2015 Electro-acoustic Ukulele #1

2015 Electro-acoustic Ukulele #1

Made from a Romeo Y Julieta Cigar box, oak neck, mahogany fingerboard, 15 brass frets, chrome tuners, bone nut, key bridge, piezo pick-up, ukulele strings tuned GCEA

VIDEO (with Wah Wah pedal)

TUNINGS - For 6, 4(8) and 3 Strings

Tunings

Following today's YMI 'Soundwaves' workshop at SENSE Scotland's Touchbase centre, I thought I should list all the tunings I like to use here: There are no real rules, but it's probably best to tune down to a note, rather than up, to begin with, to avoid broken strings. Having said that, if you think about a standard set of guitar strings EADGBe - It should be fairly easy to figure out that tuning a string that is made to be played in E up to a high A is going to cause problems. - I reckon, if you are lucky, it will break beyond a high G - Prove me wrong!

6 Strings

EADGBe - Standard tuning

EADGae - Pentatonic
ACDEGa - Petatonic 2

DAdGad - Dadgad or Modal D (that's what they call it!)

DAdF#BE - Jojo's tuning

EAC#eae - Open A

DAdF#ad - Open D

DGdgBd - Open G

DGCgcd - Led Zep (Rain Song)

CFcGcD - Cittern

GBDgbd - Dobro (my favourite)

EADeea - Balalaika

AGCEae - Charango

CEGA#cD - Overtone
CEG#ceg# - Major 3rds
CGDgBc - Admiral
CFcGA#F - Buzzard
DAdGBE - Drop D
CGDgAd - Face
DAddad - 4 & 20
ABEF#aD - Hot Type
DACGcE - Layover
CFcGAE - Magic Finger (Seriously!?)

There are lots of others!

4 Strings

Or 8 - Most using middle 4 strings from a set

GDAE - Tenor (mandolin / fiddle / bouzouki)

AEaC# - Open A (What I use)

GDgB - Open G

DAdF# - Open D

CGDA - Tenor Banjo

GCEA - Ukulele

DGBd - Mini Spanish (my  second favourite - Also the 'main' strings on a 5 string banjo)

Paired Tunings

DGdd

DAdd - (Appalacian Dulcimer)

EAee

3 Strings

The following are named after the paired strings, and adaptable to any key.

DAd 

AEa

GDg

EAe

GgB - My favourite -  with a low and high G

PLEASE SEND ME SUGGESTIONS / CORRECTIONS - Cheers.

Haufcut Instruments SALE

Haufcut Instruments SALE

RIO CAFE - PARTICK, GLASGOW

Wed 10th / 17th - 2:30pm - 4:30pm

SEE PICTURE FOR INSTRUMENTS ON SALE:

1- electro-acoustic canjo dulcimer

2- electro-acoustic cigar box dulcimer 

3- electro-acoustic cigar box 3 string w/volume pot  

4- electro-acoustic cigar box 4 string w/volume pot 

5- electric 8 string ukulele / mandolin / bouzouki

6- electric hollow body tenor guitar w/ pick-up, vol / tone

7- electro-acoustic canjo ukulele 

8- electro-acoustic cigar box ukulele 

9- electro-acoustic cigar box 4 string w/ volume & tone pot  

10- electro-acoustic cigar box 3 string resonator w/volume pot

(Prices negotiable within reason!)

SALE

SALE

CLICK HERE FOR A MAP

'Hank' Hang Drum

'Hank' Hang Drum

I made two of these drums, from emptied helium gas tanks for the North Glasgow Skiffle Orchestra project. Drilling them was fairly easy using a metalwork drill. - Cutting the ellipses to size, with a sabre-saw was trickier. I suggest drilling sets of 3 joined holes at the top of the drum, then cutting down the side, Cut about a centimetre at a time, until tapping the elipse produces the note you want. Dennis Havlena invented this drum, and there is a useful template on his website... 

Dennis Havlena's Hank Drum

The RUBBACHICKITARTAR

The RUBBACHICKITARTAR

Back in August, Antony at SHonKy Musical Instruments

 - www.shonkymusicalinstruments.co.uk -

held a competition to design a guitar: - I sent him the following picture:

To my amazement, it made it to the final five entries, and following a public vote, it won!

Antony set to work building an electric, tenor RUBBACHICKITARTAR, and created a masterpiece:

It sounds fantastic, and I will be playing it with Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 at The famous Glasgow Barrowlands on December 13th

Antony is a real artist, and his guitars are brilliant. Please check out his site.

Georgia Peach 3 String CBG

Georgia peach 3 String CBG

After a month of intense instrument making for the North Glasgow Skiffle Orchestra project, I took a long break from guitar building...But now I'm back!

Here's a nice 3 string CBG, which looked pretty boring, but sounded good... I had an old Georgia license plate on my wall...so...

Blah blah - Oak neck, pine box, 17 brass frets on a mahogany fretboard, 3 strings, piezo pick-up, Georgia License Plate Resonator, Brass Fittings, Volume Pot, Abalone Dots, 2 vintage tuners, 1 chrome tuner, bolt thread nut, key bridge.

The videos are cool though: With electricity first, but minus the license plate:

Unplugged and completed: