The Steel Guitar Forum

Fess up! How many have you owned, and why?

1) Stewart MacDonald open back kit
2) 1918 Fairbanks-Vega Tubaphone no. 3 (open back)
3) 1922 Vega Whyte Laydie no. 2 (open back)

<font size=1>Alright, so I'm not a resonator kinda guy...</font>

Why? I like them because of their plunky tone and wonderful sustain....

I learned on an El Degas. I don't have it anymore though.
A Gold Star is my road machine. My baby is a '53 Mastertone which rarely leaves the house. All resonators.
I put a Fishman pickup in my Gold Star last month.. it rocks.
I quit playing banjo regularly when I was a about 18, but I still yank it out on gigs for "spice" the odd time.
Why ? Why not ?
-John

1) Montgomery Wards cheapie.
2) Aria cheapie
3) Gibson Mastertone RB-250 - Traded for Sho-Bud LDG.
4) Alvarez (?) Belle - I do not remember the first name of the model. It had many, many little dots for inlays in the neck. Very heavily inlaid resonator.
5) Imperial - I don't recall the model.
6) Gibson Mastertone Earl Scruggs model. The only banjo I own.

Still play on occasion. I do not care what instrument I bring to a gig, as soon as I bring out the banjo, that seems to be all anyone wants to hear!

I have no idea what kind it was.

Fortunately, that infernal sound of the G-string clanging away got to me before I bought that Gibson I was eyeing.

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The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons

I can't believe that I'm actually going to fess up having owned a b@njoe, but OK, I guess, here's what happened...
Around 1956, I got as a birthday present, one of those little plastc "Roy Rogers" type b@njoes, with nylon strings, a crank on it and a music box inside. Not sure who it was made by.
I soon gave up on playing it, due to a lot of flack and diatribe being visited on me by many of my fellow kindergarters. I suppose that initial entry into the "World of Music"
has held an infinitesimal but undeniable influence on my musical zen ever since.
Lacking the B@njoe in my musical world after that, better period, with real bugles and a trumpet followed. Then I knocked out 3 front teeth in a bicycle wreck at age 11, which put the kabosh on all of that. Surf bands, electric bass, and acoustic & electric guitar became the next affliction (which persists to this day)
Some may prefer blame "it" on the Moon, or the Bossa Nova, or occaisionally even the Mailman...but I'm firmly convinced that it was that little B@njoe that must have somehow spun me out of a normal orbit into the vastness and uncertainty of a life with music!
Hey, you just HAD to ask!

1) Built by Kay for beginners, real cheap!
2) Fender, Bill Emerson played one so it must have been a goody.
3) Gibson RB-something or other. Custom built neck, a resonator transplanted for extra volume and I forget about the rest except this banjo has plenty of volume to fit my personality, enough sustain to play a Herb Ellis chord solo on Danny Boy and lots of crispness to sound really great in a studio gig. Only problem is I can't play the Shenendoah Breakdown (did I spell that right?) at Mach 3.4 anymore maybe cause my passion for the pedal steel deems it so!

Gary Lee

A couple of years ago I lent mine to the fiddle player and haven't got it back. (Whew) It was a cheap one tho. Still have my Earl Scruggs and the 5 string banjo book.

I`m like RMckee - I`ve gone through a whole lot of Banjos and Ukes, but settled on an Alvarez back in `71 - wow - that long ago!!
First thing I did was to switch the head for a Stewart McDonald then buy some tuners including the Keith/Scruggs types, a 5th string capo, then a compensator tailpiece.
All this was topped off with a non-blow-back pickup.
We only do a few numbers on fiddle and Banjo, but y` know what ---- a lot of people just love that old sound....

Bob Mainwaring. Z.Bs. and other weird things.

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Just curious...why do steelers have a problem with banjos? It seems like mentioning banjos 'round here has people walking on egg shells. I've seen several references to "banjo" being somewhat of a dirty word in various forums, and was just wondering

A common denominator: Steel players and banjo pickers wear one thumb pick and two finger picks. An uncommon denominator: Banjo players have considerably more aptitude than steel players. Just a couple laws of nature! Hmmm, I guess the Fourth will start a little early, fireworks and all!
Gary Lee

Yikes! Yeah, I didn't intend for the fireworks to start prematurely, but what the heck. I play frailing-style banjo, so maybe I wouldn't be frowned-upon so badly.
This is kind of off topic for this thread. Perhaps I should post this question as a new thread? Which forum would be best for discussion of this issue?<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Geoff Brown on 02 July 2001 at 04:43 AM.]</p></FONT>

I play(ed) a melodic clawhammer style of b@njo for years. Like I said, I love that plunky tone from an open-back b@njo (even if it's an 'inappropriate' discussion around here...).

