Hi,

How can I be so unlucky with most things. 15 very tall trees felled and disposed of in just under two weeks working in terrible weather then as soon as finished the weather was absolutely brilliant. This week three lots of plants and shrubs arrved in three deliveries; this time planting each day in bitterly cold weather dodging rain or snow showers.

A while ago I bought a Laney LX20R and a Tascam recorder/mixer to create a recording studio; I also rigged up a car radio to Sony speakers in order to play MP3 tracks from stick this working very well indeed.

I've been so bogged down with heavy work that each time I've tried recording my violin playing hoping to play back through the amplifier I've only partially succeeded. This morning now having spare time I wandered into the studio and decided to try the Tascam and amplifier once again. With everything switched on and a bit of violin practice recorded once again playback through the amplifier proved very difficult indeed; everything was working and I could hear the violin but only at normal volume; as soon as I tried to increase the amplifier volume above #1 the amplifier screeched its head off?

I knocked off for dinner and still no nearer to solving the problem; all the wiring was correct after all I could play back at normal volume and I knew for certain both the Tascam and amplifier were working as they should but there was someting wrong.

I've just popped into the studio and reconnected the Tascam output to LH speaker for the amplifier it had been set from the start to RH speaker; only two options and as usual I get it wrong; I never suspected polarity problems.

I'm just the same with traffic lights which really annoy me usually turning to amber then red right at the last second having let a row of vehicles through; companies I've bought from for years going out of business; lots of frustration  and yes I'm moaning because I wish something would go right for a change. Over the last eight years Bron and I befiriended a local self employed gardener taking pity on him because we knew he was stuggling; we've given him lots of free items and he said if ever we needed help he'd be there for us; with all the heavy tree work one of the big trees was leaning well over our our fence into next doors garden so for once I thought I'd ask for help but I offered £100 which was agreed to; no offer of a free hand in spite of years of helping him; I emailed giving a few days notice of the tree felling but no reply; no reply to my second email; no reply to my third email so I felled all the trees working on my own but had to use a winch on the leaning tree. With the job completed I phoned him and was told he'd been off work ill which of course could happen to anyone but how strange when he said he'd had to contact his gardening customers advising them he was ill; Bron and I mustn't even be on his list because he totally ignored three emails; another so called friend bites the dust and this was the first time I'd ever asked for help. In future I've had it and will do as I've been doing all our 46 years of married life and do everything ourselves.

Something has actually gone right but only after lots of frustration; the amplifier is now fully working; I should have more time now for violin practice because in future anyone wanting free favours PARDON?

Kind regards, Colin.

Hi,

WOW; two violin practices today and the weather is glorious; first practice early this morning and I've just come out of the studio feeling pleased for a change.

As usual another unexpected job awaited me; I really should be blindfolded whilst outdoors.

I found a section of wall in need of urgent repointing as seen. Normally I'd have repointed the entire wall but I'm becoming increasingly fed up of being diverted from what I want to do; the repointing is now completed looking strange but it will dry much lighter in colour.

Tomorrow I'll do the job I set out to do today; it never lets up but two violin practices today has cheered me up.

Kind regards, Colin

Hi,

On Tuesday I couldn't do anything right at all whilst practicing playing my violin; the worst practice ever but before putting the violin away I gently cleaned the strings using meths.

Yesterday was the best practice ever; playing it back through  the Tascam and amplifier really cheered me up; something so simple making a huge difference.

Kind regards, Colin.

Hi,

Thanks Andrew; I'm sure Eau de Cologne will smell much better than meths but I've not tried it; I've not heard of Eau de Cologne for many years although when I was a kid it was very popular.

