A Person Who Cares About His Customers

Hi Jeremy! I wanted to write and thank you for making my recent purchase of the Eastman T-386 such a pleasant experience. You were extremely generous with your time on the phone with me as well as very helpful. It’s very obvious to me that you are a person who cares about his customers and it’s your nature to treat people with respect and kindness. I would not hesitate for a second to do business with you again in the future. It was a pleasure! I hope someday to visit your shop and meet you in person.

Glen Taylor

Victoria, BC

My go to place

I have the good fortune to pass through Kaslo several times a year. It's on the way to one of my favorite places in The Kootenays. A few years back a friend told me about a cool little music shop in Kaslo. I'd probably driven by it ,unaware, a number of times. I wasn't expecting a whole lot when I finally stopped in. How could such a small town support a music store of any real quality in terms of stock or repairs. At least I thought I'd maybe found a place to buy strings in my travels. When you own 4 to 7 guitars according to what day it is you go through some strings. I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a very fine shop where in the 3 years that I've been stopping in I've bought a couple of fine mandolins, I've sold a couple of high end acoustic guitars ( for the price I wanted ) I've had quality work done on a couple of other guitars, bought a couple of good quality violin bows and recently had a very nice, good quality bridge put on my violin along with getting the sound post adjusted. To date I've had nothing but satisfaction with Jeremy's work in the Luthier department. It's come to be my go to place for pretty much all my musical needs & happily so. Banjos guitars mandolins violins dulcimers dobros, there's a great selection of quality instruments. I don't know what I'd do without them!

Bob Gardali, Revelstoke B.C.

A True Craftsman

"I took my guitar to Jeremy for a small playability problem. He diagnosed the primary issue as an incorrect neck angle. We discussed all the options and I made the decision to have it corrected. With the changes he made, this guitar went from hanging on the wall to my main instrument. He is so meticulous that he did not stop until it was perfect for the way I play. A true craftsman."

Joan Grodzki, Avid Classical Guitarist, Nelson, B.C.

What a Treasure!

"What a treasure to stumble upon while on the road! A true folklore centre, reminiscent of the old Toronto Folklore and Ottawa Folklore Centres. A great selection/collection of guitars and other fretted instruments and a truly gracious, knowledgeable and helpful man of many talents manning the shop."

Thomas P. Radcliffe - Singer-Songwriter, Composer, Finger-style Guitarist, and Advocate for Peace and Social Justice

Sounds so Beautiful

My violin sounds so beautiful I've been playing it all morning. I think moving the soundpost really opened the sound and I'm really happy with the way the bridge sounds.

Again, thank you so much, I was worried about getting my violin back and it sounding completely different with the new bridge but it really sounds great and I'm so incredibly happy with it!!

Aline Daigle - Selkirk Music Student

Custom pickup installs!

Sunday, August 6th, 2017

Here are a few examples of pick up installs that required some problem solving.

In the photo to the left we see a K&K pure mini installed in a 12 string guitar that has a JLD bridge doctor attached. K&K does make a 12 string p/u but the transducers are so large that it’s not feasible to install correctly in this scenario. Chamfering the edge of the bridge doctor block where it contacts the bridge plate allows the installation of the middle transducer of the pure mini to be fully on the bridge plate. The pure mini is a totally acceptable substitution for pure 12 when this obstacle is present.

In the photo below we see a K&K banjo twin with a custom cable guide to keep the pickup leads from going microphonic when contacting the banjos coordinator rods. Using the existing nuts and rod was a nice solution as it meant we didn’t have to alter the pot in any way.

And lastly we have a K&K mandolin twin internal installed in an Octave Mandolin. The real challenge with oval hole instruments in the mandolin family is I can’t get my hand inside the instrument to position the transducers. The solution is to mark out where they need to go and secure the transducer to powerful magnets then position inside via a steel rod. The final guide into exact location is where the attracting magnet is placed on the outside of the instrument. If you have a challenging install you’d like us solve give us a call!

Solid Acacia Concert Ukulele

Not all Ukuleles are created equally. Many of us have encountered the all-plastic toys that sit on top of the piano, impossible to tune, sounds like playing a wet noodle attached to a cardboard box.

The builders over at Cordoba are putting out some very musical ukes, aesthetically pleasing, easy to play, they intonate properly, hold their tuning.
This is their very beautiful 25C, Concert Ukulele in solid Acacia Wood. A very warm, clear, and inviting tone. With the great diversity of each specimen of Acacia, every one of these ukes is uniquely beautiful.
Bone Nut and Saddle

Rosewood Fingerboard and Bridge

Aquila Nylgut strings

Can’t you just imagine yourself on stage with this beauty?

$329

For more info contact us.

Freya

Local New Denver act Freya (Martine Denbok on violin and Noel Fudge on guitar) has just released their first CD and it’s just what the doctor ordered.
Freya compose original pieces for violin and guitar. The music is fresh and innovative, drawing from Celtic and Folk roots, tugging on those timeless heartstrings that are anchored so deeply in so many of us. The CD is very well produced, clarity and volume are superb. Hat’s off to Martine and Noel.
A must have for any Kootenay music library!

$20

For more info contact us.

Blackstar 1w Tube Amp

Mountain Fruit Folklore is proud to announce that we are now carrying Backstar amplifiers.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about this little 1W tube amp. (Isn’t bigger better??)
But the tone on this amp is definitely nothing to sneeze at. Volume-wise it would be more geared towards practice and recording, although it would work for live performance if you mic’d it up and put it through the mains.

One thing I do love about this amp is the simplicity. Clean Channel/Dirty Channel, Volume, Gain, and Tone. No bells, no whistles, no reverb or other effects. Just pure, crisp, warm tube tone. Still nothing compares to good old, dependable tubes. While there have been leaps and bounds made in the realm of digital amps, you have to spend a lot more money for a comparable tone, And they almost always have that digital edge to them, which can sometimes be dialled down with some knob-twiddling. In my experience tube amplifiers tend to sound good no matter where you set the dials. Don’t take my word for it! Come on down and test them out.

409.95

For more info contact us.

Soundport with magnetic door

Sunday, August 6th, 2017

Here’s a soundport I added to a clients Yamaha classical. With the door off the player receives a boost in volume and hears or experiences more of the guitars voice that is directed out the main sound hole towards an audience. The door can also be left on to keep the sound projection as it was which can be helpful when playing in a group and listening for everyones levels. Soundports are not a gimmick, they can definitely enhance the players experience, almost like a natural monitor. As with many advancements they were developed by hand builders and are now showing up in a few commercial instruments, along with arm bevels!