All about that one string bass ;-) ldvries 2016-12-12 | A few pictures of my latest build - a one string bass, made from (mostly) discarded bits and pieces.
Lil King Of Everything - Los Lobos (cover) on an Octave Mandolin ldvries 2023-03-07 | To make my mandolin family complete, I finally finished an octave mandolin: tuned like a mandolin, but an octave lower (G-D-A-E).It was only after I tried to figure out how to play this tune on this instrument, that I realized that the original is not played on an octave mandolin, or indeed on anything mandolin-like at all. The original is in the key of G, and this ended up in D.There are a few videos with David Hidalgo playing it, but his fingering is completely different. He plays something that looks like a small classical guitar, but (as far as I can make out) is modified to be an 8-string baritone ukulele. I does seem to work on this thing too, though. The only problem is that I'm now tempted to build an 8-string baritone uke as well...
So Long And Thanks For All The Fish - ukulele fingerstyle cover ldvries 2022-05-24 | Happy Towel Day to all you hoopy froods out there!This one has been on my to do list for years: the version by Neil Hannon (the original is here: youtube.com/watch?v=3bdQPhqL3xo).Even with the lyrics and chords I couldn't quite figure out what was happening... but I think I got pretty close eventually.And, of course, since this is the jazzy version, it should obviously be played on my jazzy archtop uke :)
I honestly didnt expect this to work... ldvries 2022-04-26 | I'm very sorry to disappoint, but my latest project is NOT a guitar (not even something vaguely resembling one). Still, I had a lot of fun doing it, and I feel I should share the end result with the rest of the world.I recently took a course in clock repair, where I learned some of the basics about clocks and gears and stuff. After that, I decided to take a swing at building something with gears myself. Not a clock, but something more fun, and something that doesn't need to run as smoothly and precisely as a clock should, because I don't have the machinery you need to make something as accurate as that. I need to be able to make all the bits and pieces by hand. So I tried to think of a quirky project to experiment with...I am also a big fan of the Discworld series, by Terry Pratchett. If you don't know what I'm talking about: Look it up! Read the books! Wear the lilac!The basic premise is explained in the first book of the series, The Colour Of Magic: "Through the fathomless depths of space swims the star turtle Great A'Tuin, bearing on its back the four giant elephants who carry on their shoulders the mass of the Discworld. A tiny sun and moon spin around them, on a complicated orbit to induce seasons [...]"You can probably guess where this is leading: I wanted to make a Discworld Orrery. It has taken half a year, and since about a week or so, it looks like it's finished! It feels a bit rickety in places, and I am very careful when I use it, but so far, everything seems to work.I have tried to incorporate as many facts from the books as I could. Some facts about Discworld astronomy can be found in the books from the Discworld Series itself, and also in some of the additional publications such as the Compleat Discworld Atlas and the Discworld Almanak. Not all details are covered however, and not everything makes sense when you actually do the math. As far as I know, Terry Pratchett never completely specified the way Discworld astronomy works, and a lot of the discrepancies should probably be explained away as "Because... well, magic!"Still, we can try...The disc's tiny orbiting sunlet maintains a fixed orbit while the majestic disc turns slowly beneath it. The disc itself revolves once every eight hundred days. This is a Celestial Year, which consists of eight seasons. The summers are those times when the sun rises or sets at the nearest point on the Rim, the winters those occasions when it rises or sets at a point around ninety degrees along the circumference. A Celestial Year is usually divided into two Common or Agricultural Years of 400 days, containing one of every season.The mechanism is powered by turning the handle. The orbit of the sun is fixed, in the vertical plane along the spine of Great A'Tuin. The handle should be turned counterclockwise, so that the sun rises on the side of Great A'Tuin's head, and the disc spins Turnwise (clockwise, when seen from above). One turn of the handle represents one day. The sun orbits the disc once a day, and the disc makes a full turn every 800 days, one Celestial Year.Underneath the disc, the calendar ring rotates once every Common Year, 400 days, which is divided into 13 months, consisting of 32 days each, except for the month of Ick, which only has 16 days. The months are shown on the ring, the arrow indicates the current date.The moon also spins around the disc, approximately once a day. According to the Discworld Almanak: "The orbits of the Sun and Moon about the World, passing over and beneath it in an ellipse or flattened circle, are very similar and periodically the Moon passes so close to the Sun that one face of it is scorched. By the great foresight of the Keeper of the Geometries, the Moon spins in its path so that this is always the same face, which by now is quite blackened. And thus, when this face revolves towards the world, are the Phases or Aspects of the Moon caused."In my model, the lunar orbit lies in a vertical plane that rotates once every 63.6(...) days. The indicator on the base of the orrery shows the phase of the moon. Full moon occurs when the lunar orbit plane coincides with the solar orbit plane, which is when the moon may be close to the sun for an extended period of time. New moon occurs when the lunar orbit is perpendicular to the solar one. This way, the time between two full moons comes to 31.8(...) days: almost, but not exactly one month. I didn't want it to be exactly 32 days, otherwise the lunar and solar orbits would match up too perfectly. Similarly, the moon orbits the disc in almost, but not exactly one day, to cause some variation in the relative positions of the sun and moon.I have made several other considerations, concessions and choices during the build, but I won't go into all of that here. I only hope I won't come across some detail that doesn't fit my model the next time I reread the series...
