As you may have seen in the Bookstore, many, many books have been written on the subject of musical instrument construction. Most of them are very good; a few are excellent. Here are seven that are continually recommended by MIMForum members. The first four are outstanding reference works. The last three, for mandolin, banjo, and woodwinds, are not as comprehensive but are the best available and will give you a good place to start.

I can, but it doesn't make much financial sense. Big companies buy their parts in large quantities at a very low cost, and they have streamlined the building process so that instruments can be built quickly. I pay much more for component parts, and my instruments are hand built one-at-a-time, which is a pretty slow process. Even if I only charged fifty cents an hour for my labor, it would still be cheaper for you to buy an instrument from a major manufacturer.

Natalie plays several Fernandes Native-X model electric guitars without tremolo (no longer available). Natalie was most recently seen playing a custom made, twin Humbucker Telecaster electric guitar on the "Vote For Change" tour. Natalie was also seen playing a Gibson Les Paul SG Standard electric guitar on the "Top Of The World" tour. Natalie plays a Modulus Vintage J model electric bass guitar, usually only during "Goodbye Earl.

A mandolin banjo is an instrument (either conventionally constructed or of the zither style) with 4 pairs of strings (8 strings in total) tuned and played just like a mandolin. A banjolin is a very similar instrument but with only 4 strings. It is tuned like a violin but played like a mandolin banjo. It is often confused with the ukulele banjo or banjolele - one guideline that I use is that

Bass flutes are available from a number of makers, including Gemeinhardt and Emerson. The modern bass flute in C (not to be confused with the Renaissance or Baroque-era bass flute pitched in G - the counterpart of the modern alto flute) is usually made with a "J"-shaped head joint, which brings the embouchure hole within reach.

Absolutely! Most bassists don't use a pick at all, but for those who do, try a 3 to 4 milimeter stone pick with a soft Beveled edge. A thinner pick or medium to sharp Bevel will achieve tighter pops and snappier tone. It's certainly not the same as using a plastic pick on bass strings, which is known to sound especially 'scratchy'. Stone picks can be used for almost any stringed instrument and work exceptionally well with mandolins.

The cheapest forms of pick-up are simply piezo-ceramic transducers that you stick on to the banjo skin. These work by converting vibrations from the skin into a fluctuating electrical current. These produce lots of signal and are ideal for feeding a strong, clear signal to a recording device in a studio. They are very prone to feedback and difficult to use for live gigs especially with monitor speakers.

Several bass aficionados have taken a stab at notating the various synthesized bass riffs used throughout the show. A big giddy-up goes out to the following people, without whom this project could not have acheived its current level of completeness; Scott J.

Absolutely! Bass tones will vary dramatically when driving through a 4-10 cabinet as opposed to a 2-15. Keep in mind that the Cabbone is designed to work with 100 Watt amplifiers. Using a more powerful amp at high volumes could cause the relays to arc. To make sure you do not damage the Cabbone or your amps, make sure you do not drive more than 100 Watts through the Cabbone.

The standard bass guitar has four strings (E,A,D,G). You can also get 5 or 6 string bass guitars. The 5-string bass guitar adds a low B string and the 6-string bass guitar adds a higher C string as well as the low B string.

Yes. Since a bass guitar has no acoustic resonator, the instrument needs to be amplified electronically. This is done by a 'Bass' Amplifier.

Gretsch product service is available through our national network of Authorised Fender Service Centres.

Instruments of all kinds are welcome! Musicians who play melody-based instruments are encouraged to jam and share songs throughout the day, and in the evenings before the fire circle begins. Instrumentation at the fire circle is predominantly focused on percussive and ambient sound offerings. This is in deference to the unifying nature of rhythmic music and the close relationship between rhythmic entrainment and heightened states of consciousness.

Imagine Guitars carries both brand new and used Breedlove guitars and mandolins, as well as 'Tried and True' factory-certified used Breedloves. It would be my pleasure to help you configure the custom Breedlove guitar or mandolin of your dreams. Call or write at your convenience to discuss.

Uhhh... we wish. But Mike can't read tabs and Joshy is far busier writing new songs with the rest of the band. Aww man! Psychostick is doing the songwritin' thang right now. So far, it's been described as, "dumber and heavier than any of our other crap. Hey, get out of here! *slams door*" The lyrics can be found in two places. Obviously, when you purchase a CD, you get the lyrics. Secondly, if you go download our music, you should be able to find the lyrics to those particular songs as well.

Fender Bassman amplifier was the original amp that lead Marshall and Fender to create all of their wonderful guitar amplifiers and many top guitar

No, as long as nothing is being damaged, whatever gets you your tone is okay. Be careful, though, with combo amps, as the speaker is more easily damaged by the low notes on a bass at high volumes. How do I add a tube to a Marshall? That steel seems too thick to do a lot of filing, and I can't get a reduced-shank 3/4" drill bit. This is why Greenlee makes chassis punches. Drill a pilot hole of 1/8" or so, then successively drill it out to 1/2".

Absolutely! Just think, you have no bad habits. By taking lessons you will be mentored by an experienced player that can guide you in developing proper technique.

The bass guitar is the primary bass instrument in most of the ensembles of popular Western culture, Jazz, Rock, Country etc. The bass guitar has also found its way into other, more classically oriented ensembles as well as non-Western ensembles. A standard bass guitar is fretted, steel lines along the neck of the instrument. These frets guide the pitch with accuracy.

Some people start learning instruments when they're five years old and some people start when they're in their 50s. So, the best time to learn is now. Remember that you will need to be dedicated and make time to practice. It's the same for anything you really want to learn. Our youngest student at the moment is 12 and the oldest is 52.