CMM Quarterly Special Edition: Mark Boucher

I was invited by Mr. Mark Boucher to highlight the building practice of Charles Jean Horner. Please find all of the informative articles and photographs using this link. 

A December 2006 Charles J. Horner F5 Mandolin ( July 9, 1923 Triple-Side-Bound/Fern) is featured on the cover. 

Buying a New Musical Instrument

New and experienced  Old Time musicians alike are in search of a better musical instrument. Whether it be a fiddle, mandolin, guitar, or banjo, the interest exists. The modern player can choose between brands like Martin and Gibson, lesser known brands like Collings and Huff & Dalton, the custom builder, and the foreign sourced manufacturers like Recording King and Eastman strings. 

The focus of this post is to help you make a good decision. I will list several things that my experiance tells me you should consider before making your final decision on a musical instrument. 

1. The instrument should be set up properly with new or newer strings before you evaluate how it sounds and performs. 

2. Take an experienced player along if you do not have the experiance to judge for yourself.

3. Never buy something site unseen without a grace period.

4. Notice the lightness of the instrument the first time you pick it up. I have never played a heavy instrument that had the sound I prefer.

5. I like an instrument that resonates or vibrate upon being strummed or bowed. This tells me it is alive and unbound by too many braces.

6. Don't assume that the branded products are going to be better than the foreign made. Price does not determine quality in every situation

7. Notice how long it take the note to decay after a bowing or pluck.

8. Ask an objective listener to tell you how the instrument sounds as you play it. 

9. Trust your perspective. If it sounds good to you, that is very important

10. Check for structural integrity, i.e. cracks, neck alignment, fret wear, tuner function, bridge stability, etc. 

11. Do not buy into the notion that an instrument will improve over time. A new instrument takes time to settle, but if it does not speak to you when new, it will not become a superb instrument later. 

12. Old wood is not superior to new wood. All woods used in making wooden instrument are aged. Therefore, in some sense all instruments use old wood. It is the construction that makes a musical instrument sound good. As a consumer, if it does not sound good when you are evaluating the product, do not allow anyone to suggest that it will come into its own later. Put the instrument down and keep looking. 

Tone-wood Sanctuary

These photos are of a man's shop where he stored his supply of spruce, maple, rosewood, and other exotic tone-woods. The Red spruce dates from trees harvested back to 1985 and there are examples of spruce from just about every year until 2002. 

Violin Bow Hair/String Maintenance

I once saw an old time fiddler putting his bow away and using a tooth brush to comb through the hair. I decided to give it a try. I found a very soft, new brush and gently combed through the hair using a flat angle. This both cleaned and separated the hair nicely. I also used the brush to gently clean the strings from rosin buildup. Again this is a gentle process and you should use a new soft brush if you decide to try this. 

The Violin: why I find it so compelling

The idea of making music using strings originally made from sheep intestines strung to a tiny intrument. Then using a stick with horse hair attached to draw across the strings and pine rosin to make the hair sticky is compelling. 

The fretless fingerboard, while adding so much in the way of tones and minuted increments of notes, is also a part of the mystique. 

J.W. Green Violin Builder

Mr. Green uses the best materials to produce exceptional sounding and affordable violins in the $1-1.5K range.

Mr Clyde Davenport

Clyde Davenport is a legendry Kentucky fiddler whose style is his own. He has been playing for 78 years and has been recorded extensively. He is a National Award Fellow. 

He is the last of a long line of fiddlers who play an archaic solo style. 

Mr. Davenport also builds his own instruments using little more than a pocket knife.