In 2010, Jaci and I made an unprecedented trip (for us) to Genoa, guests of Franco Ghisalberti (my Taraffo collaborator) and his fellow philanthropist friend Alberto Basso. It was part vacation, part harp guitar “work,” and all fun. Truly as spectacular and emotional a 10 days as I could ever hope for – I hope [...]
There are two dozen or more Dyer harp mandolins known to survive at this point, and other than some interesting, but subtle, differences (outside of the obvious different “Styles” of trim), most of us should be familiar with them by now. So: What is wrong with this picture? That’s what the owner was apparently asking [...]
…whether that basket is labeled “Fakes” or “Authentic”…especially until you are sure! In this case, I’m referring to the strange and mysterious “Stauffer” harp guitars that are actually shaped like an egg. The surviving specimen at left was not the first I had heard rumors about, but the first I came across – or rather, [...]
I’ve been meaning to write about this for some time, but it took awhile to finish the new Stauffer & Co. book. Not so much reading it, but absorbing it. Lots to digest here – so many new instruments and information! Copies are available direct from Stauffer & Co., and now in the States from [...]
Just a busy week is all. Let’s see… Read the new Stauffer book (twice through)…will say a bit more on that shortly. Been working on a couple new tunes, and decided to try recording with the SB Wingert that’s posted at Harp Guitar Music. Took just a bit to adapt to (from the Dyer), but [...]
With the harp guitar-playing community continuing to exponentially expand, I’m fielding more and more questions at Harp Guitar Music on what sub-bass strings to order. For those with custom or oddball harp guitars, you’ll still need to calculate custom gauges for your instruments (I’m happy to help; in fact, I maintain a growing spreadsheet of [...]
My initial question back in 2004 regarding the Combolin – or actually, pair of Combolins – was of course “Is it a harp guitar or not?” Though the answer turned out to be “definitely not” for one and “possibly” for the other, I have still enjoyed learning a lot more about these curious instruments that [...]
Time to try and get back to the reams of unpublished historical information I continue to obtain. Here’s one pretty much no one has heard of. I have never heard of one in any collection either, though clearly some must have been manufactured. Just another “holy grail” to add to my still-growing “want list”… The [...]
Meaning, I think we’re about due for one! Yesterday, Frank sent me a link to Jonny Mizzone’s videos at this Youtube channel. Flawless, except that he accidentally cracked a smile (not allowed in Bluegrass). His trio partners are ridiculously talented also. <<< The same day, a guitar buddy at work sent me this one….over 7 [...]
Lest I find myself in a blogging rut of Dyer-style harp guitar-playing virtuosos, here’s a 180° turn: an update on my friend, Electric Harp Guitar inventor and virtuoso Tim Donahue of Japan. I’ve been thrilled to have him play his fretted EHG on two of the Harp Guitar Music compilations (Harp Guitar Dreams and the [...]
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