I've since gotten to know Duke quite well, partly because the Covid crisis has meant he has spent the last year here in North Thailand. He is a real gent with a huge basis of musical knowledge that...
I've since gotten to know Duke quite well, partly because the Covid crisis has meant he has spent the last year here in North Thailand. He is a real gent with a huge basis of musical knowledge that...
One I made years ago from a cheap neck rest (I think meant for use when receiving a massage), a piece of timber cut to size and some leather.
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One thread from a few years ago is here
I added two photos to the response above.
[Edited: made a couple of pictures; note that that is not glue around the bracket, it is stray metal polish from when I cleaned up the top of the bracket, which gets a bit corroded over time; maybe...
That looks and sounds wonderful, Gary. Fantastic work.
Jenn Butterworth and Laura Beth Salter are lecturers at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. This concert broadcast from home isolation in Glasgow, and complete with fine mandolin content, was just...
Good work, Gunnar. You will find that when making a round braid strap, if you make the braid much tighter, the result is the strong, round, rope-like effect you might want. Your very loose braid...
John - look up 'mystery braid' on YouTube. It's made from a flat piece of leather (like a belt) with parallel cuts made along its length, except for short uncut tabs at each end. Then you do a lot of...
This the video I keep going back to when I forget how to make round (rope-like) braid from four strands of fabric or leather.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0afO40tsqAc
I don't think my friend, blues mandolin maestro Bert Deivert will mind me sharing this video that he just put on a blues mandolin Facebook page.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmkd_0qZZ-g
These pictures, despite the evidence of my lack of attention to cleaning and polishing my old 1970s no-name F5, should show roughly what the backrest device is all about.
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There was really not much to it. The wood was a piece of scrap soft white wood I literally picked up from the side of the road. I spent quite a lot of time shaping it using a rasp and sandpaper. The...
People will be tired of seeing this, but I made my own device for keeping the back of my F5 clear of my torso. I used scrap wood, pieces of cork table mat and viola chin-rest brackets. It certainly...
I think there will be quite a long line of us waiting for that sound clip, Gary. :)
Thanks Brad. Sad news. Ivan was one of a kind.
What is known in Scotland as a long road to a wee house.
If you do go to Falkirk, you'll be duty-bound to visit the Falkirk Wheel, a modern mechanical and engineering wonder every bit worth a stop.
I've never seen Waverleys, but I do have a set of Robson tuners on an A mandolin, and they are wonderfully engineered. Keith Robson is a real craftsman and a pleasure to deal with. Highly recommended.
If I was an established instructor I think I'd be insulted by the idea of a complete novice player with no musical knowledge somehow thinking he might be able to 'audition' me for a task I could do...
That's a beautiful instrument. I bet it sounds great.
Interesting article in a publication where a story about bluegrass might come up once every few decades.
It strays into areas that will get the thread closed down very quickly if you insist on...
I'm biased - Cy Winstanley, a New Zealander now living in Nashville, is the son of good friends of mine. As well as touring nationwide as the side man for rising stars of the country/Americana scene,...
It needs to go back to the store. I can't see that doing anything other than getting worse.
The large, grippy Primetone triangles are my go-to choice. 1.4mm or 1.5mm - I have both and can't tell the difference between them.