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| Moderated by: Richard Hefner | Page:   1 2 3 |
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| What's yer banjo? - General Banjo Topics - Banjo - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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arakele Approved
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Current Banjos - B9 Washburn that I have had for 10 years, this was my first *purchased* banjo, all others were given to me or borrowed. Another used B9 Washburn I got for free and use for parts here and there. Carlo Robelli 6 string Banjitar, its a cheap banjitar I picked up at Sam Ash. It has a bit of a muddy sound but it is fun to play Previous Banjos - I came across an original Frank Proffitt banjo a few years ago and picked it up extremely cheap. (yard sale find, 20 dollars) It was in pretty good condition and had been owned by the sellers grandfather originally and was never played after his death. I fixed it up and was playing it at a small folk fest and was placed with an offer I could not refuse, so I relunctantly sold it. I wish I still had it, but I know it went to a good home. 1920's Sears/Supertone Dixie Wonder. This was my first banjo, given to me when I was young and I have given it back to the original owner. He restored it to all of its glory and it is quite a nice playing banjo today. Future - I am in the market for a cheaper vintage banjo for me to restore, and I am also making a "Cookie Tin Banjo" albeit.. with an old metal lunchbox instead.
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thunder Approved 
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Current banjos: Morgan Monroe MGB/1 wuith fibeskin head, spikes at freet 6,7,8,9 and 10 and Fishman pickup. Goldtone Whyte Ladie with spikes, scoop fingerboard and Shadow bridge pickup.
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banjomole Approved
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Gooday all, new member, recently rediscovered the joys of 5 string bluegrass banjo. Have just acquired a Goodtime II which is the business!! Great tone and almost idiot-proof in its simplicity. I'm just a little anxious about the lack of a truss rod and can only hope that there will be no violent climate changes to disrupt the presently perfect neck. Can anyone tell me if fitting medium guage strings (ie .011s or heavier) is likely to have an adverse effect on the neck? Have also got the remains of a 1960s/70s Sheltone 5 string with a cast aluminium rim/flange assembly and mahogany veneered resonator. Have had it for years...bought it in 1973 for £30 second-hand. Unusual flange design in that instead of lots of holes around the circumference, there are in fact only 4 small ones. Sadly the peg-head which had been repaired even before I acquired the instrument recently gave up the unequal struggle. Despite a valiant attempt at a home-repair I am now in the market for a suitable replacement neck!! Have now acquired a EKO neck via ebay. Despite some weather checking it was pretty well unused. Have fitted it to the alloy rim and it does the job. Unfortunately the original co-ordinator rod will not fit this new arrangement so I'm doing without one!! So far so good. The neck is a chunky piece of mahogany so the balance is somewhat neck-heavy, but as a bass playing cellist in my other life I like the string spacing. Last edited on Tue Oct 16th, 2007 08:12 am by banjomole |
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banjo brad Super Moderator 
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"I'm just a little anxious about the lack of a truss rod and can only hope that there will be no violent climate changes to disrupt the presently perfect neck. Can anyone tell me if fitting medium guage strings (ie .011s or heavier) is likely to have an adverse effect on the neck?" I had a Goodtime from 2000 (in Truckee - High Sierras) until April of 2007 here in Tucson (desert). I used exclusively Gibson Vega Medium strings (.010(2), .012, .016, .023wound) and never had a problem. I did spike the 5th string so I didn't have to tune it up, but that was the only concession I made. Deering still, I think, recommends light guage, but that is really just to define their warranty. You will really enjoy the Goodtime, I had to use mine to cover the sales tax on my Chuck Lee, or I would still have it. Brad
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
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arakele Approved
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I just picked up a 1950's Silvertone and have been enjoying it the past week. it needed a little mending but I got it worked out pretty well.
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banjomole Approved
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Thanks Brad...guess I'm worrying for nothing. At least we're unlikely to experience such contrasting climate conditions as you clearly have.
