Body and neck

Parts coming along nicely. Well I have to admit, I haven't had to do anything with the body - thats as it comes from Sallys kit - all ive done really so far is to shape the ends of the neck






The dowling template I used for the Cigarbox uke seemed to work then, so ive used it again here. Only little bit of hassle was the fact that the body is curved at the neck point (ie, the neck interface required shaping with a slight inward curve - but nothing that a quick improvised spindle-sander in my pillar drill couldn't tackle)




Gluing tonight!

Diddley Uke

I couldnt resist giving the One String Diddley Bow just one more go, and when my friend Sally was 'throwing out' a Ukulele body - I was inspired.

Sally had just bought a Ukulele kit for donor parts (the neck and bridge) for her Cigarbox ukulele, so she didnt need the body, and I managed to convince her that I could put it to good use..... and so I shall, but without a neck, what was I to do?




The great thing about a one string diddley bow is that you don't necessarily have to grasp the neck of the instrument like you would on a guitar or ukulele, so in theory I could make the neck out of pretty well anything i liked as long as it was rigid enough to take the strain of the string tension. The nearest free thing to hand in my garage was a stair banister spindle - perfect in every way!












So with a bit of shaping on one end of the spindle and blocking and shaping at the other, and combining it with Sallys donor Ukulele body, it looks like i might have the makings of a rather ornate "One String Diddley Uke"

One string instruments

Look, I am trying to get on with building a trike (www.blackspanner.blogspot.com), I really don't need any more distractions. Stop teasing me with ideas, sounds, and resources.
A little while back I went to see Sea-sick Steve at the academy in Birmingham. In my mind SSS is the ultimate in 'cool' music - I mean I like his sound a lot, but i like his style just as much. He clearly loves to make music and he does it with ease and 'cool' on any old stringed instrument - and i mean 'any old' - check out this video. But the thing that really inspired me was the ease he was able to get such a great sound of a one string diddley bow (or for an electrified one check this one out)


- i really wanted one of those!
So I made one.










It's OK but its not great. I think the string (from an electric guitar) is too thin - its too 'twingy', not enough 'twongy' - if you know what i mean. And the jamie oliver tin is exactly as you would expect from jamie oliver - i need a resonator tin with a bit more growl (check this out as an example)
So I'm sorry to say my first attempt at a one string diddley bow has been archived to a dusty corner of my office

The Disco Uke in action

A slight distraction

This blog set off to record the birth of a cigarbox ukulele - and so it did.
But now the cigarbox ukulele is alive and well, there didnt seem to be much use for this blog...... that is until its sister was born recently - the 'disco ukulele' - Sadly only a couple of pictures exist of its creation, but nevertheless this blog seemed like the proper place to mention such a wonderful instrument

Strings

Aha - Jon suggests that I get rid of the GHS strings and fit some aquilas (I must say aquilas made a world of difference to my old Mahalo - yes - I hold my hand up proudly.... I love my old Mahalo :-)
And he also suggests that I might lower the action a bit by dropping the slots in the nut by a whisper.
Ive changed the strings....... and now im waiting for them to settle before I can play it - but ive already got a sense that its going to sound (and play?) much better.
We shall wait and see. In the meantime make sure you have a look at the aquila website - its a fascinating insight into the world of "strings" - No, REALLY - it is! :-)

What does it sound like?

This is it. I'm ready to give it a go. But wait a minute - the strings appear to have joined the mile-high club - I could drive a double decker bus under those strings - the action is way too high.
A quick fettle of the saddle and they come down to a more reasonable height - though still not ideal ..... But 'good enough'
So this is what it sounds like......

I think I should make it clear that the rough sound is probably more reflective of my playing skills than my uke-building skills. I'll keep practicing :-)