mastertone250 - Posted - 11/03/2008:  03:30:53

Ive herd people talk about crowe and his "Banger Banjo" what banjo are they talkin about?

Baby Earl

carteru93 - Posted - 11/03/2008:  03:57:34

JD Crowe's 1933(?) RB-3 banjo. It has a no hole flathead tone ring, and I believe has a darker finish on it. I think that it's maple also.

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Blaylock Bear Tracks Banjo
There are no stupid questions, just dumb ones - Me

Oldtwanger - Posted - 11/03/2008:  05:42:40

The 'Banger' is a standard mahogany -3, no-hole flathead #9467-5. It is a 'fatboy' and originally had a first generation one-piece flange which dates from late 1929 - early 1930. JD traded an RB100 for the pot with no neck in Detroit in 1956. With a modified RB-150 neck it was his primary banjo for most of his work with Jimmy Martin. It has been renecked a number of times and he still uses it quite frequently.

Oldtwanger Frank
It don''t mean a thang if it ain''t got that twang.........

Edited by - Oldtwanger on 11/03/2008 07:29:37

bhrb75 - Posted - 11/03/2008:  07:08:21

Only one of the 5 best banjo's to leave the factory in Kalamazoo!

Brandon




"He lives so far back in there, they had to roll ''em Martha White biscuits in in a wheelbar."

silvioferretti - Posted - 11/03/2008:  11:22:57

Frank, if you say "originally had a first generation one-piece flange which dates from late 1929 - early 1930" does this mean there is a replacement flange on it now? The Banger is possibly my favorite banjo ever (in Crowe's hands, of course), so I'm curious...

"It was a wonderful party. BUT, it was not this one" (a friend of mine to a host)

Silvio Ferretti http://www.scorpionmusic.com

Oldtwanger - Posted - 11/03/2008:  13:30:27

[quote]Originally posted by silvioferretti

Frank, if you say "originally had a first generation one-piece flange which dates from late 1929 - early 1930" does this mean there is a replacement flange on it now?

Yes, as I recall it was replaced a number of years ago. I think he still has the original, however.

That stick has a lot of miles on it!!

Oldtwanger Frank
It don''t mean a thang if it ain''t got that twang.........

mastertone250 - Posted - 11/03/2008:  19:22:28

Ive seen him with a gold plated banjo....was that one of his gold star model banjos or was it a gibson? if i had that RB-3 I wouldnt be playin another....why did he play a Gold Plated whatever it is

Baby Earl

Oldtwanger - Posted - 11/04/2008:  05:28:55

JD owned and played a Granada (9562-10) for a while in the 1980's. His use of that instrument spawned the Gold Star JD Crowe model. He sold that Granada sometime later, but I believe he has another now (9486-18). He also has the first Gold Star Crowe model.

Other banjos in his stable besides those and the banger (9467-5) are:
an RB-1 (1-1), a twenty-hole RB-3 (116-3), a twenty hole RB-75 (752-4) and lord knows what else is under his bed.

Oldtwanger Frank
It don''t mean a thang if it ain''t got that twang.........

Greg Earnest - Posted - 11/05/2008:  12:13:09

To my ear, the best tone Crowe has ever gotten was with Banger on the old Kentucky Mt. Boys recordings. Although Red River Valley and John Henry with JM weren't bad, either!

Banger was originally a plectrum, correct?


The Prewar Gibson Banjo website
http://www.earnestbanjo.com

Greg Earnest - Posted - 11/05/2008:  12:14:26

Frank. . . crowe has #1-1, and it's an original RB-1?!?!? I had never heard of any banjos from lots 1 or 2 (I have TB-1 #3-21). That's really neat. . .

ge

The Prewar Gibson Banjo website
http://www.earnestbanjo.com

silvioferretti - Posted - 11/05/2008:  14:31:52

Myself, I'm partial to the 3 or 4 cuts that Crowe used the Banger on for the Rounder 0044 (see another thread about this), especially Old Home Place and Sally Goodin'. I believe the engineer had a slightly heavy hand with the compressor on that album, but it's THE banjo sound for me anyway.

"It was a wonderful party. BUT, it was not this one" (a friend of mine to a host)

Silvio Ferretti http://www.scorpionmusic.com

Oldtwanger - Posted - 11/05/2008:  14:46:39

Greg Earnest asked: "Banger was originally a plectrum, correct?"
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JD told me that when he found 9467-5 in Detroit it was in the back of a music store laying on a chair seat with no head and no neck. He could see that it had a tonering and knew that was what he needed. He had been playing an RB100 up to that time. The store owner was happy to trade the disassembled pot for the complete RB100 because he could sell it more easily. The store owner never had the neck and so whether it was plectrum or 5-string is not known. JD had a neck that was modified from either an RB150 or RB250 (headstock recut in fiddle shape). He just put that neck on the pot and he was in business. One little detail - since the neck was fifties vintage and the banger was a fatboy, the heel to rim fit resulted in an action high enough for him to slide his little finger under the strings at the rim end of the fingerboard. That was the way he played it with Martin.

Oldtwanger Frank
It don''t mean a thang if it ain''t got that twang.........

myfavefive - Posted - 11/20/2008:  12:11:18

On Biggs' serial numbers listing of those that have surfaced, there's not another banjo from the 9467 lot, other than Banger. Are there any other known banjos from that particular lot of 3s?

Tom

Oldtwanger - Posted - 11/20/2008:  12:20:32

<<On Biggs' serial numbers listing of those that have surfaced, there's not another banjo from the 9467 lot, other than Banger. Are there any other known banjos from that particular lot of 3s?>>
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Offhand I can think of 9467-11, 9467-12, 9467-14. Best I recall, all originally PB-3 no-hole flatheads.


Oldtwanger Frank
It don''t mean a thang if it ain''t got that twang.........

Greg Earnest - Posted - 11/20/2008:  13:46:04

There are two 9467 banjos on my site:

http://www.earnestbanjo.com/gibson_..._9467-12.htm

http://www.earnestbanjo.com/gibson_..._9467-14.htm

It would be great to have the Banger on there, too!

I think it's interesting to note that the last known lot of tube-and-plate 3s was made a good bit after the "Banger" lot. . . 9478.

ge


"We find it comical that some people take up the banjo, learn some of Earl''s tunes, and then want to go to ''the next level''. They want to go ''beyond Earl''. Pilgrim, *there is no beyond*."

--The Flint Hill Flash

The Prewar Gibson Banjo website
http://www.earnestbanjo.com

davepicks5 - Posted - 11/20/2008:  18:23:13

9467-14 is presently owned by a good friend, who describes the acquisition of the banjo on Greg's website. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to play this banjo every few weeks......it is everything a prewar flathead should be powerful when you need it, resonant, sweet, clean and clear....all the adjectives we hear used on the Hangout.

While at Frank Neat's on day, I had the opportnity to test drive "Banger" ......I know my mistakes never stayed with the banjo, anytime I hear J.D. play it, it sounds like JD and I still sound like *&^%, but what an experience. Similar tone to -14 but greater volume ......each are different but special without a doubt.

David