Gustav Wunderlich
- This is my primary acoustic violin, made in Liepsig, Germany,
in 1926. I originally restored it to playability from a very poor
condition, under the supervision of Carl Roy, at the violin repair
workshop at Summer Violin Institute of the University of New Hampshire.
When I switched from right handed playing to left I had it modified
to left handed in stages by luthiers Todd Goldenberg and Gregory
Wylie. Todd built a new bass bar, and Gregory reset the neck.
I use it for playing classical music, playing fiddle into a microphone,
studio recordings, and for acoustic jam sessions.
My primary electrified acoustic violin is a German made Strad
copy, with no maker's label in it. Its probably 80 to 100
years old. I use an LR Baggs pickup along with a Fishman
Pro EQ with good results. This set up works well for folk
gigs, square dances, and right up to moderate volume country or
zydeco bands. High volume rock will cause it to feedback, however,
so in those situations I switch to my Zeta. I bought it from Bob
Smakula Fretted Instruments in West Virginia. It used to belong
to Claudio Buchwald whom I first saw play it. It was a bit weak
on the E string, which is possibly why it had been put up for
sale, but I saw potential in it. I had Gregory Wylie reset the
neck to get the bridge height up to normal, and now its a fine
square dance fiddle with good solid tone.
Zeta Stratos 5 string - This is a custom instrument that
I received in an endorsement deal with Zeta and Gibson. I had
it built left handed at the Zeta production shop and finished
with a bright red color designed to match my accordion. It has
a very even and clear tone across the range of the strings. To
further fine tune its play ability, I had it set up by luthier
Gregory Wylie in Vermont. It has more of an "electric"
sound than my Barrett, and the 5 strings are close together on
a fingerboard similar in width to that of a 4 string instrument.
Its great for jazz and rock gigs.
T.F. Barrett spruce 5 string - This is one of the nicest
sounding electric violins I've ever heard, and is a pleasure to
play. It has a natural spruce finish. I played it primarily for
contra dances using a Samson true diversity wireless system.
Through a Barcus Berry preamp it produces warm and round tones
very similar to that of a an acoustic violin, yet can be easily
modified with any type of electronic processing. I've used an
Ibanez compressor, Boss digital Delay, and PAIA
Octave divider with good results. The fingerboard is extra
wide to accommodate the 5th string. I find the wide fingerboard
comfortable. It uses a Fishman transducer. I have left
this violin in its original right handed configuration.
My shoulder rests of choice are Forte Primo by Willy Wolf,
made in Holland. They are sturdy, comfortable, and very adjustable.
The most comfortable shoulder rest I ever owned was a Resonans
which I bent into a shape that fitted by body perfectly. I'd play
a few days, bend it a little, play a few more days, bend it some
more, until it finally fit perfectly. However, the padded fabric
top began to wear out. I patched it as well as I could, but it
finally gave up. The Forte Primo is far more durable, but not
designed to be bent or modified as was my Resonans.
My favorite bow is a Pernambuco stick stamped "Leon Pique." Second best is one stamped "R Weichold A Dresden" on one side, and on the other, "Imitation De Tourte." I have another nice bow but its a little too light for my taste. Its a finely made Pernambuco stick stamped "L Bausch Liepsig." A 4th bow is an octagonal Pernambuco stick stamped "Nurnberger." It plays quite well, but I still like my Pique and Weichold better.
Vega tubaphone banjo mandolin - Many banjo mandolins are almost unplayable because
the action is so high or the neck is warped. Mine has a perfectly
straight neck and fingerboard. My trick is to use use extremely
light gauge strings and carefully adjust the string height as
low as possible so that they still don't buzz when whacked with
the pick. This is a very loud instrument and can hold its own
in a room full of accordions as I discovered at the "North
East Squeeze In" accordion festival one year.
