Good mellotron expalnation and demo

Found this by accident on YouTube (a recommendation). A good explanation, and simple demo, of what a mellotron is.


--GG

Early uses of synths in pop music

This came up among my YouTube suggestions:  interesting!  Many things I hadn't known (or noticed) before.



--GG

Guitar hack

Today is Saturday.  Last night I applied a hack to an electric guitar.  I'd been pondering this modification for a few weeks.


Here's the timeline:


-About 30-35 years ago, my dad showed me how to do electronics-style soldering.

-In February 2015 or before, I bought a used, Frankenstein-y electric guitar for AU$30 (negotiated down from AU$39) -- so, about US$24.  The previous owner had converted it from a H-S-H configuration (Humbucker - Single-coil - Humbucker -- i.e. a wide pickup in the neck and bridge position, and a narrow pickup in the middle) to a S-S-S configuration (i.e. three single-coils).

That's a little weird, given that "three single-coil" guitars are widely available, and it didn't look like the pickups had been upgraded to fancier versions -- so why bother modifying this guitar, rather than just trading?  Also, the previous owner had left gaps around the new, smaller pickups -- through which you could see the wiring underneath.

Kinda ugly -- but also interesting.  I bought the guitar with the intent to do some sort of experimenting with, sometime in the future.


-Feb 28, 2015 -- Tested the guitar.  According to my notes (a piece of paper I put in the guitar case), the tone knob didn't work, the neck pickup had an oddly weak output, and the mid + bridge setting didn't do anything at all (but the other pickup combinations worked fine).


-A year or two ago -- Read a band interview where the guitarist said that even though a lot of hard rock/metal guitarists like "hot" pickups (i.e. many windings, to provide a higher output), using high-powered pickups actually kills the tone by reducing the treble.  Therefore, he and the other guitarist in the band actually use relatively low-output pickups.


-About a year ago, started to appreciate single-pickup guitars.  Les Paul Juniors (with P-90s), Fender Esquires, and Fender Musicmasters, in particular:  straightforward; they get in and get the job done; forces you do to more, with less.

-A month or two ago -- Watched a YouTube video where the presenter demonstrated that if there are (electromagnetic) pickups on your guitar that you never use, then you're well served to remove them:  the magnets on the extraneous pickups subtly dampen your sustain, and damage your tone a little.  No benefits (because you're not using them), yet they impart a cost.


-About two weeks ago -- Watched a YouTube video about guitar pickups, where the presenter said that the middle pickup on Stratocaster-style guitars are often overlooked:  they actually give a good Mark Knopfler tone (guitarist/singer from Dire Straits).


-Wednesday night, June 19 (three nights ago) -- Played my fake Stratocaster (had been using another (also inexpensive) guitar for the last year or so), and actually paid attention to the pickup sounds.  Sunovvagun:  yep!  the middle pickup has my preferred sound.  But, don't want to mess with that guitar:  it's good as it is.

Decided to create a stripped down, ultimate no-frills guitar:  a pickup, an output jack -- and that's it.  No volume knob, no tone knob, no pickup selector. Kind of like tearing out the passenger seats from a hot rod, to remove excess weight.

Some guitarists use the volume knob for "volume swell" effects, or to adjust the amount of amp distortion by how hard they're driving the amp -- but I don't.

And some guitarists use the tone knob for wah-wah types of effects -- or to roll of the treble to darken the sound, for a jazzier tone -- but I don't.

And with only one pickup -- no need for a pickup selector.

The pickup would be placed in the middle position, as per the above-stated reasons.


-Thursday night, June 20 (two nights ago) -- Retrieved from storage another fake Stratocaster guitar (blue) that I'd bought years ago for AU$45 (stickered at AU$49) -- so about US$36 -- that I'd been planning on selling online, as well as the above-mentioned "Frankenstein-y" guitar.  Oneo f these would become the stripped-down guitar.

Played the blue guitar, and actually liked the sounds enough that I decided to not alter it:  the middle pickup was oddly trebly, almost as much as the bridge pickup -- but in the right situation it would be a useful sound.

Also tried to play the Frankenstein-y guitar, but it no longer passed a signal -- which was even more reason to use this one for my experimenting:  non-functioning, so little to lose, if I messed up.


