OT: Any pickers on the forum?

[William]

Other than the Supah Fly, are there any pickers on the forum? I've just played around since the late 90's but I have fun. Listening to some Dock Boggs got me motivated to play a little more lately.

Nothing special but it sounds good and works for me.

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/5879219712/h812E7DE2/



William

[phcollard]

I used to play a lot of fingerpicking on the guitar.

And I know plenty of banjo jokes :D

[ultraman6970]

What about bertoni jokes?

[gasman]

Just my nose

[William]

I always enjoy a good banjo joke!:)


For those of you that might be interested, there is a very good documentary on the history and evolution of the banjo on Netflix.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nuZ0M8ZcL._SL500_SS500_.jpg

Not only the evolution of the music, but the socioeconomic and racial aspects as well. I thought is was well done.





William

[phcollard]

A banjo player parks his car in a bad neighbourhood with his banjo in the back seat. As he leaves he notices a sign that says DO NOT LEAVE CAR UNATTENDED. He goes on and when he returns sure enough someone has broken into his car and put in five more banjos.

:)

[rounder]

I am more of a hacker than a picker, but know a few Travis picking songs (Don't Think Twice, Freight Train). I still like my guitar.

I have an old Fairbanks Whyte Laydie banjo that belonged to my wife's grandmother. She lived in the Virginia mountains and played on the front porch. The banjo has a lot of wear on it, but still looks good. I had it refretted and got a new head for it a few years ago. Would love to learn how to play the thing.

[William]

I am more of a hacker than a picker, but know a few Travis picking songs (Don't Think Twice, Freight Train). I still like my guitar.

I have an old Fairbanks Whyte Laydie banjo that belonged to my wife's grandmother. She lived in the Virginia mountains and played on the front porch. The banjo has a lot of wear on it, but still looks good. I had it refretted and got a new head for it a few years ago. Would love to learn how to play the thing.

That's really cool. A lot of history behind that one I'm sure. Give it a go. Would love to see some picts if you have any.



William

[fuzzalow]

Along the same line of jokes endured by banjo pickers:

Q: What's the definiton of Perfect Pitch?
A: When you toss a banjo into a dumpster and it hits an accordion.

Allow me a slight thread drift: I just got one of these and as said by Nigel Tufnel "still got the tagger on it". In the bike world a $650 Campy Record carbon fiber crankset doesn't seem half as fun as a $340 masonite guitar.

[Orrery]

Cool thread. I do it just for fun but have been working on clawhammer since high school, shockingly to me more than 10 years ago. Have a turn of the century Rettburg & Lange Orpheum #1 and a Goodtime that I do most of my playing on. Would love a Fairbanks or Vega as a Boston guy.

Nothing better than Dock, Roscoe, Wade, and Clarence among others from the old times and Mike Seeger (RIP) who came to my college one semester. Also love Pete Seeger for everything he has done, including writing that instructional book.

[rounder]

The Treee Pickers

Doc Watson - Tennessee Stud
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5c1k949Zn4

Who Will Sing for Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PeE8djhLoY

Down in the Valley to Pray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqzh0cK_ApE

I'll Fly Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvyXBPaC89c

I'll Fly Away Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdRdqp4N3Jw

[soupless]

more banjo jokes, please. my roommate noodles on his incessantly.

[2LeftCleats]

From Jon Stewart's book:

A banjo is a cross between a guitar and poverty

[victoryfactory]

Mark Twain - "A gentleman is someone who knows how to play the banjo and doesn't."

btw;

Walt Koken

[nighthawk]

I don't play, but my gf does. One of the many things I find attractive about her. Count me a friend of the banjo.

[OtayBW]

I am more of a hacker than a picker, but know a few Travis picking songs (Don't Think Twice, Freight Train). I still like my guitar.

I have an old Fairbanks Whyte Laydie banjo that belonged to my wife's grandmother. She lived in the Virginia mountains and played on the front porch. The banjo has a lot of wear on it, but still looks good. I had it refretted and got a new head for it a few years ago. Would love to learn how to play the thing.
Whyte Laydie No. 2, or No. 7? And do you know if it happens to be a Fairbanks White Laydie (pre 1923) or a Fairbanks-Vega Whyte Laydie? All make a big diff in terms of value. I've had both a No 2. Whyte Laydie and a F-V Tubaphone in the past. Best tone out there in open back banjos, IMO.

[Bob Ross]

a $340 masonite guitar.

As I recently wrote in a thread about guitar prices over on the GearSlutz forum:

>>In the mid-1970s I played in a band with two other guitarists who, for (to me) inexplicable reasons, collected Danelectro guitars. They had 6 or 7 guitars between the two of them...and the most they'd ever spent for one was $50. Most Danelectros at that time were selling for ~$35.

Then in July 1977 Jimmy Page appeared on the cover of Guitar Player Magazine weilding a Danelectro.

Literally overnight, the going price for a second-hand Danelectro went to ~$250-275. It was like someone threw a switch; it was practically instantaneous.<<

[rounder]

Whyte Laydie No. 2, or No. 7? And do you know if it happens to be a Fairbanks White Laydie (pre 1923) or a Fairbanks-Vega Whyte Laydie? All make a big diff in terms of value. I've had both a No 2. Whyte Laydie and a F-V Tubaphone in the past. Best tone out there in open back banjos, IMO.

Not sure which model. But here are a few pics.

[William]

Very nice!:cool:

Now do a video so we can hear you play it!;)



William

[Orrery]

^Nice! I can't speak to the specifics but that is certainly a grail banjo for many of us. I love the inlay.

