Music Central

[Rudy]

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I have been answering a lot of questions by email to many friends, some of who you know from the forums. GoodClue (Doug) and I thought we should share information with everyone. This may become as popular as The Ghetto Pot Roast thread. First up is a discussion of accordions.



This is one of my "keepers". I have had close to 20 accordions in the past five years. I have taken every one of them apart. Most because they needed repair, and some just out of curiosity.

[Rudy]

To get things going, I am posting music related items from the responses from my other threads. Here is one from Deltasonics which appears on the 1973 Blue Bird thread.

deltasonics



Joined: 06/08/09
Posts: 18
Location: Gloucester, NC

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:53 am
Hello Rudy, I thought those might be accordion cases stacked up in your interior images. What kind of music do you play?

We have a local Zydeco/Cajun band here, the Unknown Tongues www.unknowntongues.com. Every year in Febuary we have our own Mardi Gras at the Gloucester community center. I bring my Crown and we use it as the Green Room for the various musicians who play on stage to warm up in before they go on. It's a bunch of fun.

And on another note, can you tell me what underlayment (the pink stuff) you are using beneath your flooring? It looks more dense than the stuff I see at the building centers. Thanks.

Bill

_________________
Things are more like they are now, than they ever have been.

[Rudy]

Bill, that stuff is 3/4 inch Styrofoam.

Here are some questions from Stuart in New Zealand. It is also from the Blue Bird thread. Now that we have a music thread, everything will be "on topic".

stuartcnz



Joined: 12/19/08
Posts: 31
Location: Aotearoa, New Zealand

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:42 pm
Apologies for going off topic here, but what software are you using for recording?
I just use the light version of cubase that came with my Lexicon Omega interface on a Macbook, which works okay for what I am doing at the moment, but would like to switch to Ubuntu Studio. I was dual booting between MacOS X and Ubuntu Linux, though have now sacrificed the Linux partition for Windows, so that I can run Rhino 3D.

I found Ubuntu to be a very easy to use operating system and software for it is free, and they have comparable versions of just about everything.

My ideal would be going back to MacOs and Ubuntu as my two platforms, but will have to wait until Rhino comes out on MacOS X.

PS Does anyone know of a decent site to share music you have created?
I tried putting stuff on youtube, but unless you have software to convert to flash beforehand, it really destroys the audio quality.

PPS If anyone does have the appropriate flash converting software, I have the compression settings to create decent stereo versions for youtube.

_________________
http://www.nomadichome.com

[Rudy]

Here is my reply to Stuart's questions.

Rudy



Joined: 08/16/09
Posts: 516
Location: Middle Tenn.

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:26 pm
Stuart, I am using Audiodesk 1.05. It came with the Motu 828 which I got a few years ago. For mastering, I use an old program called Amadeus II. I use a ten year old iMac (ruby) 400 mghz computer. I am running OS9.1. Sure it is slow, but it is a lot better than splicing tape. I have a stereo tube mic preamp, an Akg C3000 mic, and two Samson CS1 mics that are very impressive for cheap stuff. I also have an old Yamaha SPX90. Pretty much all my effects are done with VST plugins. I am not familiar with the softwares you mentioned, but am glad to hear about them.

[Rudy]

Now for a couple of pictures that frequent visitors may have seen on the other threads. This photo was taken from a performance five years ago at "Love Fest" in Missouri. I was on a break. This photo was taken inside Bob's motorhome. This is the second accordion that I had bought. I wore it out many years ago. I have saved some of the parts to hang on the wall.

[Rudy]

Judging from the amount of views the Blue Bird thread has garnered, I'm sure many people have seen this one. This is my current small accordion. I have two accordions presently, and they both sound great. I am always looking for other ones, but the past 10 accordions I have bought (for cheap) have not surpassed these two that I have now. Did you know that some accordions sell for as much as $12,000 ? I will never spend THAT much. I have a friend who spent $6,000 on hers, and it really was not much better than my white one which cost me $125. Go figure! By the way, this little one cost me $150.

[Rudy]

Playing a friend's Bozo 12 string in LA. These guitars were made by Bozo (pronounced Bozhio) Padunivak. They are AMAZING! For years, they were the ones that Leo Kottke played.

[Rudy]

A picture I have always loved.



OK, now the floor is open to questions. Ask me why the face of that 12 string in this picture is black. I've got an amusing story about belt sanders and guitar faces. Perhaps I will let Bob tell you about one of his that we did.

[Griff]

...Ask me why the face of that 12 string in this picture is black...

Rudy, why is the face of that 12 string in that picture black?

