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Post by fredkinbom on Dec 19, 2008 20:26:56 GMT
I bought my MM Blues a week ago, and although I play lap slide 99% of the time (Weissenborn and electric lap steel), I bought this guitar to explore the biscuit reso sound in fingerstyle playing. But of course I ended up playing it lap style as well, without a nut riser works fine (and makes it a versatile instrument for both lap and "Spanish" playing). And, a good thing: The weight of the metal body enables me to have it flat across the lap, and not having the guitar at a downward angle as one has with a wooden acoustic lap guitar (except Weissenborns), as they need to rest with the neck on the left thigh to be balanced. This is really a big bonus, in addition to the fascinating sound of this guitar.
Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Dec 14, 2008 19:46:37 GMT
Here are my 2 cents after 3 days of playing MMB0058 08 a lot. I received this on Friday, and it sounds great! I'm having lots of fun playing it both fingerpicked and on the lap with my fattest El Gordo Diamond Bottlenecks tonebar! I have had interesting discussions with Robin at Busker about the made in China thing. Well, my keyboard I type on was made in China - at least I know that Michael and Robin are "good guys" who work with a small workshop over there. It is a difficult moral issue, but so is everything in today's consumer society - from the clothes we wear to the phones we use and so on. Anyway, after missing an auction on eBay for a 1930 Triolian that was in poor cosmetic condition (i.e. the only type of National I could possibly afford), I decided to give the MM Blues a try, and this instrument does not feel cheap, but it has the feel and vibe of being built with care and skill. The steel body is really nice, the neck has a lovely feel. The tuners are sh*t, and will be replaced, and the fretboard could have been sanded a bit more - those are the only negative points, and they are irrelevant for an instrument at such a low price. What I really care about is the sound and playability, and this guitar sounds and plays great! I think I may not even change the cone for an NRP "hot rod", which I had planned to - at least not for now. The cone sounds fine as it is - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Apparently, the first batch had some problems with the finish. The finish on this guitar looks and feels great. Matte, slightly metallic - looks great! I can only find two really minor, tiny finish flaws, and they don't bother me at all. The natural reverb in this guitar is amazing. And I realise that I personally prefer the steel body sound - it is sort of only bass and treble, both in satisfactory quantities, and none of the "boxy" midrange muddiness that some brass single cone resos seem to have (and which gives me a headache sometimes ). I listened to Michael Messer's sound clips of the Blues (steel) and Lightning (brass), and also Bob Brozman's NRP demonstrations (a steel Delphi compared to a brass Style O) and, for me, the steel body sound is the one I like. Just my opinion, of course. What really "sold me" this guitar was this youtube video: The bass and the reverb - those are the "magical ingredients" for me here. Anyway, now I will look for a suitable humbucking pickup for this guitar and turn it into a reso-electric hybrid. Disclaimer: I am no reso-expert and have little experience with biscuit bridge single-cones, but I know what I like and what I don't like, and I like this guitar. Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Sept 25, 2008 18:38:31 GMT
Chris, Thanks for the kind words! The good feedback I've gotten on youtube is very encouraging for me, so thank you! You are very right about that the sound is very much in the hands of the player. This goes for guitars and it goes for tonebars too! You mention Martin Harley - he tried my Tribo-Tones (B and A weights) at the Frankfurt Musikmesse this year and was very curious about them, and he had like you say a standard Stevens bar, but he sure sounded very good with both (his comment on the Tribo-Tone was "different!" as far as I recall). It's easy to get gear-obsessed, but many people are not. I asked Xavier Rudd (who for sure has plenty of Weissenborns!) what bar he uses, and he had to ask his roadie! I think it was a Shubb SP-3 or similar. Have fun in your search, and I second Michael's recommendation to try a Tribo-Tone! Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Sept 25, 2008 10:03:35 GMT
Hi there, As for bullet bars, I made a comparison video of some different bars last year (Broz-o-Phonic, Diamond Bottlenecks, Tribo-Tone...): That will give you some idea of the tonal characteristics. As for what works best for you, that is a very subjective matter. For one all-round great bar, I'd recommend the Tribo-Tone. They are fantastic - pricy, but worth it. They are much easier to hold on to than metal bullet bars. If you're after a stainless steel "rail" bar, as with all lap steel accessories, shopping online from the US is your best bet. Before I switched to bullet bars, I used an E.G. Smith stainless steel bar. Cheaper than the Scheerhorn and many think better. They are quite hard to find these days though I think. I hope that helps a little! Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Aug 18, 2008 21:29:15 GMT
I love the look of the "greyburst" Blues, Robin - and IMHO the straight "Blues" logo looks much better than the tilted one. Great to see that Michael's and your efforts are finally coming to fruition! Cheers, Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Aug 11, 2008 8:59:33 GMT
Posted on the IGS forum: "Jazz guitarist Beau Dixon" according to this article: Link. (Don't know why the image doesn't display - can someone help? Or I will try again later.) EDIT: Sorted out!
