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I'm buying a banjo
- Thread starter JimmyM
- Start date
The new J-hooks came from Gold-Tone came today, and they are an exact fit in every way and way better than the old ones. Same basic cobra head design, but the cobra head part is smaller and thicker. Got nine on so far and haven't had a lick of problem. I can torque this head down so tight now that I'll break it! Well, at least I will when I'm done. Did 9 so far, got 20 more to go. A highly recommended upgrade!
Got 'em all on, only two I had to tap to get them to lay straight, and the head's already tighter and shows no signs of slippage with the new hooks. I think I can actually tighten the head till the bridge doesn't indent it like most say to do. Have to tweak it some more, but it was a great upgrade.
{EDIT: The Gold-Tones do have their limit, I've come to find out, but it's still way tighter than it was, and nothing that a hammer can't fix)
Sheared the bolt that tightens the bracket that clamps the armrest down, though, so I'll be riding it bareback for a few days till I can get it sorted. Win some, lose some.
{EDIT: The Gold-Tones do have their limit, I've come to find out, but it's still way tighter than it was, and nothing that a hammer can't fix)
Sheared the bolt that tightens the bracket that clamps the armrest down, though, so I'll be riding it bareback for a few days till I can get it sorted. Win some, lose some.
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If I had a hammer
… You think you've got problems. I'm building a drum kit
Do tell, and do drop pics!If I had a hammer
You think you've got problems. I'm building a drum kit
Wouldn't dream of it — not in a banjo thread
Honestly, it's not pretty mate. And it's a money pit as well as an eye-sore. I'm still trying to fit it all together and learn how to manage the different architectural aspects. No photos exist
As it is, it's a tangle but it's now starting to produce the goods. Two of these pies cost upwards of a grand — Benny Greb's babies. Astonishingly beautiful cymbals but only two of fifteen.Then there's the snares scattered about the place — three in this current setup, one being a snom. It. is. ugly.
One day I'll get a handle on it, gain some mastery, and then you might just hear some ensuing noise.Back on topic jimmy, I just scored an armrest for the Goodtime. Only cost me a few bucks. I haven't been playing much simply because it's so uncomfortable — it's a great banjo but I've been aching to find the means to sort out that pain. Got the dirts in the end and shut it all down
They really should make it standard that these things all come with some kind of protection. Leaning too heavily on a cold steel rim does all sorts of damage, after a short while
May take a few weeks but, with any luck, I'll have my remedy
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OK, so while we wait on pics of Tom's handbuilt drums I should say Dean gave great CS and sent a new bracket and screw for the armrest. I also ended up paying $11 from one from Sullivan Banjo that worked but didn't fit quite correctly. Could have used it but the Dean bracket is the right size.
So this banjo is getting there. I've been hanging out at the Banjo Hangout and asking questions, and folks have been really helpful in trying to get the sound of my banjo right. Cool place, and unlike the snobs on here, nobody tries to correct me when I call my 6-string banjo a banjo, though they do call the Dean a "bottlecap" banjo
I thought maybe it would improve and get brighter sounding if I got a new head, but they tell me that one white coated Remo head is the same as another. They said the bridge can make a lot of difference, though, so I'm going to get one from this dude Bart Veerman in Canada who says he makes a couple bridge models specifically to perk up the sound in cheap beginner banjos.
And even though the best thing I can do to perk up this banjo is practice more, I'm down with upgrading the bridge. Some banjo players carry several bridges for different sounds. I'm not going to go that far with a Dean, but I'll get one, sure.
I should say Dean gave great CS and sent a new bracket and screw for the armrest. I also ended up paying $11 from one from Sullivan Banjo that worked but didn't fit quite correctly. Could have used it but the Dean bracket is the right size.So this banjo is getting there. I've been hanging out at the Banjo Hangout and asking questions, and folks have been really helpful in trying to get the sound of my banjo right. Cool place, and unlike the snobs on here, nobody tries to correct me when I call my 6-string banjo a banjo, though they do call the Dean a "bottlecap" banjo
I thought maybe it would improve and get brighter sounding if I got a new head, but they tell me that one white coated Remo head is the same as another. They said the bridge can make a lot of difference, though, so I'm going to get one from this dude Bart Veerman in Canada who says he makes a couple bridge models specifically to perk up the sound in cheap beginner banjos.And even though the best thing I can do to perk up this banjo is practice more, I'm down with upgrading the bridge. Some banjo players carry several bridges for different sounds. I'm not going to go that far with a Dean, but I'll get one, sure.