[Rudy]

HA HA, OK, It is black because I painted it after using a belt sander to take the original finish off the top. The border is red. Old Guild guitars were made in Rhode Island by a bunch of old violin makers from Italy. They saw it fit to put on a thick lacquer finish. I learned from Leo Kottke that the first thing you do with a guitar is take off the pickguard because it robs from the sound by keeping the top from vibrating as much as it can. So I always removed them. Then I thought I would go a step further and use a belt sander to remove the finish from the tops. You would be amazed how much louder a guitar becomes with no lacquer finish or pickguard on it. The only problem is how it now becomes dirty with usage. I figured a coat of paint is much thinner than a lacquer finish, and will hide the dirty surface. I was right. Also, I will tell you about the "Ruck Hole" soon. There is some science behind that as well. My friend Bob has a funny story about when we belt sanded one of his guitars. You will read about that soon. Rudy

[GoodClue]

Thanks for starting the music thread Rudy, going to be a busy one ...
I'll post some of my instrument pics soon ... not top dollar items but all playable ...
Ooooh ... beltsanders and guitars ... sends shivers ... are there any paint removers that might work? I built a kit dulcimer, used to backpack it into aspen groves and play ... decided to refinish it after many years, smoothed the body, did leather inlays on the head and tail, never got a new finish, and the glue started separating. Funny thing, still very playable, even with an old handforged nail as the bridge ...

Thanks again for your music Rudy ... working on UNIVOX now ... so far, like the jazz starting with the 3rd track ... not sure of the startup tracks, will have to finish it to grasp them ... could have been too many medicinals? ... Very much enjoyed 2 Of Us, already mentioned how I think the albumn is an excellent blend of David Grisman and Micheal Hedges ... good stuff, anxious to hear the rest ...
Doug

[rocknrev]

Rudy...

My name is Fred and I am the guy who helped Roger write his book. I too play the accordion. Got tired of hauling keyboards and amps around. Always envied those acoustic string players who could jam anywhere. Saw a guy playing an accordion at a back yard party and thought that might just be the ticket for me. That was about 4 years ago. I've picked up half a dozen since then and two of them are my favorites. Both are 2 octave models. I especially like the ones that have the "B" key below middle "C" since we do a lot of tunes in "G".

Anyway...maybe I'll get to meet ya if you ever take a trip out west. What kind of music do you like to play anyway?

Here are a couple of pics.



This one taken at a recent gig our band played in a local bar.



This pic is from a trip I took to Greece a couple years ago to visit friends. Found this little one in a Greek second hand music shop.

I too had a wood working shop some years ago which is where I met Roger. Our shops were in the same complex until Roger moved out and got the shop he has now.

Take care! Thanks for sharing your pics! Fred

PS...would you be interested in trading a housetruck book (Rogers' Some Turtles Have Nice Shells) for one of your CD's?[/img]

[Rudy]

Doug, I always thought that paint strippers would get into the grain of the wood, so I opted for sanding. It takes a deft touch to pull it off. I have done a half dozen guitars like this. So here is the funny story. One time Bob and I were doing one of his guitars. I told him to hold it tightly. Obviously he didn't because in a flash, we sent it flying across the room. Luckily it didn't break. Another time, he decided to do one on his own. Without that deft touch though, he wound up sanding way too much, and almost went through the top. I will take pictures of my Kenny Hill classical guitar and explain the Ruck hole soon. You'll probably all want to drill that hole after I give you the explanation. By the way, the Gibson six string that you see in the back of the three guitar photo was one that Bob and I sanded as well. I doubt, though, that few guitarists have the nerve to do something like that. I will say that it makes an INCREDIBLE difference. Call me crazy, but I played guitar for 35 years and I DO know what I hear. Which Univox CD are you listening to? Rudy

[Rudy]

Fred, It's nice to see a new guy on the block. Cool pictures. I have been playing accordion for almost six years. I gave up guitar because of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Twenty five years of hard driving Kottke style did that. I now also play mandolin. I never played the keyboards, so learning the accordion was a double challenge. In order to learn the accordion, I wrote a couple dozen songs in different styles. I really like tangos. I don't play any polkas, but I am learning one because it is so nice. It is called Claire Polka in the key of C. Out of all the small accordions I have seen, I have never seen one with a B below the C. I have recorded many CDs of instrumental music. The closest genre to call it would be jazz, though it is nothing like traditional. It just falls into that realm because jazz radio stations would be the only ones that would play this stuff. I like the picture of you in Greece. It is easy to see that it is a Greek music store with all the Bazoukis and Ouds hanging on the wall. Did you buy that accordion in the picture? I would gladly send you some CDs for Roger's book. I have heard a lot about that book and it would be happy living next to my copy of Rolling Homes, and a bus book that I am about to receive as a gift. I will send you some music where I play either accordion or mandolin, Jamey plays either mandolin, keyboard, or accordion, and Stanley plays guitar. My email address is: rootseller333@gmail.com Write to me and I will send you my PO box address. Here are two photos of me with two of my mandolins. The oval shaped one was made in Romania. It is the one I play most. It is the one you will hear on the recordings. Sometimes it sounds like a banjo because it is so loud. I bought both of these mandolins from my friend George who has a nice music store close by. It is called Shiloh Music.

[Rudy]

By the way, the Video (pronounced Vid-ay-o)that you see in the first picture is made by Pan-Cordion and has their reeds. That is why it sounds so good. It is a small accordion with small keys. I got used to it and because the keys are narrow, I can do a 12 key stretch on the right hand. Try THAT with a full sized accordion! Pan-Cordions were the ones that Myran Florian and Lawrence Welk played. I may have misspelled Myran's name. I hope he's not looking down from accordion heaven and is pissed at me. I'll never learn that polka now.