George Washburn 5 string - I believe that this banjo was
made prior to 1900, possibly in the 1880's. It is my primary performance
instrument which I've played almost 30 years. Its had a lot of
wear and tear, and several different people have done repair work
on it over the years. 20 years ago the neck was accidently broken
at a gig that I was playing with Alan Block and I took it to David
Colburn at the Vintage Fret Shop in Ashland who did an excellent
repair.
When I needed a fifth string peg replaced a few years ago I went
to Bob Abrams at Trillium Octave Mandolins who combined an antique
celluloid knob with a modern mechanism for a great repair that
also looks cosmetically pleasing. More recently I've had major
refurbishing done by Jack O'Brien from Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
Jack is an exceptionally fine craftsman(and a good fisherman too).
For amplification I've installed a Headway Limpet active piezo
transducer which I purchased in England from Hob Goblin Music.
George Washburn Tenor - This instrument closely matches
my Washburn 5 string in basic design. Its small and light in weight
with fast action. It was built around 1915. I discovered it in
an ad from a music store in New Jersey which supplied me with
photos. It looked too good to be true in the photos, but I was
even more impressed after it was sent to me in the mail. It has
little wear, and looks as though it had been played for only 2
or 3 years and then was put carefully away in its hard shell case
for 60 or 70 years. The original calf skin head has been replaced
with mylar.
Leon Clerc 5 string - I found this old used banjo in Sidmouth,
England, at Hob Goblin Music. Its a very unusual design with a
six tuner guitar head stock, and a fifth string that disappears
into a tube under the fingerboard for the top 5 frets and then
comes out to attach to a tuner in the guitar head stock. Because
the banjo is a 5 string, one of the tuners in the head stock goes
unused. It has a small head and pot. It sounds a bit tinny and
doesn't put out much sound, but is very fun to play because the
action is extremely fast and the light gauge strings are very
responsive to pulls, hammers, and bends. Its a wonderful banjo
for just relaxing with in a comfortable chair.
Stradolin
- My Stradolin is a fine instrument modeled after a Gibson A.
It has a solid spruce top.
Gibson A - My Gibson A was made in the 1920's.
Copeland wooden Flute - As long as this flute is playable it will probably
always remain my primary flute. It was made early in Michael (Mekal)
Copeland's career. I bought it from him at a folk festival. There
were several assembled flutes standing in a barrel at his booth.
I tried each in turn, but this one was the easiest for me to play.
It has a beautiful tone in all registers, with a solid low D.
Its made of Maple, and was impregnated with a resin in an experimental
process at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
This treatment has darkened the wood to a greenish black color
which most people mistake for a variety of ebony. Its a real pleasure
to play and gets rave reviews by everyone who hears it. Stamped
into it is the word "MEKAL," and "33." For
amplification I use an Audio Technica 831B lapel mic. I
could find no premade and easy way to attach it to the flute so
I came up with two alternate methods: One is to use part of an
Electro Voice N/dym microphone cradle which snaps right
onto the flute. The other method was to modify an audio cable
cinch, originally designed to keep cables running in a neat and
orderly way in the studio. The cinch clamps the microphone and
attaches to the flute with a rubber band.
Penny whistles, tin whistles - I learned to play whistle on Generation
brand penny whistles, particularly the nickle-silver models.
They are reliable, easy to play, and produce a clear tone. Later,
I discovered Feadog whistles, which are now my favorite
of the lower cost variety. I once attended a tin whistle class
with John Skelton in which he played a large variety of whistles
in a comparison test. I preferred his Michael Burke whistle
to any other brands, so I ordered one from Michael who builds
them in Illinois. Michael describes the sound of his whistles
as "bird like." For professional use and studio recording,
I love my Michael Burke brass whistle. It is easily tunable, with
an O-ring lock to set it at concert pitch.
Frontalini 24 bass
This accordion was made in 1963 and is a pleasure to play. It's
very lightweight and compact but powerful with a nice musette
tuning. Its my favorite instrument for strolling work, and for
playing in my cajun and zydeco band. I play it so much that I
periodically need to have it repaired and retuned. I've had very
good service from Petosa Accordions in Seattle who retuned
the reeds and repaired the mechanism, and Castiglione Accordions
in Michigan who, several years later, put in a new set of reeds
and repaired the bellows.
