How I Amplify My Five String

I play every night with a band that also has bass, drums and organ. I play acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo and uke, all through the same signal path into a Fender pro junior amp. I used to use a piezo pickup, which sounds pretty good through a DI, but I wanted to use a pickup that sounded better through the amp.

I ended up wiring the banjo with a P90 guitar pickup!

Here is a short vid and sound sample:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRe7Ri4uNDI

It is capable of loud clean and overdriven tones. I can run reverb or delay or boost or whatever else I want. Also, it feeds back less than the piezo used to. I think it has a better "natural" sound than any piezo I have tried!

Aaron
www.boulderacousticsociety.com

Bulk Ukulele Strings

I finally set myself up to get bulk florocarbon strings for ukulele. I bought 5 spools of 50 meters each, which should be 75-100 sets of strings. I made a quick little holder out of a dowel and maple. Notice I wrote the string gauges on the blocks so I don't have to keep looking them up!

New Electric Guitar

I just fixed up an old Holiday electric guitar. It was made by Harmony in the early 6o's and re-labeled for sale by a retailer. It is basically an H47 Mars Stratotone. It is a hollow maple body with no soundholes, one single coil pickup with volume and tone and a short 24 inch scale. I had to add a new volume pot, tone pot, jack and tuners. I also pulled the frets, planed the fingerboard and re-fretted. It is easy to play and has a unique sound. Check it out:

Making a Gibson L-0 Style Guitar

Just getting started on a Gibson L-0 style guitar for myself. Lots more info later!

Alan Building A Uke In My Shop!

Alan Rosen came to my shop this winter to learn how to build a uke. I basically made up his parts as a kit and guided him through the process, with lots of education along the way. He ended up with a spruce and myrtle tenor with rosewood fingerboard and bridge. Are you interested in learning how to build a uke? Drop me a line for pricing and availability. info@thebeansprout.com



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If The River Was Whiskey