Hill Street Blues Theme - Fingerstyle baritone guitar ldvries 2021-12-03 | I was experimenting with the new mandocello, and came across a couple of chords that sounded familiar. So I looked up the sheet music, tried to make it fit the mandocello, failed, and then tried it on the baritone.It works, more or less, although I would have liked to get some more bass notes in here and there.
Hard Times Come Again No More (Stephen Foster), on a Mandocello ldvries 2021-11-14 | This was one I saw someone else do on a mandocello. So I tried to figure out the fingering, and I think it sort of works :)
Mandocello demo ldvries 2021-07-11 | After my mandola, I became curious about the larger mandolin-like instruments. I thought about an octave mandolin, but decided to go all the way, and try out a mandocello.As a mandolin is tuned the same as a violin, and a mandola is tuned like a viola, this one is tuned like a cello, an octave below the viola. (N.B.: Excuse the typo in the video itself at 0:06 - it's not tuned C-G-E-A, but C-G-D-A...)I didn't really build very much on this one; I mainly used prefabricated parts, and modified some where necessary.
A viola... ldvries 2021-04-05 | This was mostly a "proof of concept" sort of thing...Just to see if it would be possible.I still need to learn how to get any music out of it...
Coodercaster demo ldvries 2021-04-05 | The main reason to build this one was the strange bridge pickup that these things have. The rest of the guitar mainly consists of ready-made parts screwed together. The only thing I made myself (other than the bridge pickup) was the neck.And I suppose a genuine vintage Supro Lapsteel pickup would sound infinitely better.But still, it's good to have an electric guitar in open tuning lying around.
Bass Demo ldvries 2021-04-05 | The one string bass I made was so much fun that I decided I also needed a proper one.It's based on a Gibson RD-model. Walnut body, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard. It has two fairly basic pickups, stacked pots (volume and tone for each pickup), and it is HEAVY...Luckily I hardly ever play standing up.
Telemandola testdrive ldvries 2021-04-03 | Another experimental build... I wanted to try out a mandola (the bigger brother of the mandolin, as a viola is to a violin), and for some reason I ended up crossing that (yet again...) with a telecaster model.So it's an electric mandola, with Telecaster (Deluxe) body, with the F-style scroll in the shoulder.Purpleheart top, alder body, maple neck.Handmade pickups, one humbucker and one P90-ish single coil. But only four pole pieces, so maybe I should call it a P60 or something.Things sound less shrill on this than on a mandolin, but my hands still feel a bit cramped. Maybe I'll go for a mandocello at some point...And if you mess around on it for a while, you can suddenly stumble across a tune that is more or less in the perfect key for this :)
Less Paul testdrive ldvries 2021-04-03 | My first experiment on the road to guitar building was replacing the tuning machines on a guitar of mine, which I eventually reverted. So that set of tuners has been lying around in my workshop for years (if not decades).Finally, this is the project they have ended up on: a mini Les Paul model guitar.Mini humbuckers, 17" scale, figured maple top with burgundy red stain, walnut body, and tuned from B to b'. So, it's sort of like an "octave baritone guitar". If that makes any sense...
Double Single bass ldvries 2021-04-03 | My one-string bass has been fun, but it felt a bit too scruffy after a while. So I decided to take it apart, and give it an upgrade...
Muppet Show Theme Song - acoustic fingerstyle guitar ldvries 2020-10-30 | Another experiment on my new 00. The tab didn't include the final chord, so I had to guess a bit. Sounds about right...