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Post by fredkinbom on Jul 21, 2008 23:22:36 GMT
Here are some photos of the square-neck Tricone/Weissenborn capo that Dave King & I worked on. It is a piece of ebony with a bone nut superglued onto it. The bone nut is grooved to slot over a fret and therefore - be in tune! The rest of it is a cheapo stretch-elastic capo. It works pretty well and would work better made of brass. It is made to measure to fit my Tricone, but still pushes the strings up a bit. It could actually take being filed down a fraction. Tark, I realize that this kind of thing is right up your street and would be interested to hear your comments about it. We got this far but never pursued it any further. Shine On Michael Michael, I'd be willing to try and expand on your capo idea - just send over the capo along with that Fine Resophonic Tricone it is attached to and I will work on a solution. Should only take a couple of years. ;D Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Jul 20, 2008 12:26:02 GMT
The experiments with the LLTHRSFC (Leather Luggage Tag® Hot Rodded Scheerhorn Flux Capo) were brief and of mixed success. ;D On the second fret, pictured above, the sound was improved with somewhat better sustain. I have written a song with the capo on the 7th fret though, and in this position the sound was not improved - quite the oppostite, sustain on the wound strings was lessened/dampened by the luggage tag. I might cut a strip of it to use when capoing on the lower frets though, because it is, as others have mentioned above, nice with a non-bouncing capo for hammer-ons and pull-offs. Cheers, Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Jul 20, 2008 11:58:35 GMT
I have both the Beard and Scheerhorn Flux capo, and they are both "good compromises" - they do the job of transposing your tuning but the sound is nowhere near as resonant as without a capo. Of the two, I prefer the Scheerhorn Flux as it's very easy to put on and remove, and easier than the Beard to align with the flush Weissenborn fret. Seeing the design above gave me the idea to put leather below it to make contact with the fretboard. I tried capoing high up and pressing the capo down to make contact with the fretboard, and the sound was much more resonant. I have a broken leather luggage tag that might do the job. The type of tailor made capo Martin Gross makes looks like a solid and great solution. Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Jul 15, 2008 15:43:43 GMT
Hi all, Great to hear that a great time was had! Gutted I couldn't come, as I was in Germany (but at least I played one gig in Berlin and one in Münster, and had a very good time over there, so it was a worthwhile trip ). Can't someone post some pics or video from the workshop? Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Jun 16, 2008 20:21:49 GMT
In London they were, and great they are! Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Jun 12, 2008 14:34:44 GMT
I would be really interested to know if any custom jobs or just retouched or crudely repaired instruments exist. Michael's 12-string National Havana is surely an example of a home made paint job! Spray painted all over - strings, everything! Then, thankfully, lovingly restored by wizard Mike Lewis. Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Jun 11, 2008 15:51:00 GMT
That 'character' that you talk about, for me is best when it is real. Indeed. I think the whole concept of "aged" finishes and "relicing" is off-putting. There are enough fake things in the world as it is. This grey-burts sounds like good news IMHO. Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on Jun 11, 2008 15:15:18 GMT
Just spotted this thread - congrats Iain on your Lazy River! It looks fantastic! Mine is spruce/black walnut, and it has opened up a lot over the year-and-a-half I've had it - just keep sounding better the more I play it. Here it is: And here is a video of a recent little tune played on it: About the bars - the Broz-o-Phonic, the Diamond Bottlenecks and Tribo-Tone bars all have their strong points, but if there is one bar I'd hate to lose it's my black Tribo-Tone B-weight. So much so I that got myself a back-up. Fred
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Post by fredkinbom on May 28, 2008 18:52:59 GMT
Hi Ray, Are the pics of your grandfather's Dobro uploaded to the internet (on your server/website or to a website like www.photobucket.com)? If so, copy and paste the URL ("http://www.....jpg") into the your message here, surrounded by [ img ] and [ /img ]. If not, register with photobucket ot flickr or a similar media hosting site, upload the pictures from your computer and then do the [ img ]your picture's URL[ /img ] thing. (There should be no spaces within the [ and ] - I just had to type it that way for it to show up in the post! ) I hope that helps! Looking forward to seeing the Dobro! Fred
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