 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner | Page: 1 2   |
|
|||||||||||||
| Got me a new banjo :) | Rate Topic |
| Author | Post |
|---|
| Posted: Fri Oct 21st, 2005 01:27 am |
|
1st Post |
|
1four5 Approved 
|
Well not brand new, but it might as well be! As the B-1's keep getting better and more serious, I decided it was time for my life long dream banjo. I answered an advertisment at the hangout, met a very nice gentleman and got a good deal on a Deering Sierra. The deal went perfect, the banjo arrived today, in the coolest case I've ever seen, in imaculately perfect condition, and it even came with a DVD, Janet Davis book, capo, and 5th string capo. The guy I bought it from said it was only played a few times for about two weeks when new, and that was it. We are going to have a marathon practice tomrrow, and then we have a 2 hour gospel type gig on Sunday afternoon at a small town church festival...so the new Deering is definately getting put into service right away! Last month my wife and I went to the Walnut Vally Bluegrass festival in Winfield Kansas. While there, I visited the Deering booth multiple times to play all their nice banjos...It was just a matter of time.... 
____________________ These are the good times! |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Fri Oct 21st, 2005 02:24 am |
|
2nd Post |
|
Richard Hefner Administrator 
|
Wow 1four5... great banjo! That's one that should last a couple of lifetimes. Quite a step up from your other banjos! Have fun! 
____________________ Richard Hefner MP3 Page: http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/richardhefner Running Blog: http://old-runner.com |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Fri Oct 21st, 2005 02:32 am |
|
3rd Post |
|
banjo brad Super Moderator 
|
1four5- Ok, but I bet you can't write blues song about how yer stuck with your broken-down ol' Deering!  Oh, yeah, it has to be played on the Deering!  Keep on pickin'Brad
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Fri Oct 21st, 2005 11:24 am |
|
4th Post |
|
1four5 Approved
|
It's kind of hard to write blues when you are having so much fun...but I may have to see what I can do ...That too is just a matter of time, because I'm still always noodling with blues riffs whenever I get a second or two. Tom (our fearless leader) is really keeping us on our toes, so there is little time for that right now . Last week he got us a gospel gig for this Sunday...shoulda seen the look on my face when he handed me a stack of songs and said here's our set. Needless to say, it's been nose to the grindstone this week! I'm having the time of my life though! Oh yeah...them good banjos sure are Heavy!!! 
____________________ These are the good times! |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Thu Feb 2nd, 2006 01:11 pm |
|
5th Post |
|
Bill Approved
|
Hey, 1four5...I was checking out your website and saw that you were in the military. Are you still in the military? You have a picture with TSgt stripes on and another in a hangar by the looks of it. What was your AFSC? I am a 3c0x1 (Computer Operator) Stationed at Langley AFB, VA but currently in the desert having a great time but bored on my one day off with nothing to do. I didn't think it would be a good idea to bring my banjo but now I am regretting it!  Wait...Sorry, let me give a background about myself. I moved around a bit while my parents retired and then divorced until my father settled in Crossville, TN when I was 14. I loved TN but I never left the town so I don't know much about any area outside my town. One day a friend and I skipped school to go cruising. We came upon this really small town that was having a fair at the time. We walked around, drank some tea, and sat down to watch the locals play. It was wonderful! I thought about playing back then but never acted on it. When I graduated High School I didn't have the grades, maturity, and especially the money to go to college. I decided that I wanted more out of life (didn't want to be a factory worker----no offense to the great factory workers out there...it just isn't my thing). So I left for the U.S. Air Force and have been doing that ever since. Through the years I always joked/snickered about playing the banjo and banjo players but really my wish to play kept on growing. When I was stationed in Korea (with a good friend of mine) we joked about playing the banjo and then even had plans to follow through but it never happened. Finally one day I stumbled upon ezfolk.com and read through the forums here until I had enough info/education (I think) and finally bought a banjo. I bought a Rogue B-30 and the Janet Davis book so I learned the rolls but I of course need a lot of practice!  I then started college and with working full time I didn't get much if anytime to play. I visited my grandparents recently (up in D.C.) and they were very thrilled because my grandmother’s brother (passed away years ago) apparently played the banjo quite well. Actually my Great Aunt Dolly (she turned 89 three months ago) said that, "He could make a banjo dance like no other!" So long story short, I finally have a banjo, I enjoy it and really want can't wait to get back to play. I have found myself buying CD's, books, and reading all kinds of info on the banjo. I think after I can play the banjo alright I will learn the fiddle but that will be a long way down the road! Okay, wow! I didn't mean to type all of that! I also just ordered a Gold Tone Cripple Creek Openback CC-100 and I am really excited! They can ship it to the desert and hopefully it will be here in less than a month! So now I will have two banjo's one w/a resonator and one openback. I like the bluegrass (mostly because it is mainstream and a lot of people play/teach it) but I definitely want to learn the clawhammer style. Anyway, this is the BEST website! I thank everyone on here for all the information, music, tablature, etc. on here because without it I would still just be daydreaming. Alright, back to work for me, take care all! Bill  Oops, forgot to mention, just a side note really, but my parents remarried each other after being divorced for ten years. Kind of crazy but hey figured you might want to know...just in case someone is still in love with their ex-spouse.  Last edited on Thu Feb 2nd, 2006 02:05 pm by Bill |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Thu Feb 2nd, 2006 02:02 pm |
|
6th Post |
|
beeconk Approved
|
NICE BANJO!