I used to do quite a bit of french polishing so have plenty of meths to hand also I have plenty of 99.99% alcohol;

Isopropanol Alcohol IPA 99.99%

Isopropanol Alcohol IPA 99.99% dissolves a wide range of non-polar compounds. It also evaporates quickly and leaves nearly zero oil traces in comparison to similar solvents. When compared to ethanol, IPA is relatively non-toxic and, as a result, it is used widely as a solvent and as a cleaning fluid, especially for dissolving oils. The most common examples of this application in your day-to-day include cleaning electronic devices such as contact pins (like those on ROM cartridges), magnetic tape and disk heads (such as those in audio and video tape recorders and floppy disk drives), the lenses of lasers in optical disc drives (e.g., CD, DVD) and removing thermal paste from heatsinks and IC packages (such as CPUs).

Rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting pads typically contain a 30–70% solution of isopropyl alcohol depending on the exact use.  Also, Isopropyl alcohol is a major ingredient in “gas dryer” fuel additives. In addition, IPA is a  biological specimen preservative. Therefore Isopropyl alcohol provides a comparatively non-toxic alternative to formaldehyde and other synthetic preservatives.

I also have Acetone so I think I'm covered for cleaning the violin strings for a while but it's always interesting to learn something new; thanks for sharing.

Kind regards, Colin.

Hi,

I'm moving along at a steady pace with violin practices when I get the chance; however my studio is gaining more kit; I've just bought a pair of nice monitors these being new M-Audio BX4 Drivers 120W Monitors; they arrived yesterday and I've unboxed them but not yet connected them to the Tascam.

I've also bought a mic this is Rode NT1-A Complete vocal recording also new but it's yet to arrive.

I've also bought Pirastro gold rosin which I'll try using shortly.

There's always jobs to do around home; over the last couple of days I've dismantled our heavy garden bench and this morning finally completed its repaint; once the paint dries I can assemble it and tick another job off; I never bodge jobs hence I dismantled the bench to ensure I could do a good paint job also upon reassembly I'll be using A2 stainless steel fastenings.

I'm just enjoying a mug of tea before heading into the studio to play around with the new monitors before another day rapidily disappears.

I painted both bench ends this morning so the paint is still wet. The paint is brilliant green BS221.

Kind regards. Coliin.

Hi,

Many thanks JohnG; yes always very busy indeed; out of bed around 7am unless it's Monday & Friday then I'm out of bed by 6am to do the supermarket shopping but even getting up so early there still aren't enough hours in a day. Thanks for your kind offer of welcome to set your yard up but I'm struggling to keep on top of our own; everything in our gardens (yard) is going ballistic; I cut it back and a few days later I'm cutting it back again; I knocked off at 7:30 last night having just cut the grass; not a lot of grass but needs regular cutting and just another job of many.

I did an 11 hour day yesterday only breaking off for dinner and tea times; I was in the workshop very early and finished the bench painting job so once the new stainless steel screws arrive I can reasseble the bench and tick the job off; I have the Stainless nuts & washers but await delivery of the screws; I used a 2" foam roller to paint the wooden slats but used a brush to paint the intricate cast iron ends; everything I do seems to take forever.

I set up the new monitors yesterday afternoon but have just had to order another pair of cables to connect them to the Tascam; the Tascam has duel outlets (Stereo) but only a single cable at 5M long was supplied; the new cables are due next Wednesday; I'm pleased however because I can use a single monitor at the moment and I'm very impressed so far.

Whilst in the studio I was also keen to try out the new Pirastro Gold Rosin I've just bought; I gently cleaned the bow hair and strings using meths then I could start over with the new Gold Rosin; using this rosin and the new amplified monitor what a great difference to sound quailty over using the Laney guitar amp. I only briefly played with the new rosin but even I as a novice could immediately tell the difference; this rosin seems to grab the strings better without the occassional slipping I experienced whilst using the cheap Hidersine and slightly more expensive Kaplan rosin; I must be improving because I'm starting to notice lots of differences.

I did expect the new monitors to blast lots of sound out like the mini hi-fi but so far they play about as loud as my recording; not a problem because my studio is small but I did expect a lot higher amplification; being so new to all this I'll play around with the Tascam controls for when I'm recording it's very likely me at fault and not my kit.

