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Pinky
Splints
Q My little finger is
very weak compared to my other fingers. I’ve asked my guitar teacher
to prescribe some exercises to strengthen it, but it just gets sore—it
never gets stronger. Any suggestions?
Seth Rosenblum
Cleveland, Ohio
A I’ve had to cope with
a similar problem. As I understand it, something like 20 percent
of the population has a missing tendon in their little fingers.
The missing tendon means that they can’t hold their pinkies in an
arc and put pressure on the end without the finger buckling. Eventually
the joint begins to degrade. A doctor can prescribe a splint to
keep the finger from collapsing under pressure, but these splints
are too big and bulky and were not designed to offer the mobility
and flexibility that a guitar player needs. Fortunately, the Silver
Ring Splint Co. (PO Box 2856, Charlottesville, VA 22902-2856; [804]
971-4052) makes tiny silver splints that don’t get in the way of
playing and help with a wide array of finger problems. I use one
of their Siris Swan Neck Splints, and I now have a finger I can
depend on. And it doesn’t ache anymore after a long session.
—Kristina Olsen
Guitar
Sales in America
Q How many
guitars are sold in America each year?
Andre Mercer
Omaha, Nebraska
A According to music industry
census data published in Music Trades, customers snapped
up 1,153,915 axes in the United States last year, making the guitar
by far the best-selling musical instrument. Of the guitars sold,
611,415 were acoustics and 542,500 were electrics. The dominance
of the acoustic guitar numbers continues a trend that began in the
early 1990s, when acoustic instruments outsold electrics for the
first time in decades. Most transactions involved guitars priced
under $800, although sales of acoustic guitars in all price ranges
showed continued growth. Although more guitars than pianos were
sold last year, data from the Music and Sound Industry Summary
shows that piano players still outnumber guitarists nearly two to
one and that five times as many males favor the frets as females.
—Paul Kotapish
Selmer-style
Tailpieces
Q Where can I find a
chrome, Maccaferri-style tailpiece with a black overlay for a steel-string
jazz guitar?
Luis Merlo
Brisbane, Australia
A The tailpieces for Selmer/Maccaferri-style
guitars are famously difficult to find. Some builders, such as Michael
Dunn, make their own, but the majority get them from one of two
makers: Pierre Larioux in France or Killy Nomis in England. Larioux
makes the tailpieces for Maurice Dupont and Dell’Arte guitars. His
work is meticulous but slow. Alain Cola of Dell’Arte is working
on having tailpieces made in Germany, and they should be available
later this year (for information, you can contact him at 10020 Prospect
Ave. #25-26, Santee, CA 92071; [619] 596-7739). He says, however,
that they won’t be as exact a copy of the Selmer/Maccaferri tailpiece
as Nomis’ are.
Killy Nomis’ tailpieces are used by a number of builders, including
Shelley Park and John LeVoi. Nomis (1 Newport Cottages, Bekesbourne
Hill, Canterbury, Kent CP4 5EF, England) is a luthier himself and
started making tailpieces when he discovered there was no ready
source. He says that making the tailpieces is a surprisingly complicated
procedure. "I have one man stamp out the basic brass piece on a
press. The string posts have to be hand-turned on a lathe by another
guy. There are three styles: plain brass, nickel-plated, and gold-plated.
The plated ones requires one more manufacturing step. I do the wood
inserts and polishing myself." Nomis makes about 25 tailpieces a
year. The plain brass costs £55 (about $80), the nickel is £75 (about
$112), and the gold-plated is £85 (about $127). It takes approximately
six to eight weeks for delivery.
—Michael Simmons
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