Month: December 2016

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I wanted the kontrabas body to be a fairly dark colour, and initially thought that “Falun red” (the colour of all those little country cabins you see in Sweden) might be good. I couldn’t find any stain in local shops, and didn’t really want to have to order online; after a bit of thinking I realised I could make my own stain using my artists’ oil pigments. I used a mix of yellow ochre and cadmium red which has given a nice reddish brown colour. It was thinned a lot with spirit thinners before applying with a rag.

stained Continue reading →

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A rather thin session at the Diggers’ this evening – just 5 fiddles, a concertina and a nyckelharpa. Very enjoyable all the same, we played some nice tunes. Vicki Swan will be pleased to know that I was promoting the nyckelharpa strongly, and three or four of the fiddlers “had a go”.

musicians

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I couldn’t resist getting a couple of strings on and seeing what it sounds like. She speaks! Now there will be a short interlude whilst I do the key drawings, slice up some more wood, etc., etc. …..

Not tuneful but dig that crazy polska rhythm ….

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The tailpiece isn’t fastened to the body, just held in place by the tension of the strings and a retaining string or wire. It must be strong enough not to break under tension. I still haven’t decided whether or not to add a reinforcing screw – it’s probably not needed.

Here’s the wood it’s made from:

bit of piano Continue reading →