Made some timp practice pads using tambourine shell rejects. Thought about doing this for months. Finally did it. These are walnut(dark brown), ash (lightest color), anigre veneer (orangish).
Thinking about offering the MD GS&Brz mix in Ash and mulberry. The mulberry option, AKA Golden Boy(or Girls), would be slightly cheaper option. No metal badge (costs be $9 each)no dyeing process involved for me so it saves me time. Meanwhile, the ash version will be getting a slight price increase for the first time in 6 years. Also, I have become more and more selective of the shells I pick for the tambourines. About 30-40% of the shell blanks I get I end up not choosing because they are not heavy enough. Rather than make an inferior instrument I just have been eating the costs. Also, bronze was $12-13 per pound when I started this….i got a quote today and it was $33 per pound. Anyways, not sure right yet what the pricing will but want to demonstrate the two instruments side by side. Mulberry is denser and harder so it does hold together a slight bit better than the ash.
I have the 51/49 BD mallets back in stock. Wood cores only. In these two color options. I have 25 pairs left in these birch-oak shafts then they’re gone for good. Not a huge deal but I’ve had these blanks since 2008 and the company that made them no longer exists. But I can then use another type of wood of similar weight/density.
Since Buffalo Felt has basically stopped responding to my requests for more felt I had to search elsewhere and recently came across a new type of American felt that allows me to sew seamless cartwheel wraps. It’s softer than standard American felt but not as soft as German felt of the same density. So, it’s a bit more articulate and sturdy. Anyways, I’ve wrapped 5 pairs so far and will be wrapping more. These are The Badass (ES6) on the ugly innegra carbon fiber weave shafts. So maybe Firmass? They end up around 38/39 grams each pair. I plan to use this felt on other things like Ed’s. ES7’s(seamless now possible) and Leo’s 3.4’s as a possibility for a little more punch if wanted. These are under current stock on my website.
A or B? Genuinely curious. These are mulberry shells. Goat on the A. Calf on the B. I’ll say what the metals are later. OK it’s later now. B is the GS&Brz mix from the Damoulakis line which it seems most of the US and abroad favors. Option A was a “mix” but it’s all GS. 18 low pitch, 18 high pitch. This is how the GS&brz mix is too. Brz is the low, GS is the high. The difference I noticed with the denser shells is they get louder, but lose a little sensitivity on the soft end.
These are headed over to Austria and will be at the shop of @musikdinge . Goat and calf varieties from the Marc Damoulakis series we collaborated on almost six years ago! What a world.
Current Stock. I have a couple pairs of cartwheel badasses in stock. Three on birch-lam and two innegra/CF shafts. I also have something a bit different. I’ve been making something Ed and I called the ES Not-Cats (not cattywampus). They’re usually on carbon fiber shafts with a seamless cartwheel German wrap. It’s a cork composite core(probably cork and some sort of adhesive) so they’re a bit heavier than normal cork. I put these on birch-lam shafts and wrap them American soft side out. Best comparison would be like a mini-ES6 or 7…or Leo’s 3.4 but more articulate. They weigh around 40g. I have six currently. All are on my site. Thnx
So many parts of this process you HAVE to do by hand. I mean, you don’t HAVE to, but it sure ends up better when working by hand is involved. That’d the secret. Time. Thought and time. And observation. Then do it again. Sanding the thumb hole. Putting a radius on the grip. Burning in my name. Dyeing them black. (Showing the finished lacquered project at the end). I did not record the spraying. “Beautiful Japanese People” by Richard D. James doing the music. Poor video editing and camera work by yours truly. Cat sweater from eBay.
Just wanted to make a short video showing the sound and consistency of the 7” triangles I’m making from the old tractor parts. The first 5 examples are all the 7” (6 7/8”) size. I have about 20 of these remaining in this batch and they’re all very similar. The slightly larger one at the end is also very nice, just slightly lower in pitch due to being a little longer piece of steel. I’m playing these at probably at mp to mf dynamic. It just sounds loud because of the register and it’s my iphone.
Making one long reel since doing a normal post cuts things off text. These are 4 models from the Marc Damoulakis Series, the Nissly Special, and the Oxblood GS. Soft, loud, and some rolls.