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13ill_Lumbergh Approved 
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Since all i do is sit on the front porch barefoot with my dog while playing my banjo, I dont have much money. SO I play an epiphone 
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mark Approved 
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Currently I have a cheap, very low end "Vintage VOB12". It does work though, it's straight and complete (bought pre-owned for next to no money) and I am having a blast learning Clawhammer style on it. I have only had the banjo 2 or 3 weeks and am working through several lessons here (thanks Richard) and some general folk stuff from Patrick Costellos Vids (mainly chord progressions etc) . I also orderded Dan Levensons "From Scratch" instructional materiel which arrived yesterday, having read through it last night it's a little different (double and drop thumbing from Open C and D tuning) from my initial exposure (bum-ditty open G and Capo'd A). With this in mind I plan on starting this next week (when I have a few evenings free for something other than noodling around with chords). I also have a 3-string Dulcijo (purchased here), it's the Burl Drum version and I love it. It's a really sweet soundin instrument and a little less daunting than the banjo. Cheers, Mark Last edited on Tue Oct 16th, 2007 12:38 pm by mark |
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flowerofthewest Approved 
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I have a Chuck Lee Chautauqua custom banjo with a 12" pot that I absolutely love. I love taking it to festivals because it definitely turns heads. I also have a Deering Goodtime banjo I keep in California at my daughter's house for when I go visit my family. I have a Deering John Hartford banjo with pop off resonator which is my newest acquisition. DON'T go to the Deering Banjo Factory and think you're going to get away with just going on the tour then going home. Nope... those banjos call your name! I have a custom Griffin banjo made by James Bowen here in the UK. Fantastic banjo! Made of cherry, White laydie tone ring, 11" pot, custom engraving. I bought a fretless banjo from Andy Perkins here in the UK. Nice little banjo! Fun to play. And my Grafton banjo uke from Andy Perkins http://www.andybanjo.co.uk I am on Kevin Enoch's 4 year waiting list and just about half way through now I think... Jody
____________________ Wildflowers don't care where they grow. |
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mark Approved
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an ammendement to my above post ... The "Vintage" I had has gone to a new home, I now have a Grafton (constructed by Andy Perkins), you can see it here: http://www.ezfolk.com/forums/forum2/4616.html I still have the Dulcijo and don't intend on parting with it. Cheers, Mark
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Preston Approved 
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I am new to the banjo. I bought a Goldtone Cripple Creek open back last june second hand from Craig's List. it was in perfect condition and came with a beautiful deluxe hard case from Goldtone. Although it is a fairly inexpensive banjo, I really like it and it's sound. My 87 year old aunt recently sent me her late husband's circa 1890 S.S. Stewart banjo with a very old hard case. The banjo had a torn head. I had the head replaced with calfskin and just put Aquilla Nylegut strings on it. It is a low end S.S. Stewart labeled "The Amatuer". Although it is not fancy it has a very pretty ebony headstock with 2 cresents and a star inlay. It has a very mellow sound and is a little smaller and lighter than the Goldtone. I plan on tuning to C tuning after I have a lot more experience in G tuning. I also have a goldtone banjo uke which is very fun to play. I also bought a vintage banjo uke from England which I put a calfskin head on and restored. It mostly stays on the wall as it goes out of tune quite quickly. I have been taking clawhammer lessons for about 2 months and am really enjoying the banjo, but I still love my ukes.
