Casey Willis

Awesome, Ron. Good feedback, both on strings as well as the site. That is a good point regarding your bridge/nut setup when you change string gauges. And as always, yes; leave that kind of work to a qualified pro…unless you are one, of course! Let us know how the Thomastiks last – how do they sound in 3 months…

Keep up the good work, sir!

Good info, Ron. Thanks for adding in. Casey D has taken the application to a whole new place. I saw some things about his Fiddlesticks project a while back. There are a couple of neat vids out there on that as well.

Good request, Amparo. Hanneke does a great job with chops and the next time we have her in the studio, we’ll try to get some chop technique videos down. Cassey Dreissen is the master at this, as far as I am concerned. You should check out this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfvVyKiiFGE

Good request, Amparo. Hanneke does a great job with chops and the next time we have her in the studio, we’ll try to get some chop technique videos down. Cassey Dreissen is the master at this, as far as I am concerned. You should check out this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfvVyKiiFGE

You bet, Ron. More to follow!! Hope you have good luck with the Helicore…if you end up trying a new brand, let us know how they work out.

Good stuff, Roland. I think good posture and technique are both important in staying comfortable. And yes, having a well-adjusted shoulder rest makes all the difference in the world.

P.S. Nothing wrong with playing the guitar!!! But glad to hear you are challenging yourself with the fiddle.

Good info, Ron. I’ve not heard any feedback on Zyex strings…and I’ve also had good luck with Thomastiks. Thx for sharing.

Yeah, Roland. Good to change them up on an instrument till you find a combo that works well. I’ve found that the box makes a big difference. I use Prim med on the G, D and A…wound thomststik Dominant on the E (#129 or 130).

BUT, on a different instrument, Prims don’t work as well. I do stay pretty faithful with the wound E though. Hope the…[Read more]

You bet, Mike. DVD lessons which will include all of the components of the on-line lessons (sheet music, guitar tracks, performance/basic melody/advanced melody lessons) will be offered in the future. I know that this will be a good option for some folks. Hopefully late 2015…stay tuned!

Yep, Roland! I need to spend some time exploring Jonny’s and Buddy Spicher’s double stops. It really does open up tons of new possibilities on the instrument. I just need more time!!!

Ron,

Great suggestion. I researched this before launching the site as I absolutely agree that this would be a helpful feature. Unfortunately, the technology hasn’t matured enough to be “plug and play” and would require me to get some custom javascript code written. BUT, I am keeping my eye on this capability and as soon as it is available…[Read more]

Hi Dennis! Glad you stopped by the site. Also glad to read your suggestion. I like it. Sort of a general overview of different types of fiddling including what differentiates one from another.

I’ll consider baking something like this in as we go forward. The current focus is to get as much lesson content out there as soon as possible for…[Read more]

Good topic, Roland. Hopefully you’ll get some good feedback from others, but I’ll put my thoughts down:

I found the state fiddling association to be a great oportunity as I was a young fiddler. It provided regular occations for me to play in front of audiences and also jam with other players. Combined with regional fiddle contests, the jams…[Read more]

Agreed, Roland. The guy has taken it to the next level for sure. Good stuff. Love the 5-string too.