-Friday, June 21 (last night) -- Dug out my shoebox of guitar pickups that I've accumulated over the years:  used my Ohm-meter to test their resistance, with the reasoning that the lowest-resistance pickups would be the most under-wound, and thus the one that I wanted.  Since I was testing them all, anyhow, I labeled the ones that were not already labelled; also started an inventory list on a scrap of paper (including the resistance values), which I then put in the box.

Also took the pickguard off the "Frankenstein-y" guitar and de-soldered the components (i.e. separated them).  The insides of the guitar was indeed Frankenstein-y:  quite the hodgepodge of wires -- and unnecessary amounts of electrician's tape bundling things together -- which I had to unwrap before de-soldering.

For the moment, left the three pickups in place, mounted on the pickguard -- but tested their resistance as well.  Removed all the other components from the pickguard (volume and tone knob and pots; pickup selector).

I tend to do my soldering on the (turned off!) kitchen stove:  the fan in the range hood whisks away the smoke and fumes from the soldering.

The humbuckers ranged from 6kOhms to 16 kOhms -- too hot for my purposes (but I knew they would be).

The single-coils ranged from 3.8kOhms to 6.5kOhms.  Conveniently, the lowest-resistance pickup (3.8kOhms) was the pickup already mounted in the center position on the Frankenstein-y guitar -- so, I wouldn't have to move it. 

Soldered the pickup directly to the wires leading to the output jack-- and also soldered the ground wire (which connects to the bridge of the guitar, and therefore also the strings).  Hat-tip to my dad for teaching me how to solder.

Reinstalled the pickguard (with the lone pickup mounted in the middle). Plugged the guitar into my amp, and -- nothing.  Huh.

Tested the conductivity, and the resistance between the soldering lugs of the jack was 3.8kOhms -- as expected (i.e. passing through the guitar pickup).  Removed the jack from the guitar body, put in a guitar cable, and spent about fifteen minutes being confused by the contradictory readings -- mostly that the "ground" lug wasn't conducting to the outside of the metal jack mounting (which should also be "ground").

Eventually figured out that it had once been a stereo plug, so the "ring" contact had been broken off from the plug, but (apparently) the wrong "soldering lug" had been broken off.  Thus, the "sleeve" soldering lug and the physical "ground" were independent. (Why had it worked when I tried it right after buying it?  Miracle?)

Un-soldered the plug, threw it away, found a replacement plug from my "electronics parts" box, and soldered that in.  Plugged a guitar cable into the instrument jack and tested the resistance:  3.8kOhms; promising!

Screwed in a few of the screws, to tack the pickguard in place, and tried the guitar on the amp.  Success!!!  Sound.

Decided I didn't like the open gaps in the pickguard: crud could get in there, insects building nests, etc.  Decided to cover the holes from the underside, with yellow duct tape:  decorative; the color would contrast nicely with the red guitar and black pickguard; and the yellow would emphasize the missing components.

Intentionally -- and out of laziness -- let the ends of the tape artistically protrude from beyond the pickguard.

Installed all the screws in the pickguard.

Was missing the high-E string.  Re-strung the guitar with new strings (but didn't bother to re-intonate; getting late, will do some other time).  Discovered that the holes in the back plate don't properly align with the string access holes:  gah; had to remove the screws for the back plate.  From this, also discovered that someone had used a tube of lipstick (in a heavy-duty plastic case) as a shim to wedge the tremolo bridge into the "down" position -- which I prefer.  Shrugged, and left the lipstick there, put the back plate on again. 

Tuned the guitar (using a free cell phone app:  modern technology...).

Played the guitar "clean" -- no effects, no distortion:  yep -- a good sound.  A successful experiment.  Will keep it this way:  straightfoward and simple.


--GG


P.S. I have a co-worker who sat across from me for the last seven years, but is now in a nursing home:  a stroke-like incident (he was 60-ish).  We'd discuss guitars and rock music -- but now he doesn't discuss anything.  If he was his old self, I'd have forwarded this blog entry to him.  I miss him.  

Music more regularly

I've posted a variation of this before.  And now I'm saying it again.  :)


One of my middle-aged wisdom items is that the secret to happiness is to spend as much time as you can doing the things you like -- and avoid as much as possible doing the things you don't.  Within reason:  you still gotta pay bills and wash the dishes; and don't do things that are bad for you or harmful to others.