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Fri Feb 3rd, 2006 10:35 am |
|
7th Post |
|
1four5 Approved
|
Well...it was a nice banjo...... Hi Bill! We definately have a few things in common! I'm also a very late starter, who always dreamed of someday playing an instrument. Of course my dreams were to be slinging an electric guitar low and splitting ear drums with wild leads. Well...once I started down the path, everything changed...thanks to ezFolk, I found out what real music is, learned so much about our music heritage, and long story short...wound up loving the banjo more than anything. I've just started my 3rd year playing, and have been at banjo for 7 months. Congratulations on that CC100...you're going to LOVE it, and I hope it arrives out there ok!!! I would also like to thank you for what you do for our country! BTW, if you ever see any B-1's fly over head...you're seeing (and hearing) my work! I'm at McConnell AFB, with an AFSC of 2A671A (jet engine Mechanic)...check out this picture...this is how we spend our lunch time! http://www.ukeblue.com/shopband1.jpg Now...getting back to the banjo this thread started...my how things change sometimes! Guess what...it turned out not to be what I was dreaming for, and I've sold it. Believe it or not, I've gone back to my CC100R as my primary banjo...because of it's sound and weight. I didn't realize how good of a banjo the CC100R was, untill I had a really good banjo teach me how much I appreciated the CC100R. I could write pages about it. But, long story short...when I play banjo with my friends, the CC100R is the perfect sound for our music. I spent 4 months adjusting, tweeking, changing strings/bridges/tailpiece etc...and could never get the Sierra zero'd in on the sound I was hoping for...then one day is dawned on me...everything I was doing to the Sierra was me trying to get it to sound like the CC100R already did. But the most important factor in all this was the Sierra's weight. It was HEAVY. I had a gym accident 9 years ago that left my back in pretty bad shape. No matter how much I tried to convince myself that the Sierra was my dream banjo...I could not hide the fact that I couldn't last very long in a jam. After about 20 minutes I became very uncomfortable, and the rest of the time was simply not fun. I still remember the practice I mentioned in the first post. It was hell, and I almost couldn't get out of bed the next day...however, I didn't want to admit it, because for $1000 I was supposed to love the banjo. I played out with it 3 times, and every time it was excruciating by the end of the performance. It got to the point that I didn't want to practice with it, and dreaded using it in a gig. On the other hand, the CC100R has the perfect sound, and I can strap it on and sling it all over the place and play all day and have fun and never be uncomfortable. I wasn't supposed to like it that much though, because it's labled as an inexpensive "starter" banjo. Well...last week we did a 1 1/2 hour performance, and I used the CC100R. It sounded great and I had fun. Music is supposed to be fun. I came to terms with all this, threw out all the lables of what I was supposed to like and own and play...realized that my C100R is my baby...and then sold the Sierra. As for x-wives...one dissapeared off the face of the earth, one is dead, and one left for her dealer, and you wonder why I love the blues...  Last edited on Fri Feb 3rd, 2006 02:15 pm by 1four5 ____________________ These are the good times! |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Fri Feb 3rd, 2006 04:18 pm |
|
8th Post |
|
Bill Approved
|
TOTALLY AWESOME! I don't have much time to write (got a lot to do) but your site and what you are doing is great! I love the picture of your shop and it almost makes me want to cross over to a mechanic! I am sorry to hear about the pains of the past but fortunately you have a brighter future ahead! When I pulled up the pic of your band all in BDU's I had to show my MSgt...well let's just say we started talking and now the wheels are turning to play the banjo for him! HAHAHHAHHAH Another one crosses over! I tell you what is funny though, he is from Brooks City Base, TX and I am stationed at Langley AFB, VA but when I came here we started talking and he is from Tennessee also and only about 2 hours from where I grew up! It is great because we are a two man shop and have a lot of fun over here! I hope he becomes really interested and then buys one...maybe him and I could jam over here. Wouldn't that be something! Alright gotta go, take care, bye. Bill
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sat Feb 4th, 2006 01:33 am |
|
9th Post |
|
1four5 Approved
|
! I hope he becomes really interested and then buys one...maybe him and I could jam over here. Wouldn't that be something! Oh man...that's how we started! Just for the fun of it, kick up the moral, and kill some time. A lot better than sitting in the break room stuffing your face or playing solitair on the computers  We NEVER thought it would get as far as it has, but we are on the ride of our lives. Convince him to get a guitar...man...you'all be jammin! Hey man, thanks for the kind words on our site!P.S. I'd love to tell ya'all what my next 5 stringer is going to be...but if Banjo Brad finds out, he's gonna strangle me and call me all kinds of things... Last edited on Sat Feb 4th, 2006 04:34 am by 1four5 ____________________ These are the good times! |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sat Feb 4th, 2006 08:07 pm |
|
10th Post |
|
banjo brad Super Moderator
|
Just remember - The Bob Carlin model will self-destruct if fingerpicks come within 20 yards!  (Did I guess right?) Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.edit: Oh. I just checked the link! In that case, I hope the b1's take drastic steps to curtail the power input to your amp!  Last edited on Sat Feb 4th, 2006 08:11 pm by banjo brad ____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sat Feb 4th, 2006 08:18 pm |
|
11th Post |
|
1four5 Approved
|
Actually...it's all the B-1's fault...Tom's got a Telecaster...Tim's got an electric bass... Alice has got a Breedlove cutaway acoustic electric...and I'm the only one still playing into a mic...now where did I put that stomp box with a whaaa pedel? 
