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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 25, 2013 8:02:17 GMT
And for my grand finale (for now at least), feel free to dance along with this one:
Need to get on the road now I don't want to keep Keith waiting!
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 25, 2013 7:48:58 GMT
Here's another: Must spend more time practising my triplets, which were the cause of most of the buzzing on this one !
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 25, 2013 7:40:11 GMT
Here's my first video of the CBT being played:
I took a chance playing this reel three times through and it very nearly paid off!
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 25, 2013 7:27:39 GMT
Keith - thanks! And you SHOULD be excited!!!
Here's another video of CBT music I've stitched together in Windows Movie Maker with some old photos:
CBT is capoed at the first fret. That's an unusual thing to do on a mandolin but not an issue with CBT owing to the longer-than-normal scale length, it also means that you can play along on your Highland Bagpipes!
I do have some videos of me actually playing the mando, watch this space!
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 25, 2013 0:53:14 GMT
Here's the first video, a compliation of Dave's build photos, which I have taken the not inconsiderable liberty of setting to some music played by me:
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 25, 2013 0:33:13 GMT
I've had Ceol Binn Taistealaí all to myself for 3 weeks and been keeping very quiet about it so far, but that is about to change! Here's a quick review, with some videos and recordings to follow.
Background: I already own a Ceol Binn mandolin, which I commissioned from Dave last year. Mine has a cedar top and cuban mahogany back and sides so I was looking forward to being able to "compare and contrast" the two instruments for three weeks! CBT has a slightly deeper body, which I didn't notice while playing but appearance-wise I think I prefer the thinner version. CBT felt like it had a slightly thicker neck too, and also a wider tailpiece - again on both counts I prefer my own instrument's dimensions. The tuners are both gold hardware and ebony buttons but of different manufacture, but both good quality and I didn't notice any difference in use. Other than that, my CBII and CBT are more or less the same - same body shape, scale length, nut width and string spacing. The nut width and scale length in particular are fairly unique attributes of the Ceol Binn model, being a little wider and longer respectively than other mandolins on the market, and likely to appeal to guitarists like myself who often find the standard mandolin dimensions too cramped for comfort.
Appearance: pale spruce top which as we know will darken nicely with age and exposure to light. There are one or two areas of figuring - I think known as "bearclaw" - which some people may like, though I suspect over time on a mandolin it may start to blend in with pick marks and become less of a "feature". Back and sides (plus the soundhole rosette) is Bubinga, I haven't had the good fortune of examining this wood up close before now but it has a very attractive "3D" quality to it when you tilt and turn it at different angles to the light. This makes it very difficult to photograph - dark stripes appear on one side or the other depending on where the light hits it, which can make the two sides look less "bookmatched" than they actually are. In the flesh though, it is a real pleasure to behold! The neck is mahogany and the front and back headstock overlays and tuner buttons are both ebony, matching the fingerboard and bridge, and the tuner hardware, frets and tailpiece are all gold, so there is an aesthetic unity to the head, neck and body of the instrument. The overall appearance then is quite simple, but with well-chosen details (like the black/pear/black purflings on the soundhole and ebony-bound fingerboard, back and sides).
Sound: unfortunately the instrument suffered from a few buzzes during its 3 weeks here, this is the downside of being first on the roadtrip as any new instrument inevitably has a period of "settling in" under the tension of strings. I had a go at shimming the saddle myself and also, as Dave doesn't live too far from me, took the instrument for a more expert diagnosis - Dave raised the nut a little. I suspect the buzzes may not yet be completely cured, but we know they can be fixed fairly easily if they resurface. I certainly didn't get the feeling that there is anything fundamentally at fault with the sound - just the opposite in fact. The mandolin has a good amount of sustain and I found it surprisingly "warm" for a new spruce-topped instrument. Maybe psychological but I thought there was something "guitar-like" about the tone, whatever the case I enjoyed playing it and it's very exciting to think there should be even better sounds to come!
Conclusion: The buzzing problems were somewhat frustrating as I lack the skill to diagnose and fix these myself, but overall I'm very impressed. The Ceol Binn model deserves success and I think CBT in particular has a very promising future ahead.
