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I'm buying a banjo

#301
Well today was fun. Had little sleep, had to start answering calls at 7a, then the rains from the outer bands of the storm hit us, my internet goes out at 10:30, and I had to get myself dressed and drive 25 minutes to the office to finish out the day. I really missed my own computer that's tweaked just for me. Makes a big difference at my job.

But now I'm home and I got to try out my banjo with the new lighter strings. Feels really good except for the high E, which I've determined has a slot cut too low. It's the only one I didn't file down, either. So instead of lowering every other slot which would take forever, I busted out the ol' super glue:

Banjo Bridge Glue.jpg


One of the cleaner jobs I've done using super glue to fill slots. I need a little longer to let it dry thoroughly, but once I get the slot cut right and loosen the truss rod just a smidge, I think this banjo is going to have super action with the lighter strings. Now I just need to decide if the Rev Willy G's are worth spending a little more than the D'addarios. I'm pretty impressed with them so far but D'addarios are cheaper and I'll be changing strings fairly often when I record.
 
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#302
UPDATE: Nailed it! Didn't even have to do any filing. All I had to do was restring it, reset the intonation or whatever resembles it on a banjo, and loosen the truss rod a quarter turn. Bam! Best super glue slot filling ever, and 9-42 seems to be a better gauge for me, especially since I don't like high action but it requires a little higher action than a guitar. Fortunately, the fretwork out of the box was really good and that helps, as always.

Now I have one last decision to make...D'addario XL's or Dunlop Rev. Willy G's. I'm torn. At these times, I find it wise to make a list of pros and cons:

XL Pros:

---Familiar feel that I like and used for decades
---Really good (IMHO) sound on guitar
---Inexpensive

XL Cons:

---Good sound on banjo, but a little darker than I'd like, even when new
---Have had problems getting their thinner high strings to last beyond a couple of gigs

Willy G Pros:

---Very easy to play
---Brighter new tone that I like better than the XL's

Willy G Cons:

---Billy Gibbons said his .007 high E strings don't break during gigs, but he's got a tech and a ton of guitars he switches out constantly, so I don't know if that means they'll last through one gig for 10 minutes or 10 gigs on one guitar
---Don't yet know how long it takes for them to sound dull
---A little more expensive than XL's, which will add up if you change them often

A couple unknowns prevent me from doing a real cost vs usage analysis, but in the end, I'm going for whatever gets the job done the cheapest.
 
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#303
Naturally, now that I've completely given up bass for banjo (heh), I've been pricing banjos for when I get good enough at fingerpicking that I might want to take on a 5-string. I don't want to pay a fortune, yet I want a good one. And one thought occurs to me while browsing the websites...

Why do they all have to have fancy schmancy inlay jobs the second you get past the beginner models? I don't need that, nor do I like it very much. I'd rather have a plain old dot neck that's built really well than any sort of inlay work that's adding cost without adding playability or better tone. You can find plenty of basses and guitars built that way, but not banjos. Why? Besides, fancy inlays ain't punk rock! My cheapo Dean has dots and a tasteful little wingspread inlay at the 12th fret. Why the wings? Make it all dots. Who cares? But at least Dean made the wings look punk.

I can't be the only one who doesn't want fancy inlays on good banjos, but apparently I am.
 
#307
5StringBlues said:
Fee fi fiddle e i o
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One day I hope to be that good.

OK, I'm made my string decision, and the XL's are going back on. For some reason, I'm not getting along with 9-42 as well as I thought I might, and even though the Willy G's have a killer sound for banjo, I can't get them to hold a tune without stretching them way out to where they go half dead. But it was a fun experiment, and I'm not putting Billy's strings down at all. They do sound great and feel good under the hands, just not my hands.
 
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#311
MAJOR UPDATE:

Spent the weekend in the hospital over what I thought was a heart attack but was just HBP caused by arteries clogged almost to the point where I need a stent or a bypass. They put those things up your groin, you know, and so darn thankful I didn't have to get one! High cholesterol runs in my family but I don't do myself any favors. So I was told to take a few days off from work and avoid stress while I get used to all the new prescriptions and try to get my BP down. And yes, I will write a song about it. I'm forming it in my head right now.

