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Aaron Thomas - Posted - 09/20/2009: 19:40:45
I'm currently playing a original 1932 TB3 40 hole archtop Gibson conversion banjo .. just wondering if there are very many bluegrass pickers out there using old archtop banjos.. I sure like mine!
Bill Rogers - Posted - 09/20/2009: 19:46:10
Quite a few, really. I've got a converted '27 TB-3 no-hole with a top-tension-type resonator.
Bill
beegee - Posted - 09/20/2009: 19:47:04
I played my 40-hole AT Granada for 30+ years. I only retired it because I was given a custom-made banjo. I still break it out occasionally for old-time's sake.
__________________________
"It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing." -Seneca
iluvearl - Posted - 09/20/2009: 19:55:58
I've got a ball bearing archtop Granada conversion that has great tone qualities...not the loudest, but that's what volume controls on PA systems are for!
After all this time, you'd think I'd be better by now!--iluvearl
f5loar - Posted - 09/20/2009: 20:31:53
I show no favoritism towards my '54 250 archtop. It gets the same amount of time in rotation with the other dozen flats. If you are going to pick "Clinch Mt. Backstep" best do it on an archtop for that authenic sound. Those "Mountain Girls" don't love as much if you have a flathead. During my "Hard Times" I actually prefer an archtop.
Tom Isenhour
Aaron Thomas - Posted - 09/20/2009: 21:07:52
nice to know I'm not the only banjo picker that likes my archtop banjo!
beegee - Posted - 09/21/2009: 07:08:48
I watched Reno's show on RFD-TV this morning. It was an older show, but Rob McCoury was playing a OPF AT with FE neck. It sounded great but he had the mike right on the banjo head. I don;t know what he picks these days.
__________________________
"It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing." -Seneca
banjer5 - Posted - 09/21/2009: 07:18:46
YES, I play my 1932 TB3 conversion (H&F) on stage regularly and find it can always be heard regardless of how dead the mic is. I've been a AT fan since I started playing......too long ago.
Fast Freddy the engineer says: Throttle in RUN 8 and highball, then don't look back, something might be gainin' on ya. 73,s de K5BGZ
Richard Dress - Posted - 09/21/2009: 08:22:51
I love my Gibson parts with a 1927(?) no-hole ring. Haven't played a flat-head yet that I would trade for.
But as an aside, when I talk about my archtop, my neighbor tells me it is a RAISED HEAD banjo. An archtop is a type of guitar. It's hard to change my language, but I am trying. What do you all think?
The Old Timer - Posted - 09/21/2009: 08:31:43
Sure do, at least for Stanley-style music. 1929 TB 5 Deluxe conversion. There was a time before flat head banjos became so predominant in sales, that I believe "most" pickers were playing arch tops. Before 1970 when Gibson changed Mastertone design to all flat heads, and the Japanese clones started coming over.
The Old Timer.
"Mommy, does Jesus play the banjo?" Huck Paisley (Brad Paisley's little boy) quoted in PEOPLE, Sept. 21, 2009
Bruce4501 - Posted - 09/21/2009: 10:43:43
Richard,
Yes, yours has QUITE the voice to it!!! It really cuts through the jam well!!
Bruce
Sorry for getting off topic!!!
f5loar - Posted - 09/21/2009: 10:45:58
Back in the late 40's to mid 50's when I guess Earl was creating a ruckus to find any Gibson banjo, the ratio of prewar archtop Mastertones was a lot easier to find then the few original flatheads. There weren't too many 5 string neck builders back then so the archtop was your axe to get at the time. Then when Gibson reintroduced the new "Mastertone" in 1954 it was only as an archtop so those guys that wanted something shinny and new (kinda like buying the car of the year) all they could get was an archtop up until late 1958 and a few flatheads came out on special order and then by 1961 it was standard to see the flatheads with the archtops being the special order. If you go back and study the ratio of pros playing flats to arch I bet it more then 50% played the arch but not by choice by neccessity. It's all they could find that would cut through a D28 or F5.
