Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Sept 6, 2023 14:54:56 GMT -5
Just called the Cobblestone to see if I could snag a ground floor room, to find that they're all spoken for. I hadn't thought there were that many geriatrics among us. (I reserved three months ago but hadn't thought to put that request in then.) Well, it's not like I can't climb stairs. . . . Oh, sorry. Thay had at least one ground floor [room] a couple of weeks ago. We ain’t tradin’. I always ask for ground floor when booking.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 5, 2023 18:31:28 GMT -5
There's plenty of Bush Light, made from real Iowa corn around, if anyone wants me to pick up some of that. No, no one want you to do that. Please don't.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 5, 2023 9:29:09 GMT -5
I’m losing my faith in the willfully ignorant.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Sept 5, 2023 0:12:37 GMT -5
Update.
I retested the frequency of the two forks using the Peterson iStroboSoft tuner app on my iPhone. I normally have the acoustic guitar (ACG) sweetening setting on when I tune an instrument. I also engaged the noise canceling option.
What I found was that both forks read at 339.3Hz and the strobe display indicated that value was slightly sharp. That surprised me since 339.3 is flat of 440. Then I realized that they were only sharp of the Peterson ACG sweetener setting. That means I often am tuning to 339Hz or so anyway because that compensates for the slight stretching of a string when noted.
So maybe these forks are already perfect as delivered.
If you use a Peterson StroboClip tuner, you’re probably using the same sweetening algorithm.
On edit: my Wittner fork is dead on at 440Hz.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Sept 4, 2023 17:38:18 GMT -5
I ordered the KWORK tuning forks and they were delivered today. www.amazon.com/QWORK-Virbration-Singing-Resonator-Experiments/dp/B0B4ZC4P2SThey aren't quite as pictured. The images make them look cast and machined. The forks I received appear to be made from bent stock with a handle welded onto the bottom. Also the resonator boxes are nothing like the quality of Wittner's. Still, they seem to work properly. As I expected. they aren't quite 440Hz, and neither are they exactly the same. One vacillates between 439.0 and 439.1 while the other between 439.1 and 439.2. As pictured, there is a sliding weight with a set screw that can slide up and down one of the tines. The one I got is plastic whereas the one pictured appears to be metal. Still, it works fine lowering the pitch to different frequencies depending on position. I'm going to try carefully reducing the tine length on one of them starting with a mill bastard file and moving to finer abrasives. I'll take a couple of swipes and recheck until I get to 440Hz. At least that seems reasonable to me. Anyone with a better idea, please speak up.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 4, 2023 11:39:30 GMT -5
My memory might be blurry, due to certain things, but I don't remember long haired freaky people as being tattooed. That’s right. Freaks (hippies) weren’t into tattoos. Now, of course, my daughters and granddaughters have them.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 4, 2023 11:36:19 GMT -5
Fiddlerina and I will be there beginning Thursday evening for the duration.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 4, 2023 11:32:39 GMT -5
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 3, 2023 23:59:56 GMT -5
This kid will turn out all right. That’s exactly the lesson kids need to learn. If you don’t do your job right, it affects other people, people who either have done your job or could of needed.
I’m very grateful for the difficult, painful jobs I learned to do just to prove to myself and the older guys that I was up to it. Sticking it out and earning the respect of people you could just as easily walk out on is worth the effort.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 3, 2023 14:40:41 GMT -5
I've noticed the Tusq picks do get scratched edges from extended playing. I might have to give yo on them and go back to the Ultex. Can they be polished a bit to smooth the edges? Good question. One of the best purchases I’ve made in the maintenance category is my old RedBear pick maintenance kit. I see the new ones aren’t the same as the one I bought. The original ones had two double-sided “files” plus two larger double-sided fine-grit pads and a polishing cloth. It worked well on my old RedBear picks and I still use it often on my BlueChip picks and even thumb picks when I’m reshaping the blades. I was very disappointed just now to learn that the old kit is no longer available. Still, I imagine the new kit I very useful and quite a bit cheaper too.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Sept 3, 2023 13:45:59 GMT -5
I've got a nice 2 hr gig this afternoon. I hope it’s not outdoors.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 3, 2023 1:32:36 GMT -5
…great music isn't always profound. And profound music isn't always great. We’ll put and so true.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 2, 2023 20:15:07 GMT -5
Still my all time favourite tuner and the love of my life is the TC Electronics Unitune. It is a really great, clear display, accurate, fast and sensitive little tuner. (It has a strobe setting but I find it unnecessary). Looks cool. www.tcelectronic.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DAW
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 2, 2023 20:11:56 GMT -5
I used to tune using a tuning fork and still do occasionally but I got lazy and use a clip on tuner most of the time. Of course, a tuner is only as good as its battery. I use a Peterson StrobeClip mostly and then I check the guitar by using harmonics. Sometimes I use a Boss tu-01. I am going to check out the Wittner you mentioned. I love stuff like that. When I was young and hanging around Old Town whenever I got the chance way back in the last century, a guy whose name I have long ago forgotten, showed me a tuning fork trick. He would strike the fork and then hold it between his teeth instead of touching it to the guitar top. It turns your entire head into a resonating chamber. It isn’t the most sanitary method if you plan on sharing the tuning fork, but it does work. It was freaky enough to really appeal to me at the time.😵💫😵💫 As I recall, it was loud, too. Maybe toking up helped back then. That was probably me. I've been using that trick, tuning fork between teeth, for more than 50 years. I don't remember meeting anyone else who did that. It just dawned on me one day that the skull was probably a better sound conductor than air and my eardrum. If you're using one hand to hold the fork against your instrument, you still need two more hands to pluck and tune the string. The Wittner fork on the resonator box is great. I put on a thumb pick, pick up the little mallet, and strike the fork. Then without having to put down the mallet, I can sound and tune the string. The fork's tone lasts long enough to accurately tune the string.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,958
