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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 9, 2013 21:40:41 GMT
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 8, 2013 20:04:42 GMT
oh cr*p, no one ever said I was supposed to practice!!!
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 7, 2013 23:01:32 GMT
when i glanced at this link I thought it said "I have a long felt wand" You're not the only one - luckily I read it more closely before replying that I have a short corduroy pentacle!
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 7, 2013 22:46:35 GMT
Thanks for the tip Keith - just found one of these on Virginmedia catch-up. Lots of Taran strummage. Do you know if Mattheu does any of his solo pieces in this series?
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 7, 2013 20:04:04 GMT
Hi Leon - the stretching problem arises when playing melody on a long-scale instrument tuned in fifths. The guitar is much more ergonomic being tuned (mostly) in fourths.
Cheers
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 7, 2013 17:43:00 GMT
I managed to fix it - only spotted that a section of the improvised coathanger hoop was pushing between the tone ring and tension bezel after I'd trimmed the excess piecrust and strung it up. The head tension was fine and not going to go anywhere, but the extra girth meant the bezel wouldn't go as low as I need it, so I had to dismantle the whole thing, rub a bit of water onto the vellum edges to soften it and rebuild.
Still a few jobs to do but i couldn't resist getting some strings on and seeing how it sounds - I like it, quite a gentle sound (if you can imagine a banjo sounding gentle!)
Jobs still to do: - sand a few mm off the bridge feet - pop in a couple of fret dot markers. - the fifth string nut or spike is missing. This is needed to hold the fifth string just before it descends into its brass tube tunnel, so it has the same spacing as the other strings - at the moment the fifth string is too close to the fourth.
Cheers
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 7, 2013 17:22:08 GMT
Keith- sounds like you need to trade the Fylde zouk for something like this r.ebay.com/fRktAn ?
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 6, 2013 8:31:51 GMT
Thansk Grayn - a useful review and very enjoyable read. >very workable, alternative chord, when I owned a, now much missed what is it that you miss, the chord or the (what?)?
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 5, 2013 7:11:03 GMT
Dave - am thinking of reinserting the tambourine inside the tonering once the new vellum is in place, I've heard good things about doubletopped guitars so why not banjos too?
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 5, 2013 7:06:33 GMT
Good point Keith - however I am very unlikely to generate steam or heat of any kind while playing, so it should be safe to leave the crust unperforated.
Trimming the excess crust once the vellum was dry (a day later) was quite nervewracking, using my slightly blunt Stanley knife. A slip in one direction would gash the vellum, a slip in the other would mean a trip to A&E. Luckily the task proceeded without mishap and I'm reasonably staisfied with the result. Should have some more photos shortly but I seem to have drained the battery on my smartphone ...
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 4, 2013 23:11:45 GMT
Tha tambourine stuffed inside the banjo was obviously a surprise and I opened a dispute on ebay to resolve it - fortunately the seller accepted my request for a refund so I have some funds to effect the necessary repairs. Making a new head is not something I've done before however I now finally see the value of the Needlework and Domestic Science lessons I was obliged to take at secondary school. First thread the vellum with string (a paper holepunch - as used to put sheets of paper in a ringbinder - was used to create the holes): Next soak the vellum in cold water for an hour or two, and place the flesh hoop in the middle: The water used for soaking the vellum can be preserved for use as a meat stock. ONLY KIDDING! I haven't been able to source an original flesh hoop but as mentioned earlier a coathanger makes a good stand-in. The two ends of my coathanger are joined with gaffer tape but you could try soldering if you have the ability, and equipment. Next, draw the string fairly tight and tie off in a pretty bow: The transition from Needlework to Domestic Science now starts to take place as the pie-crust is placed on the tone ring and the tension hoop bolted on top with a few turns of your banjo spanner: Then let it dry for a day or two. Note that these instructions are for fitting a vellum to a zither banjo, I think other banjo types differ. There are excellent instructions on the andybanjo.com site - Andy sent me a printed version too as I bought my vellum from there. Next up is trimming the piecrust and fitting the head back into the resonator...
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 4, 2013 22:41:24 GMT
I've been taking some photos so have the makings of a build thread, of sorts. A "re-build" thread. First up is some close-up shots of the tailpiece which was fitted when I first received the banjo, as you can see it's far too large in fact where the strings attach to the tailpiece is roughly where the bridge should be so the intonation could never be right: Apologies for the quality of the photos, although I work in IT, smartphone cameras are a mystery to me and for these it seems to have decided to add a sepia tint. Anyway, the next photo shows the height of the bridge, again far too high which makes the banjo unplayable even if the intonation could be corrected. The height of the bridge is actually a consequence of the long tailpiece too, as the tailpiece is resting on the tension ring it tailpiece can't actually be lowered, so neither can the bridge. Having dismantled the instrument (and found the tambourine inside as pictured earlier), it looks like there have been at least three tailpieces fitted to the instrument so far: Andy Perkins at andybanjo.com suggested cutting six parallel grooves spaced 3mm apart in the tension hoop as a possible means of attaching strings to the resulting five studs. This is a cheap and effective solution, and not inappropriate for a fairly low quality banjo like the Ideal 8, however lacking a sharp hacksaw, or the ability to work neatly or accurately, I've opted for a narrow mandolin tailpiece (but keeping an eye on ebay in case an original banjo tailpiece crops up). I'll need to line it so one of the eight mandolin string studs is dead centre for the third banjo string ... watch this space!
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 4, 2013 6:48:21 GMT
A rather lovely project indeed, I had a play on Samhradh about 10 days ago and it felt like a very special instrument. Very comfortable to hold and easy to play, the cutaway and 13th fret body join make it very versatile. Sound-wise the thing I remember was the clarity of the mids, I enjoyed playing it fingerstyle and I suspect a flatpicker would get some great sounds too.
Tangential question - Samhradh - is that an alias of the Turlough OCarolan tune Fanny Poer, or maybe a tune that is played in a set with it?
Look forward to seeing Dave and Samhradh at the East Anglia show.
Cheers
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 2, 2013 22:41:23 GMT
I am enjoying this build thread and everything seems to be progressing very nicely. I wonder is anyone else humming the theme tune from Goldfinger as they read this ... "Bubinga ..."
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Apr 1, 2013 23:44:44 GMT
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