I'll be handing CBT over to Keith tomorrow, and I have a few recordings and videos which I'll get posted on this thread as soon as I can...
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 18, 2013 23:33:05 GMT
If you feel your mind wandering it could be your mind has had enough, for now, of the piece you are trying to learn. That's fine, your mind needs to digest the information before you feed it any more. The trick (not one I have necessarily mastered myself!) is not to let yourself get distracted by noodling at this point. It's the noodling that is frustrating, and distracts you from seeing the progress you are making. So do something else - a different tune, a different instrument, or something completely unrelated to music. Then later - minutes, hours or days later - go back to the original piece and see if you have made progress. Often, the brain has been processing the stuff you couldn't previously play, and found a way to play it a little better.
Concentrate on the bits you can't play, rather than the bits you can. Playing the bits you can play can be another form of noodling.
Finally, cultivate an unhealthy obsession with playing your instrument. This is necessary, and may even be sufficient, regardless of your level of congenital ability.
cheers
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 18, 2013 22:55:23 GMT
On the way back, i saw my jiffy bag still there sat against the fence in the alleyway! I think the punchline is supposed to be "I saw my jiffy bag in the alleyway, plus half a dozen other bags full of banjo vellums"
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 16, 2013 22:34:07 GMT
r.ebay.com/lye5wLThe seller says it has double-spaced frets, what do you think happened here - they copied the neck off a baritone bass, they forgot their tape measure, or is there a musical justification for it?
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 11, 2013 12:38:28 GMT
Cigar you Lonesome Tonight?
Also sounds great just noodling around in the Humidorian Scale
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 11, 2013 11:05:55 GMT
Background listening at home is mostly JazzFM, in the car either Absolute Radio or XFM, or else a CD I've picked up at a gig (usually folk but could be jazz). In the massage parlour its usually some cheesy panpipe covers. I also like to download the trad music podcasts from ClareFM and put them on the MP3 player.
Playing would be irish, scottish and english traditional tunes on mandolin, or else my own arrangements of jazz standards on acoustic guitar (standard tuning). I do have a repertoire of trad tunes on acoustic guitar (DADGAD and a few other altered tunings) but been giving that a rest recently in favour of the more immediate gratifications of mandolin.
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 10, 2013 19:23:43 GMT
I'd like to hear a jazz standard like (Pint and) CaStella By Starlight on this.
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 8, 2013 21:29:47 GMT
Mark, your set did indeed go down well, a very solid performance - Keith and I have the video and recording to prove it, am trying to transfer to Keith so he can stitch it together now. Look forward to seeing you on the main stage next year?
The cigarbox building workshop did look a lot of fun, I nearly booked my self onto this but couldn't be sure i'd get there on time (it started fairly early in the day), and probably I have enough instruments already. Keith and Dave were wondering what tunes were appropriate for a cigarbox instrument, having had some time to ponder I'll suggest these:
ThanCuban for the Music HamLet It Be Shove the Bay of Pigs Feet further into the Fire CastrOh Susannah (in fact any Fidel tune would work well)
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 7, 2013 17:57:23 GMT
Nice review Keith.
The Auden guitars have an interesting business model - not just a bit of tweaking in the UK but actually installing frets, saddle+nut, tuners, electronics, and spraying+polishing the gloss finish. Be interesting to see how they prosper as if they can get nicely finished well-playable instruments into shops they may stand up well to some higher priced instruments.
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Post by Mike Floorstand on May 6, 2013 22:08:52 GMT
I collected Ceol Binn Taistealai (CBT) safely from the East Anglia Guitar Festival yesterday and recorded a quick comparison on the Zoom H4N this morning: soundcloud.com/mike-floorstand/ceol-binn-comparison-ryansThis is a WAV file, not sure if everyone can hear that? but let me know and I can convert to MP3 if necessary. The recording is Ryan's Polka, played first on my own Ceol Binn mandolin (cedar/cuban mahogany) made by Dave last summer, followed by CBT (which is spruce/bubinga) made by Dave this Spring. CBT has a super-low action and (probably not helped by being in a hot barn - the festival mentioned above - all day yesterday!) possibly has a bit of fret buzz on the treble strings, but I wanted to get something recorded early in her life!
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