I’ve been collecting parts for quite a while now and the Cigar Box ‘ukulele project is just about set to kick off. Below is my parts list that I created after reading some books on DIY cigar box projects and reviewing way too many articles at the cool site, www.cigarboxnation.com. Anyway, stay tuned as I post some pictures of my progress on this in coming days/weeks.
The “XX” in the list are for those items that I have already obtained. Just a couple things left to get!
XX Cigar box
XX Neck and fretboard, concert length
XX Tuning posts
XX Braces, Soundboard, Pine or Spruce, 1/4 x 1/2″ x 4′
XX Braces, Box, Pine or Spruce, 1/4 x 1/4″ x 8′
XX Bridge Plate, Maple, 1/8 x 2 x 6″
XX Thin wood – balsa for pickup sandwich
XX Bridge, Concert
XX Nut and saddle, Bone
XX Piezo pickup, wire and jack
XX Quarter (drill for washer for jack). Use Canada 2$ piece.
Brass bathtub drain strainer for resonator
XX Wood glue
XX Hole saw, 2.0 inches
XX Clamps
XX Strings (Aquila high g Concert)
XX Large rubber bands–Office Depot
XX TiteBond glue
XX Tung oil
XX Fine grit sandpaper
XX Steel wool
Clear Satin spray lacquer
Several months ago I installed GarageBand 10. I created several arrangements in GB 10 and discovered that there were some features that I need/want are not available in GB, such as the ability to mute individual audio regions within a track, or to mute individual notes within an audio region. So, I thought, “Fine. I will just deal with it in Logic. Wrong. I only had Logic Pro 9 on my Mac. But guess, what, GB 10 files are not compatible with Logic 9 or lower. Crap! So, I bit the bullet (wallet) and upgraded to Logic X.
Finally, and again my GarageBand and Logic apps will talk and play nice with each other. Apple certainly has it planned well in how to force its customers to spend more money even if they really don’t want to. I can now move on with life with Apple’s audio software Logic Pro X, version 10.0.7.
Logic Pro X, launched in July, represents the first major update to the software since 2009. Logic Pro X introduced “Drummer” which is a customizable virtual session player that automatically plays along to recorded tracks. Drummer made its way to Apple’s consumer-level GarageBand’s launch, with one drummer included free of charge and a set of 14 additional drummers with various styles available for $4.99 as an in-app purchase.
It seems guitar players can never have enough guitar chord grid paper around. So to be sure you don’t you can download a copy of this guitar chord diagrams sheet and draw and analyze chords from G to D13b5b9 until your heart’s content. This is formatted in US Letter (8.5″ x 11″). I might make an A4 version too if I get some requests for it. Just let me know.
I also have a link to a copy of this on the Get Free Stuff Page so it is easy to find in the future. Searching through blog posts gets kind of tiring after a while.
Even if you can hear with your ears it is important to learn how to truly listen with all of your senses.
I lost all of my left side hearing as a result of craniotomy surgery because I was diagnosed with Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome (SCDS) a few years ago and have screaming tinnitus all the time and have been fitted with special “BICROS” hearing aids to help my right ear hear things going on to the left of me as well as take care of some minor high frequency loss on the right side. It has been an ongoing tweaking process with my audiologist to get the programming just right. I have hearing aids that have 4 programs for specific types of audio environments and they can listen and switch automatically to the appropriate program. Unfortunately, even with all of this technology, they are still a double-edged sword and at times go into feedback in response to some particular sound. There are days that I like them a lot and other days that I can’t stand them and I leave them on the shelf. I was quite depressed and frustrated with my hearing loss at first, but then I became more hopeful later as I accepted it as a new aspect of who I am. In addition, listening to the story of Evelyn Glennie, a deaf classical percussionist who lost her hearing when she was a child, inspired me a lot to really listen with all of my senses and I feel that today I am a better listener that I was when my ears were 100% functional. Besides Evelyn Glennie, another inspiring deaf musician for me is Hector Tirado, a deaf double bassist. I have included videos of both of these people below to help inspire you.
If you are losing your hearing, I recommend first of all having an exam by an ENT physician to evaluate you and then get a referral to some reputable audiologists. If you are also a musician, explain in advance that you are a musician and ask them if they have experience in working with issues unique to musicians.