[Jaq]

Learned on a Vega long-neck when I was a kid. Open back; loved the deep, sonorous tones that thing could make. When my grandad died, his Mastertone came my way. Ironically - sadly - I haven't played it much in all these years. Was actually thinking about selling it; that's a pretty good bike that's just gathering dust in my closet.

[54ny77]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5op8TlIJLbY/S4nk28dbQMI/AAAAAAAAC4o/l6iWrLoKT1s/s400/O-Nose+Picker.jpg

[MarleyMon]

Check out Bela Fleck's film "Throw down Your Heart" about the African origins of the banjo. i saw him last summer with the Marcus Roberts Trio - what a great show. He is writing a piece for the Cleveland Orchestra set to debut soon. Also saw his wife Abigail Washburn in July - I am a big fan since her days w/ Uncle Earl.

[OtayBW]

Not sure which model. But here are a few pics.
An early No. 2. Probably ~1909-1910, maybe slightly earlier. Beautiful!
Only downside I can see is that the peghead was drilled and filled.

[rounder]

Other than the Supah Fly, are there any pickers on the forum? I've just played around since the late 90's but I have fun. Listening to some Dock Boggs got me motivated to play a little more lately.

Nothing special but it sounds good and works for me.

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/5879219712/h812E7DE2/



William

William, I was rereading the thread and realized that it was your banjo. What is it and what do you with it. My banjo has been neglected. Gonna buy a new case for it and try to learn how to play the thing. Most likely i will be horrible. But, if it sounds ok to me, i will be fine.

[William]

William, I was rereading the thread and realized that it was your banjo. What is it and what do you with it. My banjo has been neglected. Gonna buy a new case for it and try to learn how to play the thing. Most likely i will be horrible. But, if it sounds ok to me, i will be fine.

It's a Japanese made Iida. It's actually well made and sounds quite good. I've heard that when production went to Korea quality went down hill. I started out learning rolls and graduated into easy songs. Now I mostly play around. I never learned to read music, but picking up Tablature for the banjo was pretty easy. This book by Pete Wernick helped me figure it out...

http://www.banjosdirect.co.uk/ekmps/shops/folkatheart/images/bluegrass-banjo-by-peter-wernick-1162-p.png

I'm no expert but I have fun.:)





William

[William]

Btw, another book I've found good to have on hand is Larry Sandberg's...

http://static.musicroom.com/img/c/f/OK63628.jpg


One day I would love to get a Gibson Mastertone or other high end banjo, but for now, I'm doing all right.:)






William

[rounder]

Thanks for the info.

[William]

Not problem at all.:)


Just for fun....

Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs having fun...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Ix76QDtGk

Foggy Mtn Breakdown from the All Star Bluegrass Celebration...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuHDy--gWiM

Dock Boggs - Sugar Baby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blvWsHNNdfE






William

[redir]

I have a banjo but don't play it. Its had the 5th tuning peg broken for the last ten years or so. I do however play the guitar and in fact the guitar is a very big thing in my life. I have been building guitars for 20 years now. Here is a parlor guitar I just built. In fact it was built from the planks in the background from this old crumpled down barn in my back yard. With the exception of the top brace wood the guitar was built from materials foraged within 100 feet of my house for a total cost of under $35 :D Sounds amazing too, I was really surprised.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sjZk0AP0pSo/UKgN27U81UI/AAAAAAAAFrU/4SKVIXRP18I/s791/2012-11-17_17-09-06_273.jpg

[Jaq]

Always good, 'specially as a warm down:

http://youtu.be/7rOMGIbY-9s

[TAW]

Banjo jokes:

What do you say to a banjo player in a 3 piece suit? "Will the defendant please rise?"

What's the least used sentence in the English language? "Is that the Banjo player's Porsche?"

What did the Banjo player say when asked to play the Hallelujah Chorus? "Can we play it in G?"

How do you give a Banjo player 1 million dollars? Give him 2 million and let him play gigs for a year.

[William]

I have a banjo but don't play it. Its had the 5th tuning peg broken for the last ten years or so. I do however play the guitar and in fact the guitar is a very big thing in my life. I have been building guitars for 20 years now. Here is a parlor guitar I just built. In fact it was built from the planks in the background from this old crumpled down barn in my back yard. With the exception of the top brace wood the guitar was built from materials foraged within 100 feet of my house for a total cost of under $35 :D Sounds amazing too, I was really surprised.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sjZk0AP0pSo/UKgN27U81UI/AAAAAAAAFrU/4SKVIXRP18I/s791/2012-11-17_17-09-06_273.jpg

Wow! That looks amazing!:cool:

Let's see some picts of the old banjo as well.




William

[rounder]

Nice guitar. It may have been built from wood lieing around. You had to know what to do with it and shape it and finish it. Good job.

[redir]

Wow! That looks amazing!:cool:

Let's see some picts of the old banjo as well.




William

You know, I just might have to pull that old banjo out this weekend. It's nothing special at all. Just a cheap Harmony I think. But the poor thing has just been sitting for so long. I should at least give it to some one who would play her.

My next project is a mandolin. Not a bluegrass one but one more in the Italian tradition.

[rounder]

More Tunes

Mumford & Sons and Emmy Lou...these are the new kids on the block
http://www.cmt.com/videos/misc/839379/the-boxer-from-cmt-crossroads.jhtml

Doc Watson Shady Grove
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7MwW3JuEOY

Kingston Trio Shady Grove and Lonesome Travler
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJU_aSOKFpQ