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jbrosser
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| Joined: | Thu Apr 12th, 2007 |
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| Instrument Interest: | Clawhammer Banjo |
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 03:47 pm |
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| I just received my new five-string Dulcijo and am enjoying playing it. I've played Scruggs style for over thirty years and have recently become very interested in clawhammer style. My interest was kindled after doing some research into civil war family history. I became interested in re-creating the pre-civil war sound. I know I have a lot to learn regarding that sound but the five-string dulcijo that I listened to from Richard's videos was what I imagined the sound to be. I was surprised at the light weight, but I know that's due to the construction of the 10" drum. The sound is outstanding and is very easy to clawhammer. A fella named Richard Shook did the inlay and did a fabulous job. Once I learn how to record and download mp3's, I'll do so. Thanks again Richard Hefner and Michael Fox. Attachment: My New Five-String Dulcijo.jpg (Downloaded 78 times)
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Richard Hefner
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 05:35 pm |
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Hey Joseph,
Glad you like the Dulcijo... it sure is purdy!
Michael Fox and Richard Shook have the magic touch on building those things, and they're getting better all the time. I'm also amazed at how loud they are.
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jbrosser
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 06:31 pm |
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| Thanks for the note, Richard. Just sitting here in my easy chair, pickin away. My hound dog, Bruno, loves the sound so much that I'm teaching him how to play. I've posted a pic of his first lesson. I normally like to play over the neck just past the drum and had Michael Fox set it up that way. However, the sound and the volume from the middle of the drum sounds so good, I find myself playing from that position. The sound makes me feel as if I've stepped back in time. Thanks again. Attachment: Teaching Bruno to play the Dulcijo.jpg (Downloaded 71 times)
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Philj200
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| Location: | New York USA |
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 06:47 pm |
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Dumb question time:
What's the difference between a 5-string dulcijo and a 5-string banjo?
It might be my monitor, but the frets seems to be laid out in normal steps (for a banjo). What is it tuned like. I notice the tuning board is very much like an old Vega (without the white star). Nice looking instrument. Noticed the scoop.
Love to hear what it sounds like.
Last edited on Wed May 9th, 2007 06:54 pm by Philj200
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jbrosser
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 07:08 pm |
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| Phil, thanks for the question. You can hear the five-string dulcijo by going to the ezfolk.com homepage. Click on Clawhammer Banjos and listen to the videos that Richard has posted. He's playing the five-string dulcijo in his training video. The sound is great. As a quick answer, the actual dulcijo is a combination of the sweet sound of a mountain dulcimer combined with the banjo. It was developed by Michael Fox, http://www.dulcijo.com. The dulcijo has three strings and is set up like a dulcimer in a diatonic scale. However, the five-string is just like any other banjo in the layout of the fretboard except that the neck is a little shorter. The drum that I have is a 10" drum with only 8 brackets. I'm sure that has to do a lot with the sound. As I mentioned earlier, it's very light weight, but the sound and volume are incredible. I'm going to be playing my dulcijo behind a storyteller at the Texas Folk Festival in June. Looking forward to the response. I purchased the five-string dulcijo over a banjo due to sound and price. It's just what I wanted.
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Philj200
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 07:17 pm |
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Thanks for the information jbr;
I visit the learning portions of EZF frequently and have heard Richard's 3-string dulcijo. It is a tempting instrument. I have short-scale lap dulcimer (usually tuned DDG).
Can I assume the tunings of your new beauty are standard banjo?
Are you using Nygut strings? You mentioned the neck is a little shorter than a standard 23-fret 5-string banjo; how many frets between nut and rim?
Are the missing frets where the scoop is?
Am I asking too many questions?
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Added later:
I went to the tutorials and checked it out again. I don't remember if the 5-string version was there last time I looked. They are 20 frets from nut to highest fret which is above the scoop. (I counted the frets in the picture.) The text recommends that they be tuned as a banjo, but to open-A, although with medium guage, standard open G is possible. The concept of a really lightweight instrument is fascinating. The inlay work is superb!
