oh god , That thing is "HUGE"
This was a fail attemept to make double bass banjo , See... Gibson has always sucked!
The bass was to big , the frets were too wide , and it sounded too deep to atleast hear a note.
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Double Bass 1930s double bass banjo:
- Thread starter PixelPyrus
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oh god , That thing is "HUGE"
This was a fail attemept to make double bass banjo , See... Gibson has always sucked!
The bass was to big , the frets were too wide , and it sounded too deep to atleast hear a note.
A trumpet player made his own and had wanted me to play it on a riverboat gig. I couldn't make the gig and am still not sure if i dodged a bullet or missed an opportunity!
Well , Mines SUCKS!
I rented 2 double banjos , The first one was a real beauty , but the second on , nah , The frets were to wide and i couldn't tune it , and it was missing a string!
Old Banjozilla is 25 years old now. I finished building him in 1992, and did a major rebuild in 2006. He's got a quiet comfortable spot down here in the Secret Underground Lab, in the warehouse bay right next to my office. In November, I wheeled him over to the Steam/Steampunk festival here in Fillmore. I spent an afternoon answering questions and posing for pictures with him.
Banjozilla's own web page is still up and running: Bass Banjo
Over all these years, I'm surprised that very few people have tried to build similar instruments. I'm only aware of two guys who tried to build a few upright bass banjos to sell, and I believe they both shut down after a few years. And I know of maybe six guys who have built their own, using bass drum shells and homemade necks. I haven't seen anyone else take it to the level I did, making a complete instrument from scratch. There is some small market for them. I've had steady requests to develop out a production version to build and sell. I could probably sell 10 of them without too much trouble. But I'm just too busy with all my other instrument lines. Maybe someday.
Meanwhile, Banjozilla isn't lonely.....One night, I thought I heard some Pattycake with roots and fifths going on....
Banjozilla's own web page is still up and running: Bass Banjo
Over all these years, I'm surprised that very few people have tried to build similar instruments. I'm only aware of two guys who tried to build a few upright bass banjos to sell, and I believe they both shut down after a few years. And I know of maybe six guys who have built their own, using bass drum shells and homemade necks. I haven't seen anyone else take it to the level I did, making a complete instrument from scratch. There is some small market for them. I've had steady requests to develop out a production version to build and sell. I could probably sell 10 of them without too much trouble. But I'm just too busy with all my other instrument lines. Maybe someday.
Meanwhile, Banjozilla isn't lonely.....One night, I thought I heard some Pattycake with roots and fifths going on....
ron berry
Commercial User
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is my wordpress site for my luthiery school has details of the four I built and some history and theory on the acoustics of getting them to sound good on the double bass banjo page here
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enjoy.
I have advised many builders who have asked for advice on copying the design and had many others embaress me with the only sincere form of flattery - imitation.
Mine sound awesome btw, fatter and louder with a quicker attack with a big thunk in the slap tone, here is a couple of pictures of the best sounding one Fatima with a 40" marching drum as the resonator, it dwarfs the 22";
https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/studio-jpg.3430652/
is my wordpress site for my luthiery school has details of the four I built and some history and theory on the acoustics of getting them to sound good on the double bass banjo page here
Link Removed
enjoy.
I have advised many builders who have asked for advice on copying the design and had many others embaress me with the only sincere form of flattery - imitation.
Mine sound awesome btw, fatter and louder with a quicker attack with a big thunk in the slap tone, here is a couple of pictures of the best sounding one Fatima with a 40" marching drum as the resonator, it dwarfs the 22";
https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/studio-jpg.3430652/
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