rattlers

[luthierfer]

anybody know why thay put rattlesnake rattlers in mandolins. I know it is supposed to give something to your sound, but I also heard they used to stick them in there to keeps mice and rats from getting in there and chewing up wood. Because they smell the snake they wont go inside.
anybody got any other crazy explanations. Id like to hear

[JiminRussia]

It is most probably just superstition and folk legend. Yes, the presumed reason was to keep "critters" from gettig inside, but there is no proof that it actually worked. Remember that most of the payers of these instruments had roots in the hills and were not all Rhodes Scholars.

[Clyde Clevenger]

I do it cause my Grandad, Jack Monroe Clevenger, put one in his fiddle. Told me it was magic and that's all I needed to know. I've got two of 'em in my Bush. When I spend enough time making them vibrate the magic happens, sometimes.

[billkilpatrick]

i've put one in my charango. i'm told it will keep the devil at bay (so far, so good) and improves the sound by creating a mini-resonator. this is subjective of course but i noticed a change right away - a ping pong ball would have probably done as well but it's worth it just to see the expressions when people ask "what's that noise?"

in a similar thread on "classical, medieval,renaissance", someone related a story about a violinist who was upset when his instrument came back from being repaired without his "tone ball" inside. the luthier hunted up a ball of dust, stuck it in the violin and the violinist was happy.

- bill

[Scotti Adams]

..they were used to keep spiderwebs from forming inside the instrument..

[Damnation Gulch]

Wow, what... do you just toss one in there or glue it to the side or what?

Edit: "..they were used to keep spiderwebs from forming inside the instrument.."

I guess that answeres my question...LOL!

[ira]

never heard of this. but i like it- shake rattle and roll, and no spiders! where do i get one, and how/where do i stick it in my mando so it doesn't fall out of the oval hole??

[Damnation Gulch]

Out in AZ there aint no shortage of rattlers. Payin the price to get its tail off is another story http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[billkilpatrick]

ebay sometimes has them. i got mine from something called the snake den in south dakota. type "10 or 12 button rattlesnake rattle" in your search engine and see what you get.

- bill

[Scotti Adams]

..you just let throw on in and let it roll around....

[fatt-dad]

Dear NG,

It was good enough for Bill Monroe. Apparently, when Monroe sent his Loar in for service, in there was a rattlesnake rattle. I just learned this from the "Can't Your Hear me Callig" bood about Bill Monroe. Great book.

f-d

[mpeknox]

i do it for the mojo

[softshell]

I sometimes get together with an 80 year old fiddle player to knock around some tunes, to try and pick up some vibs and to hear some good stories of his days touring thru the west in the forties and fifties during his Texas Swing days. He plays a pretty hot fiddle and knows a ton of tunes. He also has a rattlesnake rattle in his fiddle, attached to the sound post. He says that it adds to the sound of the fiddle and adds a little luck when you are out on the road.

[Clyde Clevenger]

I'm not a Rhodes Scholar? I'm a superstitious hillbilly, maybe even a hick??? I can live with that, least I know how to spell Roads.

[billkilpatrick]

i bought a 9 button rattle from this man and we're both (my charango and i) very happy with it.

http://www.sdsnake.com/SnDen.htm

- bill