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Except for the way-overstated price, you're describing my '17 Gibson A-1. IMHO, there's somthing really special about playing a 100+ year old instrument.

Well said, Bob!

Let's be realistic: If you MUST look at your instrument, you're either a beginner (as were we all) or haven't progressed far from being a beginner.

From the opposite view: ...

Happened to me too, but a bit of picking-wrist pressure keeps everything in, uhm, harmony. And probably a good reason to partonize Cafe member Doug Edwards for his excellent armrests:...

For what little it's worth (and some will surely disagree):

In the 6 - 10 years that Snarks have been around, I've found them to be somewhat frustrating. Not sure why, as I've never used one of...

For your long-term sanity:

1 - Most strings are cheap. Don't commit to buying the expensive, long-lasting ones until you've developed your own preference, based on your own ears & fingers.
2 -...

Point of confusion:
I see where the paper separates the top from the rims (maybe not on the back?). But it also seems that the top (soundboard) extends up the neck, as an "extra" layer between the...

I nominate this as the Cafe's most useful, clear, accurate, and all-encompassing statement ... EVER!

Jake: As if your playing wasn't impressive enough, the thoughtfullness and detail of your...

My assumption, without in-hand inspection, is that the rounded ends of the capstans were probably peened over, treating them as rivets. That might also expand the shaft and pressure the inside of...

Yikes! The last photo is pretty clear: the "replacement" gear has 14 teeth, while the others have only 12!

FWIW, typical fast bluegrass drives my wife absolutely BONKERS. After 2 minutes or so (most often in the car, where she can't walk away), her pulse & blood pressure are matching the music's BPM......

Deep issues indeed! But then again ...

On Netflix' 2020 year-in-review special, Leslie Jones, recently of Saturday Night Live, commented (approximately):
"I'd like to say that 2020 was a...

Whoa!! A philosophical question, far more than I realized way back when I read "the best-selling philosophy book of all time", according to Wikipedia.

The answer, IMHO, is "it depends": Do you...

Whoa!!! (Yes, THREE exclamation points.) Major head-rush / recollection from, what, forty+ years ago??

In "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", two friends are sitting by their evening...

Remember that paper and cardstock are simply reconstituted wood, possibly with higher density than most, and certainly higher consistency.

Wish I could remember who but, 10 years ago or so, one of...

Side story, & plug for a great place:

On my first visit to the Denver Folklore Center, 6-8 years ago, I asked if it I could try out the $4K XYZ mando that was in a closed (and probably locked)...

My first stringed instrument, a "budget" Kay guitar in 1963 (Thanks, Santa!), had "pingy" unwound strings. Came to learn that's mostly due to 1) budget, and 2) unwound. That's life ...

Yes, a...

190864

Reminds me of a Dali or Picasso face with, ya know, two mouths?

BTW, the Reverb shots show a small square of particle board, or maybe cork, at the heel; it seems to be stuck on and...

A simple answer:
Bluegrass is more "tradition-bound" than any music o/t classical, so most tunes are "traditionally" played in a specific key. They don't need to be, that's just the way folks do...

Alan: A fine and noble hijack it was! Thanks!!


HA! I'd been thinking the same thing! But the good news, at least for me, is:

My tuners work fairly well as they are. For the sake of not...

Good question! I've been thinking between a dozen and a hundred or so, as I suspect that many that are removed now will need replacing, and there must be another dozen folks out there in similar...

Jim, I assume you meant to say "not particularly super-valuable"? Mine was ~ $400 eight or ten years ago. BUT, it's a lightly built & resonant canted-top flatback, generally akin to that era's...

One an active Cafe member, the late Paul Hostetter taught even interested amateurs like me. Fortunately for us, his family has maintained his website. Personally, I found his "bell" analogy to be...

Those missing tuners seem to be unique to Stromberg-Voisenet. (S-V was active in the '20s, the predecessor of Kay-Kraft, the predecessor of Kay.) S-Vs show up in the Cafe classifieds every year or...

If it were me being that fusssy, I'd buy a sacrifical bridge from StewMac or eBay just for experimentation (and the experience of fitting). Not that it will become your final format but, by raising...

Just because your buddy Jake built a sports car that's just as beautiful, fast, loud, and sexy as a Ferrari ... don't expect folks to pay Ferrari-level prices for the next one that he builds. ...