So:  it takes me a long while to get around to playing an instrument -- but once I do, I find it great, and realize I'm an idiot for not playing instruments more often:  the very act of playing [nearly always] makes me happy (i.e. intrinsic rather than extrinsic rewards).  

And then I don't pick up a guitar for (literally) another two months....  ("Duh.")


So, starting maybe half a year ago, I started making an effort to play something [nearly] every day:  bongos; guitar; (unplugged) electric bass; etc.   I even started keeping drumsticks in the car, so I could "play the steering wheel (and dashboard)". 

Often I'll do the "guitar cousin" thing of noodling around on guitar or bass while watching t.v. (Netflix, really) -- often coming up with some interesting riffs that I'll use for "something".

So:  not task-oriented (i.e. directly songwriting, or recording).   But I'm just enjoying the experience -- and getting incrementally better in the process.

Just making myself happy.  :)



Which -- BTW -- none of the kids seem to do that.  So my musical inclination doesn't seem to have passed through to my children:  maybe the grandchildren? 

But I do notice that The Girl doodles and draws of her own accord:  good.  :)


--GG

The music is embedded in me

Yesterday I re-watched an Australian-made movie called Three Summers, which takes over three summers at a fictional folk music festival in Western Australia.  The main character plays the theremin.  One of his character traits is that he's passionate about music.


"Music isn't something you choose.  If you can just drop it, you never had it."

--Roland, Three Summers (movie), 27:42; found 11/28/18 (May've already logged when watched the movie the first time, half a year to a year ago)


Roland:  "You girls are great.  You're really, really talented -- and music's always gonna be in your lives, there's no doubt about that.  But you have to ask yourself:  its it your vocation?  Is it the only thing you want?" 

Girl:  "Yes."

Roland:  "Then you have to make music for itself, not because it'll get you a hit.  You have to know that even if, after a lifetime of playing, you never get that hit, you'll still believe you made the right choice.  [...]  There's a band playing tonight -- an Afghani folk band.  My guess is they're unlikely to ever get a hit, and they probably know it -- but still they play."

(Three Summers (movie), 1:10:45; found 11/28/18 (May've already logged when watched the movie the first time, half a year to a year ago))



That made me think about my own relationship to music.  Over the past two decades or so, I would for literally months without touching a guitar, bass, or keyboard -- but then when I did get around to it, I would spend a few hours noodling around and enjoying making music, just for the inherent enjoyment of it.

In my youth I was in a band with my cousin and my roommate.  After the band broke up, I wasn't single-minded enough to do the "solo" thing -- although this was pre-internet -- so maybe I might've marshalled my forces a bit more if I'd been able to post some music online and mount a webpage.

But:  over the two months I've made an effort to make playing music a daily part of my life:  I have a small hand drum under my desk that I'll play for a few minutes before or after my evening session of typing on the computer (checking e-mail, etc.); I have a tambourine in the front passenger seat, so that when I'm stopped at traffic lights I can play it like a hand drum; and I received a small synthesizer for my birthday, which is about the length of the span between my outstretched thumb and pinky -- which I play on a near-daily basis during the week, on the "train" portion of my daily commute (it has a headphone jack).

And whenever I play music, I feel... good.

I have a substantial backlog of songs to record -- which I always say is better than the opposite:  tons of time, but no songs in the queue.  One of these days I'll sit down and record some of them.  And some-someday I'll sign up for some online song-hosting service, and try selling downloads of my songs.

I'm unlikely to get rich from selling my songs.  But I enjoy playing music; writing songs; and recording songs.  I earn a living from my "day job" -- so I'm happy to just be involved with music on a personal, informal basis.

Music makes me happy.

Yup.  :)


--GG

Tuning a cowbell for your drumkit

I did this about a month ago, but KH, my musical e-buddy, suggested that I share it more widely.

I was at my local animal feed, etc. store, buying some bags of chicken feed (laying mash?), and I noticed that they sold cowbells -- like, actual "clank-clank, wandering-around-in-the-field" cowbells.  I'm always on the lookout for inexpensive cowbells for my drum kit, so I picked it up.

About four weeks ago I -- with difficulty -- pried out the clapper from inside the cowbell.  I managed to get a smaller-sized bolt cutter down in there and made some substantial nicks; then I bent it back and forth with pliers until the weak part bent, and then I bent that segment back until I could get out of the loop that was welded into the inside bottom of the cowbell.