Monkey Island Theme Song - Fingerstyle guitar cover ldvries 2020-10-30 | Another finished project: a 00-model! The shorter scale length should make it a bit easier for fingerstyle playing. The body joins the neck at the twelfth fret, and I haven't put in a cutaway, so I might bump into the body a bit more often. We'll see...About "The secret of Monkey Island": I love this game (still replay it occasionally) and the theme song is great! The bridge part should really be an octave higher, but... what can I say... I play like a dairy farmer...
Dulcicaster demo ldvries 2020-10-29 | My dulcimer was a fun addition to the family, so obviously I decided that I needed an electric one as well.I finished this one a while ago, but the pickups were a bit too narrow. They didn't pick up the sound of the outer two strings very well, which is a bit of a problem when you only have three...So I made some new pickups, larger ones, and this seems to work better. Still some room for improvement, but good enough for a demo.
All of me (cover) - archtop ukulele ldvries 2020-10-29 | I really should try some more jazzy stuff on this one...
Frankensteampunk demo ldvries 2020-03-08 | This is a contraption I have in my workshop. It's a rig to try out pickups, and to test what wiring might work best.Do not mistake it for a musical instrument!
King Of The Swingers - Fingerstyle guitar cover ldvries 2020-01-14 | My new toy - A very basic electric one. One P90 pickup (hand wound, quite loud), no knobs, Les-Paul-Junior-ish meets pre-war Martin Parlor model.Let's call it a Les Parlor...
Chicken In The Rain - John Knowles (cover) ldvries 2019-09-24 | Since yesterday, my right shoulder is officially "frozen". Bummer.This explains why I haven't been able to play guitar properly for a while. When I reach over the body, my shoulder hurts.There are some ways to work around it, with a foot rest, and putting the guitar on my left leg, and sitting up straight, looking like a real guitarist... But I also want to be able to sit back on the couch and just noodle a bit!Luckily however, I have also just finished my latest experimental build, and the timing couldn't be more perfect.It's a small parlor-ish nylon string guitar, with an arm bevel. And, as it turns out: I can still play this one!
Travel Guitar demo ldvries 2019-07-19 | I got some left over bits and pieces, an old cutlery case, a mini amplifier, and a few extra parts, and put all of it together into this ... um ... contraption.The only thing I still have to try out is whether it is sturdy enough to take along on vacation.
Youve Got A Friend In Me - Randy Newman (ukulele fingerstyle cover) ldvries 2019-02-06 | An archtop ukulele... I've been working on this one for a while, and I have put it aside a few times because of other (less challenging) projects that came along :)But it turned out quite well in the end, I think.And it's a good excuse to go looking for more ukulele tabs. Who knows, I might even get into the jazzy stuff a bit more...EDIT: Re-post... I initially uploaded the raw laptop recording, not the one with the better audio track on top...
Masonite demo ldvries 2018-12-29 | I had some leftover bits lying around, so I decided to build one of those Danelectro-like Masonite guitars, mainly because I was intrigued by the unconventional wiring.The body consists of a frame of cheap pine, covered with hardboard on both sides. It has two lipstick pickups, wired in series, and a wraparound bridge.Lends itself quite well for surf music, if you add enough reverb and stuff like that :)
Electric 12-string guitar Testdrive ldvries 2018-08-28 | Trying out a few things on my electric 12-string. The strings are the "wrong" way around, so I also grabbed my acoustic Seagull for comparison.
Electric Resonator Guitar Testdrive ldvries 2018-08-28 | I finished this one over a year ago, but I never found the time to make a video of it...
God Rest Ye Merry Dulcimer ldvries 2017-12-20 | Merry Christmas!I thought my latest project would be rather suitable for this kind of thing. And it turns out that it is!Although it also turns out that it doesn't necessarily need to sound quite so medieval...
Fields of Gold - Sting (acoustic cover, on a dulcimer) ldvries 2017-08-26 | One of my first attempts to arrange something for my new dulcimer.I particularly like the fact that the melody is almost entirely not on the top string (which is where the melody is usually played on a dulcimer)
Dulcimer Experiments ldvries 2017-08-26 | I built myself another toy :)At first, I thought a dulcimer was a bit of a sissy instrument, but then I came across Sam Edelston's channel (look for ContemporaryDulcimer here on Youtube) with his arrangements of popular songs for dulcimer, and I decided I should have one of those as well...There was a bit of trial and error in the build, and it's probably not entirely constructed as it should be, but I think it turned out nice.Next challenge: looking for more songs to play on this thing! It's fun trying to figure out how close you can get using only three strings...
