American Fiddle Repair

Here is an American fiddle that I am currently working on. I have been working on it for a while actually. It has substantial damage, parts missing, pieces of ribs missing, a VERY unusual neck block, and a neck that has been grafted not once -- but twice! Here are a few pictures for you to take a look at.

This first picture shows the lining being glued back into the fiddle. This fiddle has the darkest color of hide glue that I have ever seen...and lots of it. I guess someone was afraid that it would come unglued (and indeed it did even after all of that glue!). I actually removed quite a bit of extra dried up glue.













These pictures show the neck block with the neck in place. This is before I disassembled everything to fix it.

















These last three pictures show the process of adding in a piece of missing rib. The varnishing has not been completed, but you can see that it is getting close to the right color now.

Unique Lowendall Bass Bar

Okay. Now here's something you don't see everyday. This is a very unique bass bar that is in an early 1900's Lowendall fiddle. Normally, bass bars do not have any holes in them, much less holes with wooden straws inserted. I guess this was thought to enhance the sound of the fiddle. I am VERY curious what this fiddle will sound like once I get it back together again.

E-mail About Student CD

I received another nice e-mail regarding The Bluegrass Shack Student CD. This one is from Al.

Just wanted to say Happy New Year and thanks for all your energy, patience and creativity. The Cd's were the centerpiece of music at our Christmas Eve dinner. They all could not believe how good your expertise is and how good the students
sounded. Simply magnificent.

Thanks, Al!

Yes, We Teach Piano!!!!

Okay - so we're The Bluegrass Shack. We do cater to acoustic musicians of bluegrass, folk and country; HOWEVER, we also offer some great classical piano lessons! Sharla Stasiak is our piano teacher here, and she has her Master's Degree in Piano Performance from Notre Dame. She also attended Eastman School of Music during the summer while she was still in high school. I thought I'd better share some of our "other" offerings, since these students work just as hard as everyone else around here. Be sure to listen to 14-year old Alaina playing "Summer Wind" in this video clip.

Pit Stop

A nice guy by the name of Michael stopped in our shop today. He had been searching on the internet for a fiddle, and we talked with each other last week over the phone. (In fact, I was playing fiddles for him over the phone!) Michael is from Pittsburgh, but is actually in the process of moving to Colorado. He dropped by the Shack in a rental van on his way to Colorado and purchased a fiddle. I wish now that I had asked to take his picture, but it just now occurred to me. He has never played fiddle before, but would like to learn Irish and Cape Breton (Canada) fiddle playing. I think we spent about an hour talking and playing fiddles, but finally Michael was able to pick one out that suited him just perfect! Hopefully, we'll hear from Michael and maybe he'll send me a picture of him with his new fiddle (hint, if you're reading this Michael).

First Banjo

Maxine came into our shop just before Christmas to purchase a banjo for her grandson. Richie is just 5 years old, so the Plucky (made by Gold Tone) is the perfect size for him! Maxine was kind enough to send us these pictures of Richie with his new banjo on Christmas Day. She said that Richie has been wanting to play banjo for a long time, so I think they're going to be hearing some banjo for a while!

Rehairing Bows

I will be rehairing bows this weekend. I try to do several at one time so that I can have all the tools I need out at the same time.

Here are several things to consider when having a bow rehaired:

1. Real vs. Synthetic Hair - The only time I use synthetic hair is if someone wants to store (and not use) a rehaired bow (e.g., they don't play but they want the bow rehaired for sentimental reasons). The synthetic hair doesn't attrack the carpet weevils that eat the hair out of bows. I use real horsehair in bows that will actually get used because the real hair plays much better than synthetic hair. The synthetic hair is more slippery than real hair, and it doesn't accept the rosin as easily.

2. How often should I rehair my bow? - Professional classical players generally rehair bows every 6-8 months I've been told. This information came from Liesl Schoenberger who has played Carnegie Hall & European tours classically, and also performed on the Grand Ol' Opry.

The hair tends to get brittle after a certain amount of time and loses its elasticity. I only rehair my bow when there's not enough hair left to play! If the hair gets too old, or if the bows gets exposed to hot weather, the rosin dust can actually harden on the hair. You will see this with old bows that have been stored away in cases in attics and such. If this happens, you should probably rehair. If your bow gets something spilled on it, then you should also probably rehair.

3. Can I clean the bow hair? - I have heard of this, and I have even seen kits that you can purchase to clean the hair. Unless you've spilled something on the hair that's sticky or slippery, you probably don't need to clean the hair. Some say to use alcohol, though I would think this would make the hair brittle and more apt to break. It can also remove lacquer. I have also heard to use a soap and water mixture. I haven't actually used either.

4. Should I get my bow rehaired or should I purchase a new bow? - This all depends upon how much you like the bow you are considering rehairing. If it is a very inexpensive bow ($40 or less), then I would only rehair it if I really LOVED the bow. It costs $40 to rehair a bow, so it wouldn't be cost effective otherwise. Make sure the bow you want to rehair is straight when sighting down the bow from the frog to the tip, and also make sure the bow has ample camber. Camber is the natural curve of the bow. Bows that lack camber tend to be bouncy and are very hard to rehair properly because the hair tension depends upon proper camber. Take a look at the photos below to see the difference between warping (something you don't want) and camber (something you do want):

This bow is warped. You can see that when viewed frog to tip, it veers off to the right.




















This bow has proper camber. With the hair loosened, the hair touches the middle of the bow. You may have to click on the picture to enlarge it enough for a good view.




This bow has no camber. With the hair all the way loosened, the hair doesn't even come close to touching the middle of the bow. You may have to click on the picture to enlarge it enough for a good view.