New Year News
Well, things have been busy in the workshop already this year. I’ve been working on a couple of mandolins – one is an
Eastman F5 copy, in for a re-fret, and the other is an Embergher 5 bis copy circa 1920, a round-backed roman mandolin with fluted maple ribs. It needed a new fingerboard and a general tidy up. I also started work on a neck graft on an 18th century Bohemian violin; the old neck had been broken in an accident. I’ve also done some bow rehairs and repaired a belly crack in a German violin c1870. I’m currently finishing off some repairs to Mike Harding‘s fiddle.
As well as my luthier work, I give private lessons and I have a few spaces available for new students on fiddle or mandolin. If you’re interested in lessons or need a repair to your fiddle or mandolin, please get in touch here.
If you haven’t heard my fiddle playing (or even if you have!), try this link.
You can also check out my mandolin playing here.
I’m planning to record an instrumental CD in the spring and hope to include some Bach, Vivaldi and Corelli, along with traditional tunes and some swing. I’ll be playing arrangements on fiddle, mandolin, viola, mandola, mandocello and guitar! I’ll also be teaching at a fiddle workshop in Grantham in May 2012. More details on that to follow soon. No live dates planned at the moment other than private functions, but watch this space . . .
Fiddle repairs and flatfooting visitors
It all began with an email that I never received ….
A couple of weeks ago, Ira Bernstein and Riley Baugus were on their way over from the USA for their annual tour. Their popular Appalachian Roots show combines Riley’s old time banjo playing with Ira’s traditional Appalachian clogging and flatfooting, and they both play fiddle too. Just before they left the States, Ira discovered that he had problems with his fiddle: the centre joint of the back was coming apart. There was no time to get it fixed before he left, so Ira sent me an email asking if I could fix it. I never got this email, but luckily he had also emailed Sue Coe, who got in touch and filled me in with the details.
When a very jet-lagged Ira turned up at my house shortly afterwards, I had a good look at the fiddle. There was no way of repairing it without taking off the belly and this work would take some time to do. Ira and Riley were off on tour the following day, so I decided to loan Ira my Bridge “Woodstock” fiddle whilst I worked on his. The show must go on! To make things easier for him, I set this fiddle up with the same string heights as his own instrument. I also copied the curve of the bridge on Ira’s fiddle on to a new bridge, which I fitted on the Woodstock fiddle.
Back to the main job of repairing Ira’s fiddle. I re-glued and studded the back joint and I noticed that some previous repairs had not been done properly. The fiddle had a sound post crack to the belly but there was no patch fitted. I fitted a sound post patch and a new sound post. I tidied up the instrument and set it up with Ira’s original bridge.
Ira and Riley had a few gigs followed by a couple of days off. So they headed back up north and stayed with Pete and Sue Coe in Ripponden, just a few miles from my house (Pete and Sue help to run the brilliant Ryburn 3 Step organisation which promotes traditional music, song and dance of all kinds). Ira came over and picked up his fiddle and we played some music together. As well as being good fun, I needed him to play the instrument so that I could make some final adjustments. Ira was very pleased with the work I did on his fiddle. I went to see the Appalachian Roots show at The Square Chapel in Halifax, West Yorks and thoroughly enjoyed it – especially the bit where Ira advertised my skills as a luthier!
Autumn news
I’ve been busy with lots of musical ventures this autumn so I’ve got a bit behind on updating my blog….must try harder!
On the playing front, I’ve been working on various projects, including one where I got to play my old Telecaster a lot. More news on that still to come! I’ve also played at dances all over the place and I’ve been working on an 18th century English music project which has involved a lot of research and a fair bit of detective work. Back in September, one of my more unusual bookings was playing for a ceilidh at an ostrich farm in Oxfordshire, along with James Raynard (fiddle) and Heather Horsley (piano). A grand time was had by all and no ostriches were harmed in the making of this blog.
Teaching fiddle and mandolin is a nice change from performance and I have a good mix of students on my books at the moment. My youngest student is just eight years old and the eldest a gentleman in his eighties. They’re both learning a range of traditional English and Scottish music while another student is learning American bluegrass and old-time tunes. I really get a kick out of teaching and seeing my students improve and develop.
Meanwhile down in the workshop, my latest projects include my recently-acquired 94-year-old Gibson K2 mandocello. It’s a fabulous beast as you can see from the photo! I’m working on a 19th Century French violin too, which will be for sale after I’ve completed the restoration, and I’ve also been doing some bow rehairs and general instrument set-up as well as repairs and restoration.
Phew! I think I need a bit of a lie-down after all that. More soon!
Some more “Kitchen Music”
Here’s another video filmed the other night in Eoin’s kitchen.
The tune is an Irish Traditional Reel called “Farrell O’Gara”, it
features Gina Le Faux on mandolin and Eoin Teather on guitar.
Some “Kitchen Music” with an old friend
I had dinner with Eoin Teather, an old friend who I used to gig with 10 years ago and after we’d eaten we played a few tunes. Here’s a video of us playing a tune I wrote for Martin Simpson and Andy Seward who produced my last CD. The tune is called “The Producers”. Sorry about the picture quality, it was filmed on a cheap camera. I’m playing it on my 93 Flatiron Signature F5 mandolin signed by Bruce Weber. Click on this link to see the video.