Tom Isenhour
banjobilly32 - Posted - 09/21/2009: 11:39:28
I love my '27 converted TB4, it has so much character to it's tone. Nice slim Frank Neat neck. Tough to put down when you start pickin !
rexhunt - Posted - 09/21/2009: 14:58:49
I've got a '28 TB4 with a no-hole. Like banjobilly, mine has a great character. I must admit that it's sporting a conversion ring at the moment but it has that same character. I go back and forth and like both sounds. Wish I had another so I could have one of each without so much fuss.
Rex
Aaron Thomas - Posted - 09/21/2009: 21:27:04
What serial number is your 1932? mine is 9440-7
quote:
Originally posted by banjer5
YES, I play my 1932 TB3 conversion (H&F) on stage regularly and find it can always be heard regardless of how dead the mic is. I've been a AT fan since I started playing......too long ago.
Fast Freddy the engineer says: Throttle in RUN 8 and highball, then don't look back, something might be gainin' on ya. 73,s de K5BGZ
Aaron Thomas - Posted - 09/21/2009: 21:34:25
Very interesting.. I think the craze over flathead banjos has just been in the recent years.. I'm sure there used to be a lot more archtop pickers out there.. thing that gets me is the sound of this banjo I have and the pot assembly is all original.. resonator, flange, rim, 40 hole archtop ring, tension hoop,, tailpiece etc.. is all original... and the sound is amazing.. it will cut right through if you want it too or i can play up close to the neck and it has a beautiful mellow very poppy sound.. thing of it is .. is a lot of the older banjos that people say are flatheads are actually old archtop banjos that have had the rims cut down and a newer flathead tonerng like a huber tonering put in them.. i think as time goes on its going to be harder and harder to find a true original archtop gibson banjo.
te]Originally posted by f5loar
Back in the late 40's to mid 50's when I guess Earl was creating a ruckus to find any Gibson banjo, the ratio of prewar archtop Mastertones was a lot easier to find then the few original flatheads. There weren't too many 5 string neck builders back then so the archtop was your axe to get at the time. Then when Gibson reintroduced the new "Mastertone" in 1954 it was only as an archtop so those guys that wanted something shinny and new (kinda like buying the car of the year) all they could get was an archtop up until late 1958 and a few flatheads came out on special order and then by 1961 it was standard to see the flatheads with the archtops being the special order. If you go back and study the ratio of pros playing flats to arch I bet it more then 50% played the arch but not by choice by neccessity. It's all they could find that would cut through a D28 or F5.
Tom Isenhour
[/quote]
RMH - Posted - 09/21/2009: 21:57:29
I have a 29 TB3 with Sullivan Conversion neck. I don't believe the ring has ever been off the rim. It's my favorite. Very powerful, very versatile.
Ron
From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 09/22/2009: 17:41:33
To my ear there has never been a better sounding banjo than Ralph Stanley's Gibson archtop. It was a shame he quit recording with it when he did.
Ken
Bloomington, Indiana
picnparty - Posted - 09/22/2009: 18:12:01
I own a old 2pc/40 hole. I sure like my archtop too. Great Sound. I play mine regulary with the flatheads and the brass hoopster.
Bootes...
pfunk - Posted - 09/22/2009: 20:23:17
Mine's not old (or a Gibson), but I love my Stanleytone. Nothing like that archtop sound in my opinion.
Edited by - pfunk on 09/23/2009 15:08:43
JD-RB5 - Posted - 09/23/2009: 07:05:08
My archtop Granada is a thing of wonder. I agree with Tom, 'Clinch Mtn Backstep' always sounds better on an arch top, or is that just my ear being prejudiced.
Jack
banjer5 - Posted - 09/23/2009: 11:18:48
My 32 TB3 has s/n 9310-7 and is a 40 hole that'l peel the bark off a tree. FWIW I also have a 1954 TB250 conversion with 4 holes that is a sweetie pie too. 