____________________ These are the good times! |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Feb 5th, 2006 01:27 am |
|
12th Post |
|
Tim3finger Approved 
|
Not to worry Brad, Although I am partly to blame for this "new" banjo.  I will personally make sure he keeps the Cripple Creek banjo on hand at all times. THe tone and looks of the new one are sweet, but there is nothing like the "real thing" for banjo music. He may even learn clawhammer, because its such a neat style and he won't quit until he gets something down. Right now he swears he can't do it, but we were watching tutorials on ezfolk yesterday at work and he had that "gotta do this" look in his eyes. Tim
____________________ Tim "Trying to give back a little of what I've been given" |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Feb 5th, 2006 02:55 am |
|
13th Post |
|
banjo brad Super Moderator
|
Yeah- Don't you guys go "folk/rock" on me, too!  I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Feb 5th, 2006 03:26 am |
|
14th Post |
|
1four5 Approved
|
Oh man...don't ya'all worry...we got the monthly rest home thing going, and that will always be acoustic...and then the daily acoustic shop jams. I really don't see us ever going rock, there just isn't any interest between us. Now blues...that's another story As for that clawhammer...there just aint something right about it, I never could strum a guitar, and now you want me to strum a banjo, but pick notes at the same time? You guys got like 3 or 4 brains or something all going at once. Besides, my picks keep snagging on the strings...  I think Tim (yes, he does have an old Harmony banjo) should take up the clawhammer and show me how it's done in ultra slow motion.
____________________ These are the good times! |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Feb 5th, 2006 04:01 am |
|
15th Post |
|
banjo brad Super Moderator
|
Dean- I hearby issue a formal challenge! I will listen to your posting of your (shudder, ugh!) electric abomination (gag, urp!) IF it is a recording of the beginners tab of "Skip To My Lou" that is on my tutorial site. I believe Tim can show you exactly how that goes, if you cannot read the tab ( ). Matter of fact, here is the tab, so no excuses:I'll post a three-finger song if you succeed. Do you accept?  Despite the cost of living, hove you noticed how popular it remains?Attachment: skp2lou.txt (Downloaded 19 times)
____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Feb 5th, 2006 01:56 pm |
|
16th Post |
|
1four5 Approved
|
This could be the impossible challange! However, if I am successfull, I'll post a sound clip. I would love to see Tim succeede at this, because I've heard him strum a uke and guitar, and he's got the moves. I tell you what, I'll loan Tim the electric banjo, if he can produce a good clawhammer Skip-to-my-Lou clip I don't know what it is, but my right hand and brain have a generic anti clawhammer gene. I love the little print out you posted, and I was up past midnight last night playing with it. I can country finger pick it all day, and hit the melody notes, and it sounds cool, and my wife even recognized it. But the second I try the bumditty thing, everything goes out the window. My fingers start scraping all over the head looking for some kind of reference, or I'm out in space, and my index finger refuses to pick down properly, and I end up doing an up pick bum, wiffing the dit, and loosing the tty. by then I've lost track of where anything is. I was trying at work with Richards videos...and the same thing was happening. I might also add, that I experienced the exact same frustrations when trying to learn to strum a guitar, and believe me I tore up an old beater guiitar trying...there wasn't any finish left near the hole or fretboard after a couple months. The only way I had mild succes strumming a uke or guitar, was to drag my pick or finger accross the body up by the fret board, let it glance off the side of the fretboard, and hit the strings in both directions. I never did get it, as soon as I lost reference and seperated my right hand from the instrument, all was lost. I did get very creative with my chord hand muting strings and whatnot, because there wasn't any chance in the universe of hitting 4 and 5 string chords correctly. This coordination problem had me so frustrated, I almost quit about 4 months in. Getting a uke saved me, because it wasn't such a mountian of uncoordinated sound. Then one day I ancored my pinky to the top of my uke, and everything changed. Where I'm strumming challenged...fingerpicking has come totally natural from day one. Over night I came up with a bass note + 3 finger pull type of finger pattern that mimicked a strum, and was jamming with the guys like crazy from there on out, and I've never looked back. I'm at the point, because I have been trying my butt off...to where I'm thinking that clawhammer is a lot like spinning a basketball on your finger or riding a unicycle....ya either got it or ya don't.