I bought a Deering Goodtime open back to play around on. The thing is impressive, sounding every bit as good as a good number of banjos costing a heck of a lot more. It's nothing fancy,but has a cool vibe nonetheless. It's testament to what can be accomplished with good wood and solid construction. It's built like a tank. And the neck is wonderful. I wish some of my guitars had necks as nice.

Best way to tune a Banjo?.......With a chainsaw of course!!<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by RC Antolina on 02 July 2001 at 10:51 AM.]</p></FONT>

Two guys walking down the street, one stops suddenly and says, "Oh no, I forgot to lock the car and my banjo is in the back seat". The other guy says "you better hurray back and lock it". First guy runs down the street and comes back looking dejected and says, "I was too late....someone already put another banjo in my back seat". (Gene Jones, owner of a Gibson centennial 5-string)

I know that you guys are good at bad-mouthing those poor banjos. What I'm wondering is... WHY?

I think it's a fad started by -b0b-.

Just had my second banjo lesson last week. I can't listen to Béla Fleck and not be blown away. I've certainly known people who've snickered 'well, that's what I thought jazz on a banjo would sound like...so what'.

These people scare me

I have an old Gibson open back. I don't know what model number. I too frail rather than play bluegrass. BTW I have a frailing banjo arrangement of "Shake Your Booty" in G minor tuning. No kidding.

I also have a 6 string banjo made by Gold Tone. Sounds like a banjo, plays like a guitar. The same company makes a banjo bass that's very cool.

<SMALL>BTW I have a frailing banjo arrangement of "Shake Your Booty" in G minor tuning.</SMALL>

You're not helping, Mike...

Mike,

as someone who stole a couple of great ideas from YOUR s12 tuning Id like to share something with you for your 6 string banjo.

Normal tuning high to low ebgDAE.

lower the 1st a tone dbgDAE

remove 6th and 5th and replace with 1st strings (the 6th should be REAL light guage)

tune 5th in unison with 1st dbgDd?

tune 6th to a high g above the 1st string
dbgDdg

Now your sixth is the drone string (the banjo 5th) and if you fret the 5th string at the 6th fret you get a G# just like on a banjo 5th string.

You can now read ANY banjo tab, including chromatic bela fleck stuff.....and you can do even more things.

Good luck

Jeremy Williams
Gandia Valencia
Spain

Interesting idea Jeremy. but the whole point of having a 6 string banjo (in addition to the 5-string) is to play guitar type things on my recordings with a banjo sound. If I want to play banjo type things, I'll use my Gibson.

<SMALL>"Shake Your Booty" ....You're not helping, Mike... </SMALL>

I understand that Mike.....but the system is usefull for doing banjo and more.....I can do anything you can do on the 5 string (if Im good enough) but I can also

1) capo without a 5th string capo

2) play that pesky E major...hooking my thumb over and fretting 6th string to get a 5th string G# (that really knocks the 5 stringers sideways)

3) play a simple tune capoing with my finger at the 1st fret...and then release and change key from G# to G....

4) I have a classical guitar with this tuning, banjo stuff sounds real nice on a classical guitar.

All the best
Jeremy Williams
Gandia Valencia
Spain

I admit it. when it comes to these things, I AM A FOLK NAZI! I don't care for a 6-string b@njo any more than I care for playing 'Shake Yer Booty' (aka 'Shiek Yurbuty' [sp?] by Frank Zappa). Closest thing to non-traditional music that I can stand on the b@njo is 'Jerusalem Ridge' - a tune written by Bill Monroe.

BTW, Mike, you might want to try raising that B string up to C - this gives you what is commonly referred to as a G-modal tuning. You can then drop your 4th (D) string down to a C, and you have what's referred to as 'Double C' tuning. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Steve Feldman on 05 July 2001 at 05:29 AM.]</p></FONT>