Last edited on Wed May 9th, 2007 07:24 pm by Philj200
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jbrosser
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 07:42 pm |
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| Phil, looks as if you got most of your questions answered. I have mine tuned to G and had Michael Fox set it up with medium gauge strings. It sounds great. I wish you could see how beautiful the inlay is in the light. Richard Shook used different colors of inlay for the blooming flowers. The light really brings out the different colors. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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Philj200
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 07:50 pm |
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Thanks. There's a world on recording information here on EZF when you're ready.
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Charlie
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 09:30 pm |
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I just recieved my 2nd Dulcijo yesterday and have the beautiful fret board also as the one you have except mine is the 3 string version layed out like the dulcimer.
Michael also put heavier strings on it and tuned it to G for me and now I have one tuned to D and G now.
I may buy the 5 string as soon as I can save up again for it. I have a nice Gold Tone IT-250 tenor that I may sell and buy the 5 string Dulcijo as I like the light weight of the instruments and the sound.
Charlie
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Richard Hefner
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 10:39 pm |
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So there is no misunderstanding, I should point out that while the necks are hand-made by Richard Shook, and he does a magnificent job with the necks as well as the fretwork, he doesn't do the actual inlays on the fretboard. Those are done by a third party supplier and the fretboard is added to the neck during construction and the frets are then added. The inlays are fantastic and as you can see they're first class, but if Richard was doing them himself it would not only take a much longer time but would also add big bucks to the price of this $399 banjo.
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Charlie
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Posted: Wed May 9th, 2007 11:45 pm |
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Thanks Richard, I had already guessed that as it would increase the cost triple at least.
I had seen the fret boards for some time that a lot of builders are using and that is OK as it gives us a good looking instrument at a good price.
The builder of the Chuck Lee banjo here close to me and Brad bought one of his also, He does his own inlay work and it is a very slow process and all of his is very expensive because of the inlay and high quality wood and parts.
So these are a bargin for me and I love them and will buy the 5 string soon as I sell somthing.
Charlie
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Philj200
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Posted: Thu May 10th, 2007 01:12 am |
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Tell me about the amount of work in inlays. I did a smidge of it back when I worked for a luthier half century ago. And we did nothing this complex, just fixing broken or missing inlays.
We used a motor from a sewing maching mounted on the cieing over a work bench with a flexible shaft off the motor. A Dremel chuck was spot-welded to the flexible shaft and the whole Rube Goldberg contraption was controlled by a rheostat/foot pedal.
We had a second flexible shaft and a 1/4" chuck that we just various shaping bits with.
Drawing the inlay with red grease pencil. Cut the pattern into the wood. Fit pieces of inlay. Fill in the mistakes with glue and saw dust from the grooves. I always wondered if this jury-rigged approach was the best way. Instinct said a drill press would be better. But we didn't have one.
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Charlie
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Posted: Thu May 10th, 2007 01:44 am |
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I have not done any of it, But the hard part that I could see would be cutting the design out with the jewlers saw by hand before installing it in the fret board or the head. Maybe some other ways that they do it now or buy the precut designs that has been cut with a laser.
Charlie
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Vortek
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Posted: Thu May 10th, 2007 02:25 pm |
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Richard,
I saw your introduction on youtube and was wondering if you was going to do any more?
I have looked at the tutorials pages for Dulcijo and tried to compare the "Bum Ditty" part to what you was doing on youtube, but it was a little fast.
The explanation was OK but without seeing it really slowed down I am not grasping the action with playing the melody as well if that makes sense.
The Dulcijo is new to me and unless I'm mistaken there is nothing on google uk so I guess you can't buy one here. Having seen you play it though I really like the sound of it.