However:  once the clapper was removed, I discovered that the cowbell was too "pingy" and sharp-sounding when I hit it with a drumstick.  I wanted to dull it down.

My solution was to melt some beeswax in a clean glass jar (salsa, with the label removed) in an old toaster oven that I have in the shop.  Then I grabbed the rim of the jar with pliers, and poured a little  melted beeswax into the bottom of the cowbell, then gently swirled the beeswax along the inside bottom of the cowbell (like brandy in a brandy snifter):  the beeswax cooled, leaving a layer of beeswax along the bottom one-third or so of the interior.

I repeated this perhaps five times, building up the layers, and striking it with a drumstick between applications, until it had the tone that I wanted.

If I had deadened the sound too much, I could've just heated the whole thing in the oven, open-end-down on a disposable aluminum pie tin, and started the process over.  I would've salvaged and re-used the beeswax, of course.


I have some somewhat-illustrative photos -- but they're on my cell phone and for some reason this PC (running a version of Linux) doesn't recognize my cell phone properly, so I can't extract my photos directly:  I have to use my laptop, then dump the pics on a USB flashdrive and carry them over.  So I don't do it on a regular basis, because it's inconvenient.

I'll probably carry the photos over in a week or so.


Anyhow:  just sharing a tip on how to tune and/or dampen a musical/percussion cowbell.


--GG

Electric guitar is like woodworking

Last night I played the electric guitar for the first time in maybe a month.  As always, once I started it was hard to stop -- except for (like always) I started somewhat late at night -- so I had to stop so I could go to bed (had to get up for work the next day).

I noodled around for a bit, but after a few minutes I ended up playing a chord sequence that I'm going to try to turn into a song:  it had good energy, and I could "hear" the drum beat that will accompany it.

As I was playing, I had the same emotion that I do when I'm doing woodworking.  And the process is the same:  whether I writing a song, then recording and mixing it, or sketching out some plans, then preparing the materials and assembling it -- it's still "making 'something' out of 'nothing'."

Love it.  If I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd spend about 80% of my time doing woodworking and doing music -- drifting back and forth depending on my mood that day, but also what I was in the middle of (e.g. if I was partway through recording a song, I'd probably do music that day).


--GG

Minimalist drum kits

(This blog entry is a thematic extension on my January blog entry about "Suitcase drum kits".) 


I was Googling "minimalist drum kits", and discovered (or rather, re-discovered) the notion of "cocktail kits":  usually used in Latin music and maybe jazz -- but you can use 'em for whatever.







Here's a video of a guy making good use of an ultra-minimalist kit:  kick, snare, high-hat and a ride-crash:




I also found this article about "shrinking drum kits" interesting.


--GG

An inexpensive and secret source of percussion instruments

A few weeks ago I figured out that metal scrapyards (or metal recyclers) are good sources of percussion:  they collect brass and bronze among the other types of metal -- and brass and bronze tend to sound pretty good when struck.

The other neat thing is that they just charge scrap-metal prices if you find anything of interest.  One of the guys there said that they sometimes get actual cymbals -- which they toss in with the rest of the brass and bronze.


Because I work during the week, I'm only able to stop by on Saturdays.

The first time I stopped by, the guy said they had just emptied the "brass and bronze" bin a few days ago -- so it was nearly empty.

I waited a week, and then stopped by the following weekend.  Gah!  Same deal.

So, I resolved to stop by every Saturday.


Thus, two weekends ago -- the first of my "regular visits" -- I scored some flat metal rings (future windchimes?), as well as two sturdy metal pipes with external threads (see video).  And yesterday, I picked up a thin-walled capped pipe, which sounds a bit like an agogo, but also like a cowbell (also in video).

The threaded pipes were about AU$7 each (about US$5.60), and the thing-walled one cost me AU$5 (about US$4).  I may keep 'em; I may mount them on wood to make them part of a drum kit, then sell them.




Anyhow, raiding metal recycling places is a new source of percussion instruments for me.  But:  be sure to wear old clothes; you might get a little greasy or dirty, rummaging around.

And bring a drumstick -- for testing purposes.


--GG

The drummer not the drum kit

Found this YouTube channel on drumming:  some good tips and hints.

I liked this one, where she plays a drum solo on an inexpensive "children's" drum kit:



It's not the quality of the drums -- it's the quality of the drummer.