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Post by Dub on Sept 2, 2023 17:39:54 GMT -5
Can a tuning fork go bad? A number of years ago our church held a get-together for guitar players of all levels, just for fun. There were some experienced players and some rank beginners, including some kids just starting out. Everyone had different methods of tuning; I had an electronic tuner, some people tuned to their piano and home, others tuned to the piano at church, some had a pitch-pipe. When we started playing we were all more-of-less in tune with each other. Than a guy showed up late and his guitar was not in tune with everyone else's. He announced that he had a tuning fork, and a tuning fork could never be wrong, so we all had to re-tune to match his fork an' guitar. Nobody argued, we all re-tuned. Nothing ever came of the group thing. And I never played with that guy. But I always wondered if his fork got bent or something and he didn't know it. Ha! Made me laugh. Church pianos seem rarely to be in tune. The same with home pianos. And the chances that two pianos in separate locations would be out of tune, in the same way, are miniscule. Likewise, pitch-pipes are rarely accurate. They are useful for choir directors to toot a starting note for an a cappella choir as long there's no organ to compete with. I remember many decades ago responding to a band looking for a guitar player. When I arrived at their rehearsal they were already working. Rather than interrupt, I quietly took out my guitar and tuned using my 440Hz tuning fork. When they paused and we introduced ourselves they insisted that I tune my guitar to an electronic tuner they had that was the size of an old table-model radio. Electronic tuning was a new thing and I'd never seen one. I explained that I'd already tuned but they seemed certain I couldn't possibly be as accurately tuned as they were and insisted that I check my guitar against their tuner. To my relief and their surprise, every string exactly satisfied their tuner. I don't remember how the session went but I never heard from them again.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Sept 2, 2023 17:23:36 GMT -5
It’s not rocket surgery, taking mass off the ends of the tines raises the frequency, taking mass off the u-bend lowers it generally. If you don’t take the mass off equally, it can cause harmonics though so, using a file, gently swipe each end the same number of counts checking often. Or, go with a Peterson tuner and stop messing around with tuning forks. Thanks, Joe. I think I'll get them and see how it works out. I have a Peterson tuner and I like it very much. I also use the Peterson iPhone app with a clip and Lightning connector. But I'm so accustomed to listening to the Doppler "beat" effect that I can quickly and most accurately tune a string to the tone of a tuning fork. With the fork mounted on a resonator box, the fork's tone continues long enough to accurately tune the string. I use the same technique, listening for the beats, to tune the other strings to the first.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Sept 2, 2023 17:07:51 GMT -5
They didn’t find any negative indicators using the analysis machine. It does need a replacement for some kind of brake switch. That’s evidently what caused all the warning lights. The good news is it’s only $260 instead of $2,600 or something. We’re still keeping an eye on the tranny. Thanks for asking. I'm guessing that you and Joy don't do a lot of Baja-style off-roading, so I'm betting your 4Runner's trans will be OK for the long haul. How many miles on the vehicle? I'm about to hit 160K in my Infiniti, and the $3K I spent recently to replace a worn-out steering rack hurt not as much as you might think when placed against the car's service record, which has been virtually nothing but routine maintenance, tires, batteries, etc., for many years. It's a 2007 with 272K miles. I'm looking to get 600K out of it. Hell, it's 10K just to buy another one of the same age. The next new(er) car I buy will need a bedroom, kitchen, living room, and a full bath cause I'll need to sell the house.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Sept 2, 2023 15:01:23 GMT -5
Dub, what was the verdict on your truck's transmission? They didn’t find any negative indicators using the analysis machine. It does need a replacement for some kind of brake switch. That’s evidently what caused all the warning lights. The good news is it’s only $260 instead of $2,600 or something. We’re still keeping an eye on the tranny. Thanks for asking.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Sept 2, 2023 14:52:43 GMT -5
My favorite way of tuning a stringed instrument is with a tuning fork. I find that by accurately tuning one string and then tuning the other strings using that as a reference, I can quickly achieve the most ear-pleasing result. Of course that is more difficult in a noisy environment where it’s harder to hear and takes more time. Out in public, the electronic tuners are much faster to get to an approximation but the result still needs to be fiddled with to sound right. I still keep a 440Hz fork in each instrument case but don’t use them as regularly as I did 50 years ago when there was no other way. At home, I have a Wittner tuning fork that is mounted on a resonator box. It sits on top of the piano in the parlor. These cost about 80 bucks. I’d like another one for my office/studio downstairs but I postpone the purchase because of the price. I’d really like Wittner’s larger 935440 model but that one is $150 after an $87 discount. So today I discover the tuner pictured below. (Click on the image for details.) I can buy two of these for a total of $20. A no-brainer, right? But one reviewer says his are slightly flat at 438Hz. It turns out these “tuners” are being sold as woo-woo medical devices to promote “healing” and a myriad of other non-tangible benefits. Imagine the envy of your friends and neighbors when they come into your home and there, sitting prominently on a shelf in your living room… (heh) My question is this. What is the practicality of tweaking these to achieve a dead accurate 440Hz tone. If they are flat, I assume the pitch can be raised by reducing the mass. Maybe filing down the tops of the tines. Other alterations might work as well. Do you think it’s worth the effort to tweak these just to save $130 on the Wittner fork? Thanks, in advance for your help.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Sept 2, 2023 13:15:17 GMT -5
It's pretty bizarre that we think we can figure out events from billions of years ago by looking through a telescope from a rock in the middle of the vast mess. Not only that, but the “new” stuff we are seeing ceased to exist billions of year ago.
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