I'm working flat out to complete all the jobs I need to do then I can relax and spend more time in the studio rather than at present only grabbing half an hour at a time and often when I do play my violins my hands and fingers are stiff from working also my arms ache; I've just knocked off for a mug of tea but I'm now about to do some exterior painting.

Here are the cast iron bench ends resplendent in their new paint; I used brilliant green BS221 for the wooden slats and just for contrast decided to use black for the ends. I tipped the ends over in order to fully paint all areas; it all takes time but I never bodge or take the easy solution.

Your kind offer of tea and scone sounds tempting John.

UPDATE,

Since posting I've just enjoyed some studio time playing around with the Tascam and monitors; yes definitely me at fault as expected and not my kit; still just using one amplified monitor it now really does amplify and I'm delighted with its output; I'm looking forward to the new cables arriving then I can connect the Tascam and monitors as they should be connected; in the meantime I'm still enjoying this new experience.

Now more familiar with the Tascam controls I thought I'd try the Laney amplifier once again and this now works with high volume too so I'm going to keep it; the monitor though is better because it's got very clean sound unlike the Laney which suffers background hum; during my years restoring vintage valve radios I could clear hum by prodding around with a 0.1UF capacitor on probes one probe to chassis the other testing components until I found the source; on the VHF side the valves were always fully shielded.

I also found it pays to play away from the Tascam mics avoiding background noise from the bow; I'm learning all the time.

It was nice to break away from all the work for a short while; I must do this more often. With the playback engaged I popped outside to check if the music was loud enough to cause annoyance but it was fine so I can practice and play back in peace without offending anyone. A very good morning indeed.

Kind regards, Colin.

Hi,

I'm now making a deternined effort to play my violins; yesterday I enjoyed my longest practice sessions to date at 45 minutes each playing my 1880 Gernan violin and really enjoyed both which went well. I've just enjoyed another 45 minute session but just for interest I've been playing my new Hidersine Vivente and the German violins.

Having had the Hidersine sorted out by a luthier with a decent set of strings on; a while later Bron bought me the German violin with even more expensive strings fitted at over £40 more than the Hidersine strings. Strings on the Hidersine at £60 the set and I think the luthier said the strings on the German violin were £110 the set. The luthier supplied and installed all strings.

I expected a huge difference in sound but back then when I played both violins side by side I couldn't tell them apart; it's quite a while since I've played the Hidersine but this afternoon suddenly both violins sound totally different to me; the German violin is much louder; the Hidersine now though sounds much better than when supplied new with a pleasing tone so I'm making progress and am starting to pick up the different notes as I play.

I'm exclusively using Pirastro gold rosin which is much better than the cheap rosin supplied with the Hidersine violin but if anyone can recommend an even better rosin I'm willing to learn

When I first started to practice I could only play for about five minutes due to pain in my left arm and hand due to strangling the violin; I'm now much more relaxed and can play for 45 minutes without problem; both violins feel totally different to hold but I played both without unwanted screeches.

The strings on the German violin are very good at staying in tune but the Hidersine strings do need a bit more adjusting; not a lot but enough to make a difference.

I'm as busy as ever doing work around home and gardens but I'm now getting on top at last hence I can spend more time in the studio; everything is settling down; violins and the studio kit are all pretty new to me but I'm feeling a lot more relaxed; I'm getting used to recording using the new condenser mic; Tascam and new amplified monitors for playback; like any novice I've made lots of mistakes due to my ignorance but with forum members help on here and help from another forum regarding my home studio it's all coming together allowing me to concentrate on playing the violins without worrying about Tascam; mic and monitors; if I forget the Tascam is still set to record on channel 1 and I try to play back the monitors don't half yell at me; I've done this a couple of times but no longer because I've got into a routine.

At the risk of asking a very silly question has anyone any idea as to the strings Susanna would be using to play Lara's Theme?

I realize same strings sound different on different violins but I'm very keen indeed to learn to play Lara's Theme. I'm good at asking silly questions but I learn a lot by doing so.

Kind regards, Colin.