I've taken this accordion on several flights to the west coast
and to a European gig. Even with the case it fits into the overhead
luggage compartment inside the plane. For amplification I'm using
a Microvox microphone and preamp setup which I installed
into the accordion. I purchased the Microvox unit from Westfield
Musical Instruments in England. It has 4 microphones: three for
the treble side, and one for the bass.
Castiglione 48 bass This accordion is one of a batch of
24 that Castiglione had commissioned to be built in Italy. It
is a very high quality instrument and has a beautiful sound with
hand made reeds. The buttons are very quiet when depressed which
makes it very well suited for studio recording. It also looks
very classy. I use it in situations where looks and clean sound
are important. As a 48 bass, it is much lighter and smaller than
a full size 120 bass accordion. For amplification it has a built
in Shure microphone system.
Kurzweil sp 76
This is my primary instrument for gigging. Its lightweight, only
28 pounds with the AC adapter and has a decent keyboard feel.
Its described as "semi weighted" but feels much better
to me than most semi weighted keyboards, primarily because its
not spongy or rubber band like. It has several good piano sounds.
For gigs in very small clubs I use my Galaxy Audio Hot Spot
as an amp, and in larger venues I use a Galaxy Audio PA
with the 8 inch speaker. I commissioned a custom lightweight padded
nylon fabric carrying case from the Mooradian company with
two large accessory pockets and backpack straps so that I can
carry the piano on my back and the amp and keyboard stand with
my free hands, for fewer trips between my vehicle and the stage.
My acoustic piano is a vintage McPhail upright, built in
Boston in the 1920's. It sat in an old unheated barn unplayed
for 60 years until I acquired it. It has a great sound, is easy
to play, and suits me just fine. I periodically have it serviced
by Ray Demarco who, besides being a fine jazz piano player, is
an expert piano repairer and restorer.
Taylor rosewood concert grand - This is a wonderful guitar with a smaller body
than a dreadnought. I was looking for a professional level guitar,
but couldn't afford the high prices of one of the more popular
quality guitar makers. I did some research, decided that this
was the no frills model that I needed, and then began looking
for one locally. I wanted a rosewood back and quickly discovered
that no dealer seemed to have one in rosewood, and that this model
was now being made with walnut. I called the Taylor factory and
they located a single guitar with a rose wood back in Baltimore.
I drove to Baltimore to try it out. I sat and played it in the
shop for a long time. I also played a comparable Martin guitar
in the shop. The Martin guitar played and sounded great. The Taylor
played and sounded better. I had a Thin Line pickup installed
and took it home to New Hampshire.
F hole jazz guitar - I have a wonderful "No Name"
solid spruce guitar with a sunburst finish, probably vintage 1930's
- 40's.
Carvin 6 channel mixer/amp, model SP600. - I bought this amp used so I'm not
sure when it was built. This work horse has been going strong
for me for over 20 years though, and is used several times a month.
I've never even replaced the fuse. Its bigger and heavier than
modern powered mixers, but does have an advantage of a sturdy
wooden carrying case with a solid latched lid. It has bounced
around in the bed of my truck for thousands of miles from gig
to gig. It has dual amplifiers and dual EQ channels. This amp
produces a clear and natural sound with vocals and acoustic instruments,
has a low noise floor and no discernible distortion even at maximum
amplification. I intend to keep using it until it wears out, if
ever.
Peavey Speakers Model 1210TS PA Column, T3 High Frequency
Projector . - These are wonderful sounding speakers coupled with
my Carvin amp. They're over 20 years old but going strong. They
have a 12 inch, 10 inch, and 3 tweeters in a sturdy column design.
They're great for vocals and acoustic instruments. They aren't
designed to put on stands however, so must be set up on something
substantial. When these finally wear out I'll be in the market
for something lighter and sized to put on stands.