One String Bass Experiments ldvries 2016-12-12 | Trying out my new home-made one string bass. (For a clip about the build process, see here: youtube.com/watch?v=7Nqzarr0MQI )I'm no bass player, but this is fun to experiment with!And no, this may not be the best or the easiest way to start out with, but who cares... :)
Look so good - David Lindley (cover) ldvries 2016-09-20 | I dismantled my home-made lapsteel a while ago, because I thought there were some issues with it. Most of the material was reused on other projects, but I still had the bridge and the extra high nut, and I wanted a new lapsteel anyway.So this is version 2.0, in shiny Pelham Blue. Of course I should have done this song on the Weissenborn, but I needed something relatively easy for a quick demo :)
Telelele ldvries 2016-09-11 | A short demo of my new build: an electric ukulele, telecaster-style. I'm not the first one to do this, there are several similar videos around. I'm not even the first to come up with the name :-)The pickups are also home-made. Originally it only had the bridge pickup, but that sound was too thin, especially on the highest strings, where the pickup is so close to the bridge that it hardly picks up any string vibrations. So I added the neck pickup as well, with a slide switch. A real tele-switch would have been too big, but this sort of looks the part as well.
Inspector Clouseau Theme - Henry Mancini (fingerstyle guitar) ldvries 2016-05-29 | Another experiment on my new nylon archtop guitar. The under-saddle piezo strip and internal microphone really pick up all the little squeaks and mistakes, so I should try to be less sloppy when I'm playing this guitar...But still, this was too much fun, so I uploaded it anyway.I don't really understand why there aren't any decent tabs for this piece. I tried to figure it out using some screen prints with the chords in it, and added a few bits from several other YouTube clips. Got quite close, I think. (And before anyone asks: no, I haven't taken the time yet to write out the tab myself...)
Twister - Buster B. Jones (cover) ldvries 2016-05-01 | I haven't been able to find a tab for this, so I tried to figure it out by slowing the video down.The original is too fast for me, but at this speed it already sounds fun :)And yes: The gimmick with the 2 capos may look impressive, but when you think about it, it doesn't really complicate matters...
Is there anybody out there - Pink Floyd (cover) - with a new top :-) ldvries 2016-05-01 | I did this one before, and I did it on this guitar. But this guitar has undergone major surgery recently: it has a new top.So, to compare it with how it used to sound, I did the same piece again. (For the old one, see: youtube.com/watch?v=QC_hnjNUYM0 )Sounds like is has more treble, which is good. And also, I think I'm closer to the right tuning and tempo this time ;-)
Madrugada - Jerry Reed (cover) ldvries 2016-04-12 | La Madrugada, or also "The Early Dawn".If I read it correctly, it was written by Jerry Reed, but played by Chet Atkins on the CD ("Me and Jerry/Me and Chet")I thought this was a nice one to try on my nylon archtop; a bit in between classical and fingerstyle.Someday, I should get myself the official tab, if I can find it... This is not quite what it sounds like on the CD. (And not just because I'm not Chet Atkins or Jerry Reed...)
Wallace and Gromit Theme - fingerstyle guitar ldvries 2016-04-12 | A fitting tune for my latest Cracking Contraption. It's a bit of a weird combination: a Nylon-string Archtop guitar!I'm still getting used to playing this thing; it has a very... let's say "precise" sound. How to explain this... I think the sound it gives is exactly what you play. So if you play something correctly, it comes out great. But any and all mistakes you make are also painfully obvious.I have some other guitars that let me get away with sloppier playing ;-)
Youre Sixteen (fingerstyle ukulele) ldvries 2016-03-05 | I already have a uke, but that's a bit of an odd one. I wanted a real one as well. So this is my latest little build: Mahogany neck, bubinga back & sides, redwood top, rosewood bridge.I first heard this song (You're Sixteen, by the Sherman Brothers) on a CD called "Poppin' Guitars", with a bunch of their other songs, arranged for fingerstyle guitar. This one was played by Greg Hawkes, on a ukulele (or four or five, by the sound of it). I tried to emulate two...