--GG

Cymbal test at the Trading Musician in Seatle

I was reviewing a stash of old (digital) photos that Old Roommate had given to me when I last visited the U.S., and came across this video clip again.

This is footage that he shot of me in late November in 2013 at my favorite "used instrument" shop in Seattle.  They had a bunch of cracked cymbals that they were surplussing at a steep discount, so I was testing a few to see which I'd take home with me to Australia.




Cymbals are made of metal, so they're kind of heavy -- so I wanted to limit which ones I took with me in my suitcase.


--GG

My Stylophone timeline

November 2009 (approx.):  Saw the below Molly Lewis cover of Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" on YouTube; decided I wanted a Stylophone (see 0:47).



12 December 2009:  Added MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” to my (exceedingly long!) list of "Songs to Cover... Eventually".  Notes include:  maybe use a Stylophone for the main riff.

24 January 2011:  Mail-ordered a Stylophone from a "neat-o things" Australian website; showed up in the mail after a few days.

Late January 2011:  Played the Stylophone once; found the interface awkward (poking the flat keyboard with a stylus); put it back in the box.

17 Oct 2016:  In our "Room of Boxes", where I do my music things, ventured into a rarely-visited corner; saw the Stylophone on top of a pile of boxes; realized I had not touched it in (literally) years; decided that there's little point in me keeping it.

18 Oct 2016 (morning):  Gave the Stylophone to a co-worker "Notesy", with whom I occasionally geek out about synths and other musical gear; he's far more likely to actually use it than me -- and at the very least, he'll appreciate it (he certainly seemed appreciative at the time; knew what it was from the photo on the box, even though I had the name intentionally covered up).


18 Oct 2016 (evening):  Typed up this timeline; realized that it wasn't just "a few years" that I'd not used the Stylophone -- it was more than five years; yep.


--GG

Like something I might have built

Found this by accident, doing a YouTube search for something else.




It's like something I would've built.  Genius.  It, not me.


--GG

Guitar geekery

Sheryl Crow -- I have a few of her albums -- talking about some of her Telecasters.




It's nice to hear a female engaging in guitar geekery:  too often, it's males.


--GG

Resolving to play music more often

I really enjoy playing musical instruments -- but I never get around to it. 

Which is stupid, because once I start -- I really enjoy it:  it's just a matter of starting.


Last night I was doing some of my weightlifting, and during my three-minute rest breaks, I did some simple practice things on my cheap, secondhand trumpet. 

And I realized that -- hey -- if I actually practiced even 5-10 minutes a day, I might actually become... adequate.


So:  I'm going to try to play some sort of musical instrument at least a few minutes a day.  Possibly focusing on the same instrument -- but, if the mood pulls me differently, that's fine as well.

We'll see how long this lasts.  :)


--GG

Balalaika shredding

Found this by accident.  I like it.



It's even more impressive when you realize that, not only does a balalaika only have two strings -- as opposed to a guitar's six -- but that two of the balalaika strings are tuned to the same note.

So he really only has the two lower strings to use for his super-fast runs.


--GG

Perceive the opportunity

One of my gifts -- I suppose -- is seeing opportunities for "re-purposing" everyday items.  The downside, of course, is that I have stashes of plexiglass, lumber, and other things around my shop -- for "future projects".

To my credit, however, I actually have these items organized enough that I can access them when I need them; I do actually make use of them; and for the last year or two I no longer retrieve "junk" unless I have a specific intended use for them.

So:  today when my kids were at a birthday party at the trampoline place, I nipped over to the nearby shopping centre to get something to eat.  While there, I stopped by an oddball liquidator's place.  In the discount bin in the front, they had a bunch of the cable-tensioning devices (pictured). I saw them, pondered a moment, and went "Aha."

I bought all six.  I didn't write down the price, but I think it was $2 each -- which I checked later, and is substantially cheaper than what they cost at the hardware store.

What are they for?  Well -- at **some** point in the future, I've wanted to make a gigantic backyard stringed instrument -- maybe 6m (20 ft) long.  These will be the tuning devices, to raise each "string" (presumably a cable) to pitch.

(Technically, these will probably be the fine-tuners.  Probably a large turnbuckle for the bulk tuning.)



--GG

Two desirable synths

I'm a regular reader of the Sound on Sound recording technology magazine.  I used to read Recording magazine -- but SoS now suits my needs better because it includes live sound as well as recorded sound, and in addition to "recording" gear it also reviews synths and the occasional guitar effects pedal.