On the bright side, my banjo's all ready to record, what passes for a home studio is organized somewhat now, and I've got some time to actually demo my banjo power trio tunes this week. Everything's all ready to start recording again, and now I have to see which tunes are genius and which are crap. Wish banjo wasn't so loud to record, but I can put together some quick and dirty drum loops to record with in the meantime.
 
#314
Tom Bomb said:
@JimmyM: Stay away from hospitals, mate — they're for sick people. … Be kind to yourself. Steady the ship.
​
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Working on it. Getting there. Thx Tom!

So it turns out when you record banjo demos, the click track likes to disappear on you. Looks like I'll need to create a banjo-proof click track for every song. Not easy, though. Banjo takes up a lot of frequencies and is loud. But I've got the first song mapped out...just need to do a better take of it. I hate recording to a click, but the banjo dictates the drum part with this, not the other way around.
 
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#315
JimmyM said:
MAJOR UPDATE:

Spent the weekend in the hospital over what I thought was a heart attack but was just HBP caused by arteries clogged almost to the point where I need a stent or a bypass. They put those things up your groin, you know, and so darn thankful I didn't have to get one! High cholesterol runs in my family but I don't do myself any favors. So I was told to take a few days off from work and avoid stress while I get used to all the new prescriptions and try to get my BP down. And yes, I will write a song about it. I'm forming it in my head right now.

On the bright side, my banjo's all ready to record, what passes for a home studio is organized somewhat now, and I've got some time to actually demo my banjo power trio tunes this week. Everything's all ready to start recording again, and now I have to see which tunes are genius and which are crap. Wish banjo wasn't so loud to record, but I can put together some quick and dirty drum loops to record with in the meantime.
Click to expand...
I hope you're going to be ok. I feel the same lately… I have a cardiologist appointment soon.
 
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#317
I had pretty good luck on my inaugural banjo-recording attempt using a simple sequenced kick/snare/hat pattern...I wasn't aware of any banjo-masking-the-percussion issues.

Then again, I don't really play banjo, and maybe the fact that it wasn't heavily syncopated rapid-fire picking was how I got away with it. But it might be something you could try...just try the most stripped-back fundamental pattern that could overlay how you envision the eventual percussion part, so it doesn't lead you astray into incompatible beat subdivisions or something...?
 
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#318
mexicanyella said:
I had pretty good luck on my inaugural banjo-recording attempt using a simple sequenced kick/snare/hat pattern...I wasn't aware of any banjo-masking-the-percussion issues.

Then again, I don't really play banjo, and maybe the fact that it wasn't heavily syncopated rapid-fire picking was how I got away with it. But it might be something you could try...just try the most stripped-back fundamental pattern that could overlay how you envision the eventual percussion part, so it doesn't lead you astray into incompatible beat subdivisions or something...?
Click to expand...
I think it's not masking the percussion...just the click. I can't get it loud enough to hear over the banjo without making me deaf. Clicks are always so insanely high frequency. Think I need to replace it with hi-hat. But I don't want drums influencing my banjo riffage so that's why I want to do it first and bass second. Then I'll write the drum parts around the riffage.

Got some really interesting ideas for songs, I think. There's an overall theme to the lyrics that I think people will identify with. Going to keep the banjo riffage solid and fairly simple and build everything around it, with the bass assuming an occasional lead role in the breaks.
 
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#319
StereoPlayer said:
I hope you're going to be ok. I feel the same lately… I have a cardiologist appointment soon.
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Take it seriously, bro. I just barely made it out without surgery and they've caused me to have to take major steps in my life and really evaluate if weighing 45 lbs more than I should is worth getting a tube stuck up your groin and into your artery. I've had tubes stuck up my groin before, and none of them are much fun.
 
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#320
JimmyM said:
Take it seriously, bro. I just barely made it out without surgery and they've caused me to have to take major steps in my life and really evaluate if weighing 45 lbs more than I should is worth getting a tube stuck up your groin and into your artery. I've had tubes stuck up my groin before, and none of them are much fun.
Click to expand...
Ya, I've been there I had a stent put in. But, they went up through my wrist.
 
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