Fostex 8 channel mixer - This the companion mixer for the
older Fostex 1/4 8 channel multitrack reel to reel recorder. Both
the mixer and recorder work great. In fact, I was getting ready
to sell the recorder last year, and then I noticed that the prices
for good used working units are actually going up, since some
people prefer the analogue sound.
Samson Mixpad 9 - This mixer is one of the best audio equipment
purchases that I have ever made. There are several similar products
on the market but I chose this model because it is physically
smaller than its competitors and I wanted an ultra compact mixer
that I could pack into a tiny kit bag. I was very pleased to discover
how incredibly versatile it is! I can use it to add extra channels
to my main powered PA board, to plug in 4 or 5 instruments plus
a mic for my solo gigs, or for many other uses: duo, and trio
folk gigs, or as a submixer for all of my instruments when I play
an on-stage venue with a main PA system. It is extremely convenient
to just hand the sound man one 1/4 line, rather than having to
have separate cables for my flute, fiddle, accordion, banjo, etc.
At a recent contra dance gig I had the whole band plugged into
my Mixpad9: 1st fiddle; 2nd fiddle; banjo; flute; hammered dulcimer;
Octave mandolin; and a microphone for tin whistle. It worked like
a charm!
Roland Jazz Chorus 50 - "JC-50 Jazz Chorus 112 Combo"
This is my favorite amp for amplifying my violin in rock type
situations. Roland only sold them for a couple of years, but I'm
lucky enough to own one which I purchased new in New York in 1981
during a tour with the Baked Apple Band. The true test of this
amp's quality occurred in a country rock gig I had in Utica, New
York, at the S-Kicker club. For some reason it wasn't possible
to put my fiddle through the sound board or to mic it so I had
to rely upon just my Roland to compete with the rest of the band
which was amplified through a substantial PA system.
The lead guitar player was using a Marshall stack. The sound man
warned me that my amp wouldn't cut it on its own, but I had no
other choice. I cranked the Roland way up to 8 or 9, plugged in
my violin and let loose. Our on-stage volume in this band was
such that I had to use ear plugs. Our band was being recorded
this night from the audience with a remote microphone. Later that
night, listening to the taped play back, I was surprised and pleased
to hear that my little Roland was easily able to keep up with
the PA system, and even with the guitarist's Marshall stack.
This was evident in sections where the guitar player and I traded
solos. Not only was my amp loud enough, but my fiddle sounded
natural, just like a violin played acoustically, with no distortion.
Granted, I was using a high quality violin, with a Barcus Berry
pickup which I had very carefully placed for optimal sound.
I've had a "line out" jack placed on the the amp's back
panel, since it didn't come with one.
Galaxy Audio Hot Spot - These are truly amazing little
amps. I've been using the 30 watt versions weekly for many years,
in pairs as mini PA systems for folk bands, as on stage monitors
for my cajun/zydeco band, or as a main amp for my fiddle, flute,
banjo, or accordion. They are real workhorses, and produce a clean,
clear sound for both vocals and acoustic instruments.
At a recent gig I had one mounted 5 feet in the air on a mic stand
in use as a monitor. An intoxicated passerby kicked the stand
sending the amp crashing to the wooden floor. I put it back up
on the stand and it worked perfectly, with no damage even to the
case. Later that evening, it suffered the same abuse a second
time! It still worked perfectly, although after this second occurrence
I put up chairs as barricades around the mic stand.
Galaxy Audio PA - I use this compact system with its 140
watts and 8 inch speaker to power a whole folk band for a contra
dance, small venue band stage performance, or just as a powerful
amp for main stage solo folk gigs. It also works great as a main
or monitor amp for keyboard. I've used it along with my Samson
Mixpad 9, or with a mini XLR combiner from Galaxy, to amplify
my Kurzweil keyboard, dance caller, fiddle, and other instruments
for barn dances!
Mics - I'm presently using Electro Voice N/dym 257's,
and 357's for vocals and instruments, and an SM 57
for instruments.