In the January 2015 issue, they review the Dave Smith Instruments' "Pro 2" synthesizer.  Sounds promising.  In the "Alternatives" sidebar (p. 106), the reviewer suggests the Moog Sub 37 as being "probably the closest competition".  "The Sub 37 is more imediate and has bucketfuls of that classic Moog sound, while the Pro 2 is much more fleixbile and can be intergreated into an analogue sutdio in ways that the Moog can't.  [...]  I recommend that you win the lottery and buy both."

Will do.


Here's an example of each.

Dave Smith Instruments - Pro 2  (mostly 1:53, 2:33...)


Polyphonic:  can play actual chords.


Moog Sub 37 (esp. 0:24, 0:41,

Paraphonic:  can play two notes at once if you tweak some things; otherwise, just one note at a time.


And possibly one of these:  a Moog Taurus 3 (bass pedal synth).






Or, a Taurus 2:  the sounds aren't as desirable as the Taurus 1 or Taurus 3 -- but at least the "keyboard" has a broader range.




--GG

Best vacation EVER

I'm on a week's vacation.  This is the best vacation I've **ever** had!!! (!!!!!) (!!!!!!!)


It started out unpromising, in that last Friday was supposed to be my last day at work:  I just had two tasks to wrap up -- tasks that I really couldn't delegate.  However, Friday morning I was given two new tasks, that needed to be completed "sometime next week" -- while I was on vacation. 

So, instead of spending Friday wrapping up my two existing tasks, I ended up spending all day working on my new tasks. 

Since I didn't have any specific plans (e.g. a family road trip) for my holidays, I ended up deciding to come in on Monday, as well.  I ended up finishing all but one of my now-four tasks -- and the person to whom I owed the fourth task said that it could wait until I got back from holidays.


So!  Vacation started Tuesday.  It is now Friday evening.  Each day I've spent at least a half a day in the shop, working on my "swamp guitar" (it's like a cigar box guitar; more info when I finish it). 

When it gets too dark to do woodworking in my workshop (no electricity), I go outside and clean up small sections of the back yard:  clearing things out of the way and mowing the long grass that remains.

Today I managed to spend the whole day in the shop.  I reached a "gluing point" -- when I glue a section of a project I'm basically stuck until the next day -- so I turned my attention to two other projects:  a tool caddy (photos when I'm finished), and the Bretz Steps (free-standing steps, three steps high, for the back years -- for exercising). 

Today, as well as the other days, I also spent a little time clearing off parts of my cluttered workbench, as well as lapping (flattening a surface) and sharpening some chisels and handplane blades (i.e. making second-hand chisels and handplanes better).


Picked up a 300 grit Japanese waterstone a few days ago, to make lapping my blades easier.  This is the coarsest, fasting-cutting sharpening surface that the speciality woodworking store sells -- as far as I know.  It seems to work:  I'm wearing down -- and therefore evening out -- the backs of my blades noticeably faster than with my previous gear.


And!  I'm only halfway through my vacation.  So hopefully I will actually finish my swamp guitar -- rather than have yet another partially-finished woodworking project.


Stay tuned.  :)
   

--GG

That is a disappointment

The Lady is away on a business trip, and the kids are on vacation -- so I took Thursday and Friday of this recent week, plus Monday and Tuesday of this week, to look after the kids.

I had **also** hoped to build my Swamp Guitar (kind of a "cigar box banjo") during that period:  I mean, six days in a row of workshop time, right?

Well, unfortunately, no.  I've actually spent time with the kids -- taking them to the park, taking them to a birthday party, running errands.  Dad things.  So really, it hasn't been four full days of shop time.

And, to complete my project by Tuesday, I would have had to finish each day with a glue-up -- and that didn't happen.  Obviously, each time I glue a portion of my project, that's the end of the shift.  It's Sunday night, now, and I reckon I have at least four more glue-ups to do.

So, I've switched gears:  during daylight hours (when I wasn't out with the kids) I've been partly working on the Swamp Guitar; during the evenings I've been tidying things around the house, in preparation of The Lady's return.  But now that I know it ain't gonna happen, I'll re-orient myself more towards tidying the house.

My fear is that my Swamp Guitar will become yet another partially-finished project. 

But, hopefully I can work on it one afternoon per weekend, and get it done in about a month.


--GG