After the Christmas Craft Show craziness I will be offering items for sale on my new Etsy shop.
Stay tuned for more details.
New amps for sale!
November 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Here are some of the new amps. Prices range from $70 to $100. The catch is they’re only available at the table. You will need to come down to either of the two shows this upcoming weekend!
One Holiday Bazaar Friday, November 30, 2012 from 12:00pm until 7:00pm at Selkirk Montessori 2970 Jutland Rd.
and
The Owl Designer Fair Friday, November 30, 2012 at 6:00pm until December 1 at 6:00pm
1240 Gladstone Ave Fernwood NRG Community Centre
Summer update…and a new camera!
July 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
An Assembly of Amplifiers
February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
New and Improved!
These fine little portable practice amps now have the option of a 9v wall-adapter. I have wired in a 2.1mm power jack and have a shipment of adapters due to arrive any time.
They still have the 9V battery clip for those camping trips and downtown busking excursions, but can be switched to wall-power when in a “homier” environment.
Prices vary (usually $65 to $100)
A 9V adapter with a 2.1mm positive-center plug is available as well. My stock varies, but most electronics stores will have these.
3 String Whiskey Box Dulcimer
February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I found this old Alberta Springs “Oldtime Canadian Sipping Whiskey” box at a thrift store. It was well worn: a bit rough around the edges. I also had in my possession a fine old bottle opener with the stamped lettering of “T.S.F.M. Caswell’s Saskatoon” which seems to be a clothing retailer (possibly defunct) in that fine city. They were a perfect fit. A bit foothills, a bit prairie, a bit provincial, but all business.
I originally made this one a 2-string thing, but added an extra string and it made a hufge difference in sound and playability. It’s fretted up like a dulcimer. It has a little bit of purpleheart wood for a bridge and an old square nail from my turn-on-the-century house for a nut. The neck is oak, rife with tool marks and treated with my home-brewed oxidized iron dip, finished with a couple of coats of oil.
This is a great conversation piece, and when the conversation goes flat you can play some old-timey mountain tunes on this prairie-born instrument.
Practice Amps
June 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I’m now making portable practice amps. These 1/2 Watt amps are powered by a 9V battery and small “386″ amplifier chip for hours of use from one battery. (there are rumors of a new amplifier circuit in the caverns of scrapwerks headquarters…stay tuned!)
Each is unique, with an amazingly full sound for such a small box. The amps have volume and gain controls giving clean output with gain on low, and a full fuzzy overdrive with the gain turned up. The Freak amp features a “Freak Switch” for extra overdrive! A 9V adapter plug is available as a custom option.
Prices start at $75. Internal parts, speakers and control knobs vary depending on what’s on the workbench at the time.
Diddley Bows, single string guitars – $25 to $35
December 6, 2010 By 2 Comments
The monochord zither or diddley bow is one of the oldest instruments around. Almost every culture has their own version with a resonator made from whatever hollow item was on hand. It is usually played with a glass or metal slide to change the pitch, with the string being either plucked with a finger or pick, or struck with a stick. You could also bow it I guess, although I’ve never tried.
To quote One String Willie:
“A diddley bow is slide guitar stripped down to its most elemental level.”
Mine are made from a variety of small boxes. Each is unique: the hardware varies by my stock of parts at the time, as does the wood neck…sometimes round, sometimes square. The neck can be varnished, or painted. Let me know if you have any colour preferences.