____________________ These are the good times! |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Feb 5th, 2006 04:47 pm |
|
17th Post |
|
Tim3finger Approved
|
1four5 wrote: ...to where I'm thinking that clawhammer is a lot like spinning a basketball on your finger or riding a unicycle....ya either got it or ya don't. I think I'm gonna agree with this. I can strum and I can do a T-I-M finger forward and backwards roll, but picking out a string to play while i'm fretting it is impossible for me . Trust me , I have tried. I believe some folks are gifted( praise the Lord) and some folks have to work at it. I am in the latter class. If I have to work very hard at something that should be fun, enjoyable , and theraputic, then I won't do it. Notice the bold letters? Kind of explains my user name don't it? Just add a 3.  P.S. I will practice the Clawhammer on my uke then banjo and see what happens. I can weave a pencil with my fingers (both hands) and do the Spock thing (both hands and opposite simultaneously) but, I can't spin a basketball on my fingertip or ride a unicycle or fingerpick like my buddy Dean.  Last edited on Sun Feb 5th, 2006 04:48 pm by Tim3finger ____________________ Tim "Trying to give back a little of what I've been given" |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Feb 5th, 2006 08:40 pm |
|
18th Post |
|
Patrick_Costello Approved
|
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Posted: Sun Feb 5th, 2006 11:09 pm |
|
19th Post |
|
1four5 Approved
|
Wow Patrick, that's some pretty tough talk for ezFolk. We're not quite as serious here as some of the other forums where there is style loyalty, and free thinking is often frowned on. Brad and I have gone back and forth on this for months in fun and light heartedness. If I ever get it, fine, if I don't that's fine too, but I never expected someone to tell us to shut up and cowboy up, and it's so easy anyone can do it, insenuating that we lack discipline, and aren't willing to put in the practice time. Your post makes sense, and your explination makes a lot of sense...but the attitude is out of place here, or at the least, not recieved well by me (just a respectfull opinion). Save that for the pros and wanabe pros on the other boards. We are just folks having fun here. As for home grown finger picking being limited, well, it's taken me further than I ever dreamed I could go, and I haven't come close to the limits yet, and don't plan to for a long long time...heck, I've only been at banjo for 7 months. I often wonder the percintage of banjos and guitars that end up in the closet because students didn't know they could have fun and develope a comfortable style that kept playing fun. I'm not a natural, and this stuff all comes very hard...but aint nobody having as much fun, while putting in as much effort and practice time as I do...just ask Tim You have no idea how much time I've put into strumming a guitar, or trying to suprise Brad with a simple clawhammer take...so far, no go...yet, not even close. I have Richards uke clawhammer videos saved on my deck top, and my poor Jenny has suffered from repeated close calls of almost being inserted into the moniter with excessive force I was mezmorized with your blues clawhammer...it's in my head and won't let go, man, I played the clip at work for the guys and blew them away. I even fingerpicked with it. Here's the best way I can put it. Simple strumming a guitar and clawhammer on banjo to me feels like throwing a baseball with the wrong hand. No matter how much I try, and anylize, and go through the every intracacy of the act, bit by bit, piece by piece, slow and calculated, hundreds of times...when it comes time to throw that pitch, it just don't work. Last edited on Mon Feb 6th, 2006 12:02 am by 1four5 ____________________ These are the good times! |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Posted: Mon Feb 6th, 2006 02:21 am |
|
20th Post |
|
Tim3finger Approved
|
Hey Patrick I'm sure you didn't mean it the way it sounded.  Often what we write doesn't say what we really mean, due to the inherent limitatations of writing versus speech, unless ,of course, our name is Hemingway, Hawthorne, Capote, etc.Come on Dean, lighten up. I know how much you practice and so does everyone else on this forum who knows you. 
____________________ Tim "Trying to give back a little of what I've been given" |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Current time is 08:53 am | Page: 1 2 |
| ezFolk Forums > Banjo > General Banjo Topics > Got me a new banjo :) | Top |
