Buck Trent

Dave Burr · Post by **Dave Burr** » 7 Jun 2007 10:12 am

I just saw this old clip (circa 1967) with Buck Trent backing up Porter and Dolly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dys-hZOhgiw

Buck was just too cool and did some really great "chicken pickin, bendin" stuff! My question is; Due to the timeframe of this clip, I wonder if Buck was an influence on Clarence's electric playing ~ or vice/versa. I can certainly hear some similarities when listening to Buck play on this clip (ie. banjo rolls and bends). I also noticed that Buck didn't appear to be using his tuners like he did in later years (not sure what year he implemented the tuners with stops). Clarence was also doing his bending without his bender during this timeframe (I think?), as I don't think he installed the bender until '68. I read a Marty Stuart clip somewhere that said Clarence had recorded the Nashville West album in 1967 without a bender.

Any insights would be appreciated.

Respectfully,
db

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 7 Jun 2007 10:24 am

Buck had his banjo benders before Clarence had his "B" Bender.
I think Shot Jackson made the palm benders that Buck used. He also used the "Scruggs Tuners", but had palm knobs to raise strings also.

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 7 Jun 2007 12:19 pm

Another obvious guestion is -- how long after this was taped did Dolly Parton get her boob job?

scott murray · Post by **scott murray** » 9 Jun 2007 2:21 pm

interesting too that the great Boomer Castleman was developing his palm pedals on the east coast at the same time Clarence and Gene Parsons were inventing the B-bender, completely independent from eachother.

Buck Trent played some great stuff. the Strangers did one of his tunes on one of their albums. "Poppin Corn" i believe.

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 9 Jun 2007 3:59 pm

I love the sound Buck got and the licks he played.
It often makes me wonder what a telecaster with a five string neck, and palm peddles and a hip shot would sound like.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 9 Jun 2007 9:51 pm

Andy Greatrix wrote:I love the sound Buck got and the licks he played.
It often makes me wonder what a telecaster with a five string neck, and palm peddles and a hip shot would sound like.

I've thought about doing that also. The only thing is to really get the Bruck Trent thing going you need the "D" tuners also, and they are just to hard to work in a strait line like on a Tele peghead.

I have a friend that makes a strap actuated "B" bender for banjo. He has one ready for me, but now I told him I also want one on the G string. So it's back to the drawing board.

Someday I'll have a solid body banjo with both on it. Kieth tuners on four strings and raises on the B & G strings.

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 9 Jun 2007 11:34 pm

What I was referring to was a banjo neck on a telcaster body, with a banjo headstock. Scruggs tuners would not be a problem. With a telecaster bridge, good intonation would also be possible.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 11 Jun 2007 2:17 am

Andy Greatrix wrote:What I was referring to was a banjo neck on a telcaster body, with a banjo headstock. Scruggs tuners would not be a problem. With a telecaster bridge, good intonation would also be possible.

You would have to have someone make it into a bolt on neck.
I was thinking about getting a bolt on neck without the peghead cut out, and shaping it into a banjo peghead.
Warmoth sells them:

Then do a tunneled fifth string, although with the Warmoth neck the scale will be a little longer than banjo, but I think that may be a positive.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 11 Jun 2007 5:46 am

Scott
Boomer was inventing his palm pedal in So. California in 1970. I know this since we played in a band together ("Tex") at that time.

He was in the process of investigating a patent on the idea, when I mentioned that I knew of a steel player/dentist is San Diego named Tony Zitnik that had a similar design. Tony's model used small pedal steel pedals for his lever-action design. Ultimately Boomer and Zitnik split the patent, and the proceeds when Bigsby licensed the device.

Boomer's original palm pedal was on his old late-50's telecaster and was made from a coat-hanger. His father-in-law at the time financed the patent process. He later sold that guitar to Riley Osborne here in Austin, and I've lost track of it after that.

Boom might be reading this, and if so, I hope he'll chime in.

D Schubert · Post by **D Schubert** » 11 Jun 2007 5:56 am

More fuel for the fire...

Banjo legend Eddie Adcock used a double-neck tele-style guitar, with a conventional 6-string neck and a 5-string banjo neck (a narrowed, reshaped tele neck with a conventional 5th string peg, I think). I'm trying to remember where I saw it on TV -- maybe it was with David Allen Coe.

Sonny Osborne used a number of six-string banjos, or guitars with banjo necks, with a high sixth string attached at the 5th fret. Tunings varied for specific effects but a lot of it was gGDGBD, I think. Not sure if he ever used Scruggs tuners with those instruments.

Clarence White used Scruggs tuners on his original b-bender guitar (Marty's got it now). Had one installed on the first string, and one that was moved back and forth between the fifth and sixth strings, at different times.

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 11 Jun 2007 4:30 pm

Elderly Instruments offers several different models of electric banjo, each of which has a Tele-style 5-string banjo neck and a solid body. To see one example, click

HERE

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 11 Jun 2007 5:34 pm

Dolly got a boob job??

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 11 Jun 2007 9:12 pm

One of my old Les Pauls is set up for Buck Trent licks with a Bigsby Palm Pedal and 5 Keith/Scruggs tuners. I have them on every string except the 4th as that is not changed. The 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th strings are lowered a whole tone and the 3rd string is lowered a half tone with the banjo pegs. The 4th string which remains constant also has a standard banjo peg so it'll come out the rear like the others. The Bigsby raises the 2nd and third strings a whole tone each. With this setup I can get open G, open D, DADGAD, dropped D, double dropped D and of course, standard guitar tuning. I had this setup on an Ibanez Artist solid body for a long time but I like it better on the Paul as it's got a phase switch and coil tap so the more twangy sounds are available. All that said, now all I lack to get those Buck Trent sounds is the talent.............JH in Va.

Bob Knetzger · Post by **Bob Knetzger** » 12 Jun 2007 12:49 pm

Saw this rare bird for sale on line about ten years ago (at Elderly, I think). Very cool: small head for real banjo physics and sound without run away acoustic feedback, Tele style neck, palm pedals, and I think it was a genuine Fender custom shop creation of some kind. I didn't buy it...wish I did!

Anybody ever see or play one of these?

scott murray · Post by **scott murray** » 12 Jun 2007 3:55 pm

that thing is COOL!
the palm pedals look more comfortable than the standard Bigsbys. I've thought about modifying and/or shortening mine.

I would love a Custom Shop solid-body mandolin, with a tele body style. a 5 or 6-stringer like Tiny Moore played.

Eric Stumpf · Post by **Eric Stumpf** » 18 Jun 2007 3:49 am

This is the Elderly Instruments catalog description of that cool Fender banjo: " FENDER TOP TENSION V CUSTOM ELECTRIC BANJO (c.1988) - EC+, unique Custom Shop solid body 5-string built for Tom Pittman of the Austin Lounge Lizards (2nd Fender Custom instrument made by Mike Stevens of the Fender Custom Shop), highly flamed maple neck with Sperzel tuners, two pickups, tap switch on treble side, palm pedal lowers pitch on 2nd and 3rd strings, compensated aluminum bridge with rollers, with oblong OHSC - $2500.00 ". Another Fender custom-made solid-body banjo that comes to mind is one from the 1960's that Leo had built for his banjoist pal Eddie Peabody. It was a tenor-style electric "Strat" type instrument named the banjoline. I have several recordings of Eddie playing this truly dreadful-sounding axe.

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