banjo13 - Posted - 04/01/2008:  12:40:43

just wondering when the first synthetic heads came out, and when people really made the switch to them instead of skin.

Thanks

Tyler Greene
"The roots of the present lie deep in the past"

flake - Posted - 04/01/2008:  12:45:48

Remo's prototypes (for banjos) first started showing up around '58. They didn't really start showing up in any numbers until the early '60s.


mike

Some people are like Slinkys. They're not really good for anything, but bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.

banjo13 - Posted - 04/01/2008:  12:57:04

thanks, it was just something I had wondered for a while for no particular reason

Tyler Greene
"The roots of the present lie deep in the past"

flatthead - Posted - 04/01/2008:  13:05:42

I think plastic heads came on the scene probably around 1959. I believe Earl cut Groundspeed in January, 1959 with the Longworth RB-4 and it very possibly had a plastic head on it. I think some time after that, maybe late 59 or 1960 is when they began to get more popular. I believe the last song Earl cut with a skin head on the Granada was "Crying Holy" (On the Rock Where Moses Stood) and the first song he cut with a plastic head was "Just Ain't". I don't have my dates in front of me, but I think that was around 1960 or 1961.

It might be worth noting that most all of "Foggy Mountain Banjo" was cut with a skin head and Mahogany neck and “Live at Carnegie Hall” was cut with a plastic head and Mahogany neck on 9584.

dickinnorwich - Posted - 04/01/2008:  13:07:58

Guys:
I thought it was earlier than this but I was wrong.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Originally, drumheads were made from animal skin. In 1956, Chick Evans invented the plastic drumhead. Plastic drumheads made from polyester are cheaper, more durable, and less sensitive to weather than animal skin heads. In 1957, Remo Belli and Sam Muchnick together developed a plastic head (also known as Mylar) leading to the development of the Remo drumhead company."

Edited by - dickinnorwich on 04/01/2008 13:12:49

plunka5 - Posted - 04/01/2008:  17:23:35

I think someone posted on the forums here about the ship's mast on the current Remo weatherking banjo heads being put on there for their 50th anniversary.

Here's a video from the Remo website:

http://remo.com/portal/pages/photos...y+Party.html

Edited by - plunka5 on 04/01/2008 17:32:39

DHoffmeyer - Posted - 04/04/2008:  12:14:11

How appropriate that we would sit and watch a Remo video, dedicated to drummers, while it plays "When You're Alone"

Seriously, I need to get my life back...



http://www.deanhoffmeyer.com
http://www.nationalfingerpicks.com

Granada90 - Posted - 04/09/2008:  15:12:30

I know I read somewhere, Earl not using plastic till around '63. After playing in a very humid environment, he noticed that very little change occurred in comparison to the skin head. I've also heard stories of Uncle Dave Macon having a light bulb inside the banjo.

beeliner - Posted - 04/09/2008:  21:48:59

I used a light bulb in my RB-100 in the 50's. I busted a few that way too. Man, it sure made um sound good though.

beeliner- Revis Martin
Acts 16:31 [ KJV ]

Banjov1 - Posted - 04/10/2008:  02:09:21

What was the light bulb for?... was it turned on? ... I don't understand

Tony

phischer - Posted - 04/10/2008:  02:20:41

So it wasn't just for a nice affect? I see em all the time on ebay. The old Christmas bulb. The original electric banjo! Must have created a dry environment inside the pot to stabilize the head? Why would it sound better? Kept extra tension on the head?

Fischer

Paul Hostetter - Posted - 04/10/2008:  02:40:32

The light bulbs were there to generate heat which would dry and tighten the skin head.

The above-quoted Wikipedia entry is somewhat misleading. Mylar (Biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is not much like any of the things most folks think of as polyester, but Mylar (Remo's only basic product back then) is a polyester. He went full-on public in 1957. His current company history on the website used to be much more specific, unfortunately.

Mylar heads took over pretty fast. I saw Earl Scruggs well before 1963 and he was already using a Remo head. As I recall he was a very early convert to Remo heads.

Paul Hostetter, luthier
Santa Cruz, California
www.lutherie.net

flatthead - Posted - 04/10/2008:  08:06:26

It's very likely that Groundspeed was cut on the Mike Longworth RB-4 with a plastic head in January, 1959.

Additionally, I always heard that the first commercial recording Scruggs made with a plastic head on the Granada was "Just Ain't" in May, 1961.

Regarding lights....I've had a lot of guys from that era say they would put the banjo up on the back window ledge of the car while they were driving in order to dry the skin head out. Also, if time would permit, they would put the banjo near the footlights on the stage prior to playing to tighten it up.

Remember this: a Rogers 3 Star head was about $20-22 dollars back then. That's a lot of money when you are making $25.00 a week, and going through 7 or 8 heads a year.

Wayne Holcombe - Posted - 04/10/2008:  09:47:22

!959 sounds right.Paul still has the head Earl put on the RB-4.He retired it when he got the banjo,it had been on there since 1959.I think Bill Palmer has the story on his website or on the LouZee banjo website.
Wayne

Djypsydjazz - Posted - 04/15/2008:  16:14:17

They were in development at Remo throughout the fifties. They became commercially available in either 1959 or 1960.

-Nate

I build the machines that surround hate and force it to surrender.