Like a bridge over troubled water? … Just don't go shooting any rapids in the back country. That'd probably be a bridge too far, Jimmy. Good luck with that whizzbang bridge. Sounds positive
If you wanna know the truth, RE: my drums, I don't know that they're hand-built. They are unusual, it's true. It's possible. But I'd say, for certain, while they could be hand-built, they are definitely built by aliens. Do they have hands? Not always, I'm guessing. They must be alien made because all the existing photos are blurry — unfit for publication. Otherwise I'd be more than happy to share.
Please note that this may solely be an indication of my limited skill as a multimedia cat. And, when I say alien, I do use the term loosely
OK, so while we wait on pics of Tom's handbuilt drums …
Ya, multimedia is a little tricky. I have to learn it, though. When I get my songs recorded, I'm going to shoot vids for a couple songs with my iPhone. I can do pics but I'm clueless with the video stuff.Like a bridge over troubled water? … Just don't go shooting any rapids in the back country. That'd probably be a bridge too far, Jimmy. Good luck with that whizzbang bridge. Sounds positive
If you wanna know the truth, RE: my drums, I don't know that they're hand-built. They are unusual, it's true. It's possible. But I'd say, for certain, while they could be hand-built, they are definitely built by aliens. Do they have hands? Not always, I'm guessing. They must be alien made because all the existing photos are blurry — unfit for publication. Otherwise I'd be more than happy to share.
Please note that this may solely be an indication of my limited skill as a multimedia cat. And, when I say alien, I do use the term loosely
I made an executive decision the other day. Got an iPhone — needed QR capabilities so I could get my shots, and some dinner and gas and stuff
So we're in the same boat, Jimmy. Can't be too hard Just point 'n' shoot, right? 
So man, this fella Bart Veerman designs many different bridges, all designed to get a sound out your banjo like you want. You can get them made to be as mellow or as bright as you want, and everyone agrees that the bridge is paramount to getting all you can out of a banjo, unlike in bass world, where marketing and BS rules the day. And if would be a real pain in the neck if Bart didn't have so many informational pages about the topic and extensive descriptions of all his bridges.
He has a questionnaire where he asks you everything about your banjo, and I had picked out what I thought would be the right bridge. He writes me back, says that based on what he's read about me on the Banjo Hangout, I should go with this bridge he calls the Archie because he originally made it for archtop banjos, but found that flathead banjo players dug how much brighter it made their banjos. He said it'll make your banjo super bright and louder. I don't necessarily care about louder, but I do want it bright and choppy sounding. He also said to save the $10 for radiusing it and get it flat. He said a 16" FB radius is flat pretty much and it'll feel the same. Hey, he's the expert.
If you want to learn way more about banjo bridges than you ever thought possible, you can visit Bart's site at Link Removed . It's an old school type website, but the info there is extensive.
He has a questionnaire where he asks you everything about your banjo, and I had picked out what I thought would be the right bridge. He writes me back, says that based on what he's read about me on the Banjo Hangout, I should go with this bridge he calls the Archie because he originally made it for archtop banjos, but found that flathead banjo players dug how much brighter it made their banjos. He said it'll make your banjo super bright and louder. I don't necessarily care about louder, but I do want it bright and choppy sounding. He also said to save the $10 for radiusing it and get it flat. He said a 16" FB radius is flat pretty much and it'll feel the same. Hey, he's the expert.
If you want to learn way more about banjo bridges than you ever thought possible, you can visit Bart's site at Link Removed . It's an old school type website, but the info there is extensive.
Big news...I can now Travis pick! OK, so I can only do it very slowly and I'm still way inaccurate with it, but it's better than I ever did before!
Hops has arisen!
Hops has arisen!
@johnk_10 strikes again! Did a little dirt pedal shootout with the banjo...
And only the bottom 3 pedals next to my bass board worked well at all with banjo, and the modded Greedtone OD I bought from John years ago absolutely smoked everything else. Lots of guitarists dig it because adds dirty bite to their clean sound without stomping all over it, and it works like that on banjo as well. Really retains the banjo sound, even if you crank the dirt a little bit. Even sounds good if you don't high pass the tweeter frequencies. The answer to my quest for dirty banjo that actually sounds like banjo!
And then I've got the Tech 21 British for when I want to sound like a banjo cranked thru a Marshall. Does a surprisingly good Malcolm Young imitation. Between the JohnK and the British, I'm covered. The old KMD Overdrive I bought used in 1984 still holds up, though, even on banjo. It's a little feisty sometimes, but it did a respectable job in between crackles.