(Modified) Gibson Nighthawk demo ldvries 2016-03-05 | This was the third guitar I ever owned. Quite a weird Gibson model (as I recall it was thought up when they wanted to make a guitar which was more like the Fender ones), but I like it.It has a 5-way switch, which gives you the following pickup combinations:1 - Neck humbucker2 - Neck single coil3 - Neck single coil, in parallel with bridge single coil4 - Bridge humbucker5 - Bridge single coilI always thought they were a little weak (especially #5), and after I learned a bit about the different ways you can combine pickups, I finally decided to let my soldering iron do its worst...Apart from the 5-way switch, it now has a push-pull switch under the tone-pot which gives you 5 more sounds. (Well, 4, actually.)I did this modification years ago (it was more or less the start of my guitar-tinkering hobby), but the sound clip I made at the time was very rudimentary. So, this is the new and improved demo clip.It's the same riff, repeated 10 times. First, you can hear the 5 standard combinations (see above). And then, with the tone knob pulled out, the switch moves back up again:5 - Bridge single coil, in parallel with neck humbucker4 - Bridge humbucker, in parallel with neck humbucker3 - Neck single coil, in parallel with bridge single coil. So no change here (I couldn't think of another combination without messing up the original circuit)2 - Neck single coil, in series with bridge single coil1 - Neck humbucker, in series with bridge single coil
Hillbillies From Outer Space - Vaughan Brothers (fingerstyle guitar cover) ldvries 2015-12-23 | Not very Christmassy, but still: Hark! The Little Angel Sing...This is my latest project: a neck-through, thinline guitar, played with the Little Angel chorus pedal - one of the results of my latest hobby: making guitar pedals :-DI think it sounds a bit like a Hammond organ, so I tried to figure out a fingerstyle arrangement for "Hillbillies From Outer Space" by the Vaughan Brothers... Skipped a few lines, but it's close enough.
Electric mandolin testdrive ldvries 2015-06-21 | Testdrive of my latest experiment - a hybrid F-style-tele-mando-caster!
Coney Island Cakewalk ldvries 2015-01-25 | Coney Island Cakewalk, by Richard Saslow.I repeated the second section, and made a few other minor adjustments to the tab.
Every Breath You Take - The Police (acoustic fingerstyle guitar cover) ldvries 2015-01-25 | I know, the guitar line is not quite accurate, but it's close. And you can let the notes ring longer this way.
Fretless test ldvries 2015-01-01 | Happy new... guitar! I had a lot of loose parts lying around, and decided to throw them together to make a fretless guitar.I'm still in a very experimental phase with this new project. Not very experienced yet, but it's fun to play with!I heard this song on a demo-CD that came with a book about the guitars built by luthier Danny Ferrington. This was actually a demo of a bass that he built, but on a guitar it works as well...No tabs, just an approximation by ear, and the original track had some more backing and stuff, so on my own it doesn't sound too elaborate. But you get the idea, hopefully...
Steel Guitar Rag (cover) ldvries 2014-09-07 | Another experiment on my home-made Weissenborn guitar. It probably ought to be played on an electric lapsteel, but this works too. Sort of...
Steamboat Gwine Round Da Bend - John Fahey (cover) ldvries 2014-09-07 | Testdrive of my home-made Weissenborn guitar. For more or less obvious reasons I call it a Schwarzenborn ;-)
R.C. Rag - Peter Lang (cover) ldvries 2014-04-08 | My latest build - An OM! Spruce top, cherry back & sides, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard.It turned out better than I expected. There still are some flaws in it, but the finishing looks better than in my previous attempts. Also, it sounds different from the others. Less bass, more treble, which is a welcome change. Fresher, sparklier than I'm used to.
Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer (acoustic fingerstyle guitar cover) ldvries 2014-04-08 | This one could have done with a bit more bass. Maybe I should have tried it on my baritone instead, but that would probably have involved sprained fingers...
Mandolin Testdrive ldvries 2013-12-28 | A few bits and pieces to try out my latest build: an F-style Mandolin.It may still need a bit of tweaking, but I'm happy with the result so far!
Accordion Bells - Leo Kottke (cover) ldvries 2013-12-23 | Apparently, this is supposed to be a Christmas song.So, there you go... Happy holidays and all that!
Danza Española no. 4: Villanesca - Enrique Granados ldvries 2013-03-30 | So this is what happens when you pretend that this hybrid nylon guitar is a classical guitar. Mind you, I'm not used to playing classical pieces, but I quite like the way it turned out.I recorded this one through my acoustic amp; the guitar has an under-saddle piezo pickup and an internal microphone. I think I should experiment some more with the knobs, it sounds a bit plasticky at the moment. But it does bring out the harmonics better.The Danzas Españolas (Op. 37) by Enrique Granados were originally composed for piano, but they work excellent on guitar as well!