____________________ My EzFolk Page: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1072 |
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cockneybanjo Approved 
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I'm going to put up another vote for the Gold Tone WL-250, a very nice sounding, well finished clawhammer / frailer instrument at a good price. Lives on a stand in the sitting room because it just LOOKS so nice. Good for late-night plucking because you can play it very softly and get a lovely sweet tone, but surprisingly loud for a clawhammer open-back when required another vote too, for Graftons. I started with a Grafton Popular from Andy's Banjos and it's a nice instrument, Plain Jane finish but good value. A well specified starter / intermediate instrument which I still pick up from time to time and enjoy. Darker tone than the Ozark and quite responsive to different bridges. Plays best with a low ( 1/2" ) bridge. a little bit of a raspberry for the next one, a Johnson JB-060 travel banjo. Bought cheap somewhere on my travels, and carted around for a while in my wanderings as a Company Rep in the offshore oil business. Poor tone, poor quality tuners ( although showing wear, to be fair ) and awkward to play, the 11" pot and 20" scale neck make an awkward handful which is really not much fun or use. Various experiments with different strings and bridges didn't really produce any serious improvement, presently exiled to the loft. No vote for this one. Next up, Ozark 2109G 'California'. Some people have identified this one as a Gold Tone CC-100 'knock-off', it's certainly very similar. Bought on impulse in Aberdeen while tied up alongside for several days, waiting for better weather. Nice blonde maple finish ( they do say that gentlemen prefer them.. ) it has replaced the Grafton as my favourite knock-about instrument due mainly to its simple good looks and fast, slim neck. Nice bright tone with plenty of 'pop' from such a basic instrument. These days it's my main travel banjo. Moving along... the cadillac of banjos, the Gibson RB-250. Bought used from a mate who was getting a divorce and dumping anything worth cash-in-hand. I'd been jealous of this instrument for years... dates from the early 70s, so a fiddle peg-head and mahogany finish one. Fitted with Shubb 5th-string capo and Keith D-tuners which my teacher loves playing with. Some people are a bit critical of these 70s instruments, but this has had a good home for a long time, and any bugs it may once have had, have been worked out long since. It's got a dose of buckle-rash on the resonator from his days on the country music circuit, before line-dancing clubs went over to CDs and killed that off, so some work with the pledge and beeswax is due soon. It's just everything I hoped a Gibson would be. Hanging in a corner of my workshop is a 23" scale, tin-can banjo built on a particularly boring offshore trip using various scrap items and an old bunk-bed siderail for a neck. Best that can be said is that it has provided a lot of entertainment as it has passed through various forms, without ever actually becoming a playable instrument at any stage. last but not least, latest toy, a 60s Welton uke banjo. No real comment on this one yet except that it's a very nicely built piece of kit and wasn't a lot of money.
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BanjoKyle Approved 
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I have an Epiphone MB-100. I just got it recently after taking a large interest in folk music. I enjoy it a lot. After shopping around for different banjos, I settled on the Epiphone 5-string because of its price. It is a great little instrument, I can't complain.
____________________ I pick the banjo now. |
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cockneybanjo Approved
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strewth, is anyone still reading this thread? that would be about right about the Epiphone. Modern low-budget banjos are such that as long as you avoid the bottom-of-the-range 'cheap-and-shiny' tat designed to be dumped on ebay for $85 or so ( £85 for UK readers! ) you won't really go far wrong. aim a little bit higher and you will find that they are all accurately made and durably finished instruments, at that price point, and the main constraint is the quality of the materials and fittings most of them come from the same factory anyway, regardless of the brand name. it's an odd side-note that you can buy a $300 banjo for under £200 in the UK, but an $85 banjo costs at least £75..... but isn't worth either... Just reading some of the earlier posts and I would definitely agree about the Ren head, a good value option which noticeably improves most intermediate / starter openback banjos at no great cost, but hardly the new Messiah of banjos. Don't believe everything you read on BHO, it is dominated by bluegrass players and tends to display the all-or-nothing attitude they often exhibit, at times.... there is some good stuff there but don't believe everything you read Last edited on Sat Apr 5th, 2008 05:28 am by cockneybanjo |
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Shamrocker. Approved
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I got an Ozark open back model (5-string). Their top-of-the-line new edition one. I'm told its a very good banjo, and it sounds good to me. And I just won a Matthews of Birmingham (circ.1900) 5-string on Ebay. It was fretless one time but somebody fretted it. They put them in the right place at least. Also, the neck was scooped for clawhammer playing which suits me. Its quite lightweight but I like the tone. Good fun to play. The neck is very well carved. Think I'll put some gut-type strings on it. Here it is (attached). Regards, Harry. Attachment: BANJJJY.jpg (Downloaded 20 times) Last edited on Wed Apr 9th, 2008 02:34 pm by Shamrocker. |
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| ezFolk Forums > Banjo > General Banjo Topics > What's yer banjo? | |
