Search:

Thanks Rob Roy! I'll try to post a recording soon if I can get one. And yes, the bridge is designed to be shimmable (is that a word?) when required. Puriri is fantastic timber - information about...

Binding is there to cover up the end grain and other transitions around the top and back. The end grain and changes from side to end grain and back look squirrelly and absorb stain differently. It...

Voila!

One other aspect that I know affects me is tension in my body. If I am experiencing any tension in my shoulders, elbows or wrists, my tone suffers. YMMV.

It's a good idea to check repaired cracks every now and then.
Depending on the size and location of an active crack, its effect on the structural integrity of the instrument may be very small, or it...

So, over the years, I’ve had multiple cases and asked a lot of questions. However, those discussions often fall into things like: get a Travelite, Mike Marshall uses one for his Loar; if you care...

I adopted my first mandolin a bit more than five years ago. I'm an old violinist who wanted to sit and play music and followed my approach to buying bows when selecting my first pick. I think...

i've always enjoyed this as a fingerstyle guitarist(Michael Chapdelaine has an amazing version of it), and over the last few years SH has been doing it and it just works. this has to be the best...

One of the issues I have the the lack of appropriate cases for German style Mandolins. So this is a solution. Made from 6mm birch ply, the faux leather is from my sons abandoned car upholstery...

I just wanted to comment on this with my own, strongly held, opinion.

PLAYABILITY is of extreme importance IMO; in fact, it is as important as the sound of an instrument.

Playability has more...

based on the oldest comment, this appears to be at least 5 years old, may be more-i don't know.

some interesting content, would love to hear a good interview of about an hour or more with Lynn,...

Folks, the arthritis in my hands is significant enough that trying to tune these small tuning pegs can be difficult and painful at times. I couldn’t find a small tuning tool for the mando, so I made...

The mando is done and on the way to me. Should arrive Friday. It's not even here and I already love it! Thanks to Max and Lauri!
201985201986201987

A person on a recording website offered to master tracks for people. I sent him this track and he worked some magic on it. He has multiple Pultecs and other tube gear that really added some goodness...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqk99EreeRU

I've done a few experiments on different instruments, comparing full-contact bridges versus 2- and 3-foot bridges on the same instrument.

I found that separating the bottom into two feet made the...

She has congenital alopecia, and thus is bald, so she wears wigs all the time. I can’t speak for her, of course, but suspect her lashes aren’t terribly full for the same reason, so she uses the...

Check your intonation. I find when mine is not in good tune, or intonation is even slightly off it gets bright sounding. When it is correct it is warm and wonderful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHEhzmQvI1k

I had never heard this tune before I got Bob Minner's recent CD, and have had it on my mind since then. After watching the video of Norman & Nancy Blake's performance many times (and at slow...

I've been toying with this idea for quite a few years but only now I finally got the main ingredient - stainless spring steel shim stock.

Some theory:
WHen you bend wood across heated iron the...

At this point it does not sound bad, but it is not as loud as my gibson A2, so I would like to get more volume out of it, and perhaps improve the bass a bit.
Would that be possible or should I just...

Look away if you are one of those with little respect for instruments with strings numbering other than 8, but this has taken up so much time on my bench lately that I thought I'd show a couple of...

The fingerboard has to be very true and the fret job has to be very accurate for <3/64" to work. Factory fingerboards and frets usually are not that well done. And the player's technique has to be...

And, to join in on this useful thread drift, I use a Stewmac miniature rectangular scraper so much that I really should order another one.
I use the Timberline SB-1 burnishing tool to draw out and...