The rest sucked on banjo. I was really disappointed that I couldn't get a good sound with the Mosky Black Rat or the MXR Bass Distortion. I absolutely love Rats on guitar and bass, but hated them on banjo, or at least this particular banjo.
Still, I'm quite delirious that I have 3 pedals that actually work on banjo, one of which is exceptional. Now I don't need to buy anything more!
And only the bottom 3 pedals next to my bass board worked well at all with banjo, and the modded Greedtone OD I bought from John years ago absolutely smoked everything else. Lots of guitarists dig it because adds dirty bite to their clean sound without stomping all over it, and it works like that on banjo as well. Really retains the banjo sound, even if you crank the dirt a little bit. Even sounds good if you don't high pass the tweeter frequencies. The answer to my quest for dirty banjo that actually sounds like banjo!
And then I've got the Tech 21 British for when I want to sound like a banjo cranked thru a Marshall. Does a surprisingly good Malcolm Young imitation. Between the JohnK and the British, I'm covered. The old KMD Overdrive I bought used in 1984 still holds up, though, even on banjo. It's a little feisty sometimes, but it did a respectable job in between crackles.
The rest sucked on banjo. I was really disappointed that I couldn't get a good sound with the Mosky Black Rat or the MXR Bass Distortion. I absolutely love Rats on guitar and bass, but hated them on banjo, or at least this particular banjo.
Still, I'm quite delirious that I have 3 pedals that actually work on banjo, one of which is exceptional. Now I don't need to buy anything more!
If I had a hammer
You think you've got problems. I'm building a drum kit
Big-ass news!
I just finished cutting the music bed for my banjo power trio's first song! Still have to do my singing, then mix it, and I have to start back to work on Saturday, so who knows when I'll get it fully done, but I should have the vocal done sometime before work, I hope. But it's coming along to be the exact thing I pictured in my mind. Even has a brief bass solo of sorts
I never knew how much easier it is to program drums to sound like real drums nowadays. Still a lot of programming work, but it's a lot easier than it used to be back in the days of the Alesis HR-16 I used to use. I'm using a free drum VSTi called MT Power Drum Kit 2, and it's only got one drum set sound, but it turns out to be a good one for this stuff and doesn't suck up a whole lot of RAM, even though it sucks up more than you'd think.
Anyway, my studio is pathetic...an old Fast Track 4-ch interface in my computer running Cakewalk, but it's just me recording, I've got an all-tube path for everything but the drums, and it keeps me from having to think too hard. And now that I have these drums figured out for building songs, it'll take a lot less time. Spent more time screwing things up with it than creating stuff, but that's a learning curve for you.
Thinking I might be getting my new bridge later today, and I hope it doesn't make me want to recut the acoustic banjo but it just might. Still, for a first effort, I'm very happy with how it's going, and I love working with the people most in-tune to my way of thinking.
I just finished cutting the music bed for my banjo power trio's first song! Still have to do my singing, then mix it, and I have to start back to work on Saturday, so who knows when I'll get it fully done, but I should have the vocal done sometime before work, I hope. But it's coming along to be the exact thing I pictured in my mind. Even has a brief bass solo of sorts
I never knew how much easier it is to program drums to sound like real drums nowadays. Still a lot of programming work, but it's a lot easier than it used to be back in the days of the Alesis HR-16 I used to use. I'm using a free drum VSTi called MT Power Drum Kit 2, and it's only got one drum set sound, but it turns out to be a good one for this stuff and doesn't suck up a whole lot of RAM, even though it sucks up more than you'd think.
Anyway, my studio is pathetic...an old Fast Track 4-ch interface in my computer running Cakewalk, but it's just me recording, I've got an all-tube path for everything but the drums, and it keeps me from having to think too hard. And now that I have these drums figured out for building songs, it'll take a lot less time. Spent more time screwing things up with it than creating stuff, but that's a learning curve for you.
Thinking I might be getting my new bridge later today, and I hope it doesn't make me want to recut the acoustic banjo but it just might. Still, for a first effort, I'm very happy with how it's going, and I love working with the people most in-tune to my way of thinking.
Well the banjo power trio just became a quartet. I cannot get the dirty banjo work for the life of me, so I'm going to recut the dirty banjo with a guitar. However, the clean banjo part is awesome and really is going to make this song. Did it in one take, and there are are a couple sloppy parts, but mixed with the guitar kinda sorta doubling it, it's going to sound cool.
I'm a little bummed about having to split all the money that's going to roll in after I shoot the video 4 ways, but what can you do?
I'm a little bummed about having to split all the money that's going to roll in after I shoot the video 4 ways, but what can you do?
