decided to head out to the shop and really get after the dulcimer project. I had a lot less work to do than I had originally thought. Final sanding, Tung Oil finish, and tuners/bridge/nut installation. Waiting for the Tung Oil to dry a couple times was the longest part of the day.



The coolest moment had to be when I finished installing the tuners and got ready to string it up. It reminds me of the feeling you get when you rebuild a carburetor and you jump behind the wheel to fire it up for the first time (will it start or will it burst into flames?). Same kind of feeling here. When I put some tension on these strings, will it make a joyful noise or fold like a cheap chair into pieces on the shop floor? No folding here.



This project has been a really great experience. I've been doing set up/repair work on solid body electric guitars for myself and other folks for several years now. But I've yet to try my hand at any acoustic instrument construction. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the results.



So...here it is.

Hourglass/Walnut #1



















Currently listening to: The Black Keys-Rubber Factory.

Dulcimer Build Days 1-4

I've started working on a Walnut teardrop shaped dulcimer as an entry into small scale Luthiery. So far it's been really fun. I realize I'm only a week into a simple build...but this is definitely something I'd like to transition into professionally.

I got a little ahead of myself and didn't snap any shots of the raw materials. So we'll pick up after the tail block has been glued in.















Here, the sides have been bent, sanded and are ready to glue into the scroll.





















And, after the scroll has been glued in.

Next up, I've drilled the tone holes for the top. I'm a weirdo who doesn't like to look at things that aren't symmetrical...so I've went with some basic circles laid out in a pattern that doesn't make me want to gouge my type A eyes out.

After the tone holes are ready, I've glued them to the fingerboard.

Now it's time to glue the top/fingerboard to the sides. As you can see, I don't have a set of go-bars. So I've opted for the highly scientific route of c-clamps and sugar/flour bags.

The top is glued in and it's time to trim the basic shape. This involves several careful passes with a razor knife.

And finally a shot of the label that I'm about to glue to the inside of the solid back piece.

I should be closer to being finished next week...

Currently listening to: Norman Blake(what did you expect?)