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Philj200
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Posted: Thu May 10th, 2007 07:25 pm |
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Charlie,
In my limited experience, that isn't the way it's done. It would mean the inlay would have to be as thick as the fretboard. That would also mean incredibly expensive pieces that are hard to cut and shape.
Draw the shapes on the fretboard and cutting to the right depth (1/8") with a straight-sided bit in a drill at 90 degrees seems to be the most practical way.
Check out instruments with really fancy inlay. Look close at the curves where the inlay and wood wind around each other. You'l see evidence that the craftemen, no matter how highly skilled were human.
I've seen complex inlay preset into rectangles and squares of ebony and rosewood. All the luthier has to do is sink a square or rectangle into the fretboard, apply some glue, set the inlay in place, clamp and come back in a day. I remember seeing an entire Tree of Life inlay set offered that way.
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Michael Fox
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Posted: Fri May 11th, 2007 10:57 pm |
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Hello
I sure appreciate the kind words about our instruments. Let me clarify the differences in the three different types of instruments Richard Shook and I are now making.
Dulcijo- The dulcijo is a three string instrument with a diatonic scale and the melody is generally played on the first string similar to a traditional dulcimer. The third string is short like the 5th string on a 5-string banjo allowing the instrument to be played clawhammer style. We generally make them with 8 inch drums. My opinion is that an 8 inch drum projects the treble side better than a 11 inch drum. The bass suffers with an 8 inch drum but their is no base on a dulcijo. We also make dulcijos with 10 inch drums and they have great tone and volume but they are a bit more mellow than the 8 inch dulcijo.
5-string Dulcijo We make a five string dulcijo that has two sets of double strings. They are basically a three string dulcijo but have doubled strings similar to a mandolin or twelve string guitar. The five string dulcijo has a more full sound like the sound of the dulcimer. It is not quite as suited to play behind a fiddle or replace a banjo but has a full, sweet tone. The 5-string dulcijo like all dulcijos has a diatonic scale like a conventional dulcimer.
5-string banjo We are now making 5-string banjos. They have chromatic scales like a conventional banjo. The things that make our banjos a bit different are:
It is my opinion a banjo does not have to be heavy to sound good. I don't believe a thick rim and heavy tone ring vibrate as much as a thin rim. Our banjos weigh around 5 pounds. I feel what is important is to get as much vibration as possible so we use light materials. Our drums are generally thin ply maple or thin metal. Our hardware is light. I feel our instruments are durable enough for their purpose but are very easy to carry around. We also use a 25 inch scale on our dulcijos and banjos (Most banjos are 26 3/16 inch scales). This makes open tuning on our instruments in the key of A or D very bright with light gauge strings. It is also possible to use medium gauge strings on our banjos to tune in G.
We purchase our fingerboards from a fabulous inlay artist. He is extremely experienced in his craft and has refined his technique to the point he can produce a beautiful product and still allow the instrument to be affordable.
If I can answer any other questions about our instruments please let me know
Thanks
Michael Fox
Dulcijo.com
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Philj200
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 03:00 am |
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Michael, (whack) slap of farhead... doubled strings, plus the 5th-string drone equal five strings. Of course.
And the five string version would then have a diatonic tuning as well. Did I misread the jbrosser's fre board. The picture looks like a standard fretboard, not a diatonic one.
Thanks
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dickTed
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 12:36 pm |
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| Hey fellas, where can I hear that 5 string dulcijo?
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Charlie
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 12:42 pm |
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Hey Phil, Michael make both version
One of the Dulcijo 5 string is diatonic is like a Dulcimer and the strings are double like a AA dd and the regular 5 string is chromatic like a regular banjo.
Richard plays one of the regular 5 string on the clawhammer section on the site here under his instrution, Has a great sound to it.
Charlie
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Charlie
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 12:53 pm |
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I forgot the link to it
http://www.ezfolk.com/dulcijo/5-string-banjos/5-string-banjos.html
Charlie
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