Fast Freddy the engineer says: Throttle in RUN 8 and highball, then don't look back, something might be gainin' on ya. 73,s de K5BGZ
snuffdipper - Posted - 09/24/2009: 13:32:01
i have a 27 florentine 40 hole archtop that i love to play. its kinda my sunday go to meeting banjo. i also have a 35 opf 3 converted flathead that is a 40 hole archtop. its nice especially for recording to have different sounding banjos for different tunes........snuffdipper
GW in Ohio - Posted - 10/21/2009: 14:07:42
I recently acquired a Gold Tone Orange Blossom 250 archtop and I can't stop playing it.
Yes, it'll play loud if you want it to, but its real charm is when you play it not too far from the bridge, but softly......
lethegoodtimesroll - Posted - 10/21/2009: 16:17:42
quote:
Originally posted by JD-RB5
My archtop Granada is a thing of wonder. I agree with Tom, 'Clinch Mtn Backstep' always sounds better on an arch top, or is that just my ear being prejudiced.
Jack
Alan Munde recorded Clinch Mt Backstep with his old raised head Granada
Mike Johnson - Posted - 10/21/2009: 16:46:05
I love my TB-6 .
Mike Johnson
MitchellB - Posted - 10/22/2009: 08:56:06
I used to have a Gibson copy I converted to a raised head, because I loved that Stanley sound. Both my banjos are flatheads now, but I would love to be able to afford to own another raised head someday.
Mitchell
JoeZ - Posted - 10/23/2009: 05:20:43
A 1926 BB raised head with newer 5-string neck, and a1935 40-hole raised head with new 5-string neck. That's 2 of the current 6.
Squirrels - nature's little speedbumps. Joe Z
Edited by - JoeZ on 10/23/2009 05:21:03
Mike Casey - Posted - 10/23/2009: 06:29:57
Yes, I play my 2002 Gibson RB-5 AT as I do my other banjos. It gets a lot of attention because it is an beautiful RB-5 AT, is loud and has that distinctive archtop crack. My bandmates like it, but I have to turn down its place on the PA because it tends to dominate.
Mike Casey
and Pinata del Norte
lethegoodtimesroll - Posted - 10/23/2009: 17:50:00
quote:
Originally posted by Mike Casey
Yes, I play my 2002 Gibson RB-5 AT as I do my other banjos. It gets a lot of attention because it is an beautiful RB-5 AT, is loud and has that distinctive archtop crack. My bandmates like it, but I have to turn down its place on the PA because it tends to dominate.
Mike Casey
and Pinata del Norte
well with a strong right hand and a Scorpion bridge its hard not to dominate
gottasmilealot - Posted - 10/23/2009: 19:16:36
I have a 1957 Gibson 4 hole hole archtop tone ring here that I'm itching to put into something. Haven't gotten to it yet.
Keith
Edited by - gottasmilealot on 07/18/2010 16:54:35
Glenn Tate - Posted - 10/24/2009: 09:00:51
I have two.
1964 Gibson RB-800 AT with original AT ring.
1950's Gibson RB-250 with unplated Shipley AT ring.
"Politicians are like diapers, both should be changed regularly, for the same reason."
Glenn
Edited by - Glenn Tate on 10/24/2009 09:01:28
Fishrrman - Posted - 10/24/2009: 17:08:31
My 1928 Style 4 is my avatar.
- John
BEAGLE812 - Posted - 10/24/2009: 19:10:20
JOHN , I HAVE A 1958 RB 250 METAL RIM THAT I TOOK OFF ALONG TIME AGO. Ralph was my hero then , but since then my hearing went down hill after shooting off a gun , it made me go to a flat head rim. I have the metal rim down in the basement , do you of any body that might want it ?.
BEAGLE812
NONE
BTuno - Posted - 10/24/2009: 21:49:22
Here's an unusual one: '26 Granada that was probably converted at the factory in the 30s, to an archtop rim. A thin (~1/4") slice of another old rim was glued to the top of the BB rim. The added rim piece includes the top a Mastertone decal still on it! It has an orig 30's nickle 40 AT ring on it. Can't imagine why anyone would convert a BB to an AT, but guess that was the 'thing' in the 30s. The tone is unique: with a very tight head, it has a fine AT tone, that I expected, but a bit looser, and darned if it doesn't sound a lot like an old flathead. I was going to put a conversion ring on it, but I've enjoyed it so much as is, I'll prolly just leave it alone, besides I can't get the AT ring to budge! Never had an AT before, but sure love that bark!
BT
"Ya gotta get all them tunes in yer head"
elysurf - Posted - 10/26/2009: 17:42:52
I lurve my pre-war TB-3, #8834-65, no-hole archtop, with the hearts and flowers conversion neck. I re-fell in love with playing the banjo just from the sound this instrument made. Haven't changed one iota on this great beast since I bought it more than 25 years ago, never even tightening the head. Haven't heard a finer banjo! I consider myself truly blessed to have it. The original tenor neck proudly hangs in the hallway of my apartment.
Interestingly, after reading Jim Mills book and checking out everything available online, I feel content knowing that my holy grail in the form of a prewar high profile flathead doesn't exist. Yet if anyone has a top tension granada high profile flathead that they would like to give me, with flying eagle inlays and either regular or checkerboard binding, I would be extremely grateful.
Thank you in advance,
Ely
mvolcjak - Posted - 10/26/2009: 20:06:35
I've had my solid arch top, nickle plated Style 4 (1928) since the late '70s. It has been my main banjo since 1992, after I replaced the 261/4" conversion H&F neck with a 271/8 scale neck which matches the scale of my Baldwin. I have all the original pieces including the tenor neck.
Take it Easy ... MarK
banjerman - Posted - 10/27/2009: 06:58:55
Aaron:
Im playing a 1929 TB2 with a Hatfield conversion neck and I had him install a Sullivan 40 hole AT ring. Love the sound and tone of this banjo. Nothin wrong with a flathead if you cant have an archtop...
Wally
tubeandplate - Posted - 10/27/2009: 12:52:38
YUP!!!
(in answer to the first question in the first post of this thread)
I've had so many 20's and 30's raised heads I've lost count (and built several banjos around people's 1930's "garbage" [their words, not mine] rings after they had finished converting them to flatheads in finality).
I liked them all, but the best one by far that I owned, and better than the original flathead I used to have (a 9602-most of which are truly GREAT flatheads) was a TB-6; an absolutely incredible instrument. That TB-6 was THE MOST responsive banjo I ever played...to the player's touch AND on the set up bench. It was like it was alive.
Short behind that was a 2 piece no hole PB-4 that Noam Pikelny owned for a while shortly after I had it, agreeing with my apprisal of the agreeable quality of audible disturbances of ether it made that affected our ears in a way we all find favorable.
Too bad that raised heads get lumped into the "Stanley sound" comments/categorizations in just about every sentence "raised head" is used; MANY VERY contemporary styled players have in the past and continue to use raised heads....as their artistic preference, not as a financial compromise.
Raised heads are very expressive instruments, capable of a much wider tonal pallete than only the "Stanley sound" or just "peeling paint". BTW, I DO like the Stanley sound, too, but I've never set my raised heads up that way, nor do I play that way.
Raised heads (as any banjo does, really) just require you pay attention to them as you set them up....some general rules apply to them from flatheads, but as every banjo is an individual, raised heads I think just require you don't "just go through the motions" but pay attention to what they tell you they want when you set them up (and play them).
Yes, they WILL talk to you on the workbench if you shut-up and LISTEN (these are NOT the voices in my head, either-that subject is for another thread later).
Raised heads are, as well as diamond/hex flange, 2 piece flange, AND sub-Mastertone "low grade" banjos (all in their original Great Depression [for now anyway] configurations), incredible instruments when set up sensitively....unless of course you get a lemon, which DOES happen (they did make lemons before WW2-just not as many per capita as they make now).
It SEEMS to me that most folks want the hype of the "flathead tonering du 'jour", the OPF, and some fairy tale image of some other player's banjo in their lap before they apply their own critical judgement in set up and their own ears to the instrument before they commence irreversible alterations.
Too bad in my opinion...I'm a big proponent of not cutting old banjos.
Someday, if it keeps up, there won't be any left in original condition that aren't high dollar flatheads.
But, there will be a LOT of original raised head rings floating around.
Oh, and not to change the subject (again), but the TB-2 "pyramid" rings are really wonderful, too, yet even more misunderstood than raised heads by most.
banjohangout.org/topic/152453
Chris Cioffi
(615)382-1376
Edited by - tubeandplate on 10/27/2009 12:55:56
tubeandplate - Posted - 10/27/2009: 13:06:01
Thanks, Emiel!
I just thought after I posted that it might come across as opinionated in an offensive way, which is not how I meant any of it....I meant it...
...in praise of raised heads, and most of the old banjos as well.
banjohangout.org/topic/152453
Chris Cioffi
(615)382-1376
Edited by - tubeandplate on 10/27/2009 13:06:26
mvolcjak - Posted - 10/27/2009: 14:03:45
Chris,
Great post...
Arch tops do have a wide range of sound and tonal qualities.
When I got my no-hole TB4 back with the 271/8 scale neck, it sounded like a flat head, since it was set up "loose". Amazing bottom end, and really not enough treble to my taste. It really did surprise me that it could sound like that.
When I have set up tight it does go more towards the treble or the Stanley sound.
I currently have it set up "in the middle", so it has more treble that a flathead, and more bass response that one would think was possilbe in an arch top. I have no desire for a flat head Gibson from any year. Now my Baldwin, that is a different kind of flat head, and another banjo that is not a Gibson flathead, but is another great souinnding (and playing) instrument. Between these 2 banjos, I have no interest (and no need) in acquiring anyting else.
Take it Easy ... MarK
tubeandplate - Posted - 10/27/2009: 18:17:36
Hi Mark!!!!
You pretty much described a lot of what ranges raised heads can do. The PB-4 I had was like a piano...or really, a pipe organ. By moving your right hand between the bridge and fretboard, at different places it was like pulling the tone "stops" on a pipe organ...it shimmered and changed like an aural kaliedescope (sp?). It was a fascinating banjo.
Bela used one just like it on some cuts on..."Drive"....I think that was the record. Funny since you wouldn't necessarily realize it was a raised head until you read the credits.
Noam Pikelny flew down with his flathead a couple of weeks ago for me to work on it and he played one of my pyramid TB-2's. I wasn't sure what he was thinking about it until after he played a while and said he was really impressed/surprised/intriqued with it.
I really do understand your Baldwin opinions, and agree. Baldwins have their own "thing" going on, and if you like that happy "Nashville sound" no other banjo will do it quite like that other than possibly some 50's bowtie raised heads.
It's odd that Baldwins are "spat upon" by the bluegrass crowd in some ways...those banjos do certain things that are very special and usually unique to them. That being said, I know of one early Baldwin D that Curtis McPeake used to borrow when he was with the Nashville Brass, and I'm not kidding....if you played it blindfolded you would swear it was the meanest, baddest Jimmy Martin prewar Gibson flathead you ever played, but that was a unique one of a kind Baldwin with a very uncharacteristic sound for what it was.
If you like that sound or a longer scale, nothing beats a Baldwin or early Ode. Great and misunderstood banjos by most.
Now, did you say you have a 27 1/8" scale neck on your TB-4  ???? That's quite a long scale for a Gibson; it's more like a Baldwin scale, which is 27"...am I right on that?
Thanks for the interchange, Mark! I admire your taste in banjos and tone, and for being front and center with it.
banjohangout.org/topic/152453
Chris Cioffi
(615)382-1376
Edited by - tubeandplate on 10/27/2009 19:12:07
tubeandplate - Posted - 10/27/2009: 18:38:24
Oh, yeah......
"...and another time....
....at band camp.....
....last summer, you know..... like...... dude......"
Since we're talking raised heads (ie-"while you're down there").....
I just have to say, and you can tell by my avtar name/BHO handle name or whatever that thingy is called.....I'm a BIG raised head and tube and plate fan. Not NECESSARILY at the expense of OPF or flathead construction....it's just what I said-I LIKE raised heads. I DIDN"T say, "I dislike flatheads"....(lots of people can't reconcile this subtle difference).....
But, I've collected, bought, sold, traded, restored, worked on, set up, and played in almost every situation many, many raised head banjos in my life.
What always amazes me (keep in mind I've been in the Nashville area for over 20 years now) is that.....
....well, I'm no Paganini, but there have been times in my life where I was known as a....pretty good banjo player....by other folks' estimation, not mine.
.....but what amazes me is that, I'll be called into a session, a gig to fill in for someone, or a new band rehearsal or some similar situation....like a "high level jam" or some such, where maybe I wasn't on first name bases with folks I'd be working with, but....let's say that my reputation had preceeded me.
There would be some electricity in the air...like right after the girl says "Yes" but nothing's happened YET....you know, the players anticipating this great experience.
.....then....the air gets let out of the tire before a note is played...when....
    
(maybe Donald Rumsfeld played banjo....you know, "Shock and Awe".....ok not awe, but YKWIM)
...the banjo player (ah, that would be me....) pops the latches on the case, lifts the lid....and someone notices that 1" wide inner concentric ring on the surface of the head as I lovingly wrap my left hand around the neckshaft and "strap it on".
It's like someone farted in the room....you can just feel it without a word being spoken....but the thought bubbles need no explanation...they simply read...
".....how good can he be if he plays one of THOSE ??!!.....crap...it's the Ralph Stanley Massacre now....."
Wouldn't matter if I was the Segovia of the banjo at that point......REALLY hard to play your way out of preconceived notions.......and like my avtar name/handle....you can get typecast pretty easily by your axe. The best you can hope for at the end of the evening then is getting a..."you know, that thing don't sound too bad for a raised head (quickly followed by the sound of spitting on the ground)..."
I've experienced this more than once.
You get judged by your axe, and usually, unfairly, or without a fair trial.
Sorry, just felt inspired to type. Maybe this thread is dangerous for some of us raised head fans, or worse, dangerous for those who read what we type.
Well, it is the subject of the thread, isn't it?
Ah, I guess I retract my apology of 2 sentences ago.
"Hello, my name is Chris.....and....I LOVE raised heads"
banjohangout.org/topic/152453
Chris Cioffi
(615)382-1376
Edited by - tubeandplate on 10/27/2009 19:09:25
mvolcjak - Posted - 10/27/2009: 21:25:30
Chris,
It is nice to find another tube & plate, arch top advocate!
Yes it is 271/8 scale, like my Baldwin. I grew up using the longer scale, as I bought the Baldwin new back in 1969. When I got this Gibson banjo, (late 1970s) it had a 261/4 scale H&F neck on it. I actually traded a mid 1930s TB-75 for it as (like you) I prefer the tube & plate Gibsons.
I found I did not like the Gibson's itty-bitty neck and it pretty much sat under the bed & only used it as a second banjo. At some point in the late 1980s I read an article that 2PF Gibsons used the same 271/8 scale as Baldwin. (I think that this longer scale was also used by Vegas of that era.) That was my Eureka moment and at that point I decided to get a "correct" neck for my '28 Style 4.
The next problem I encountered was who could/would build a 271/8 scale Gibson neck. I checked around and I finally called Hub Nitchie, (BNL), who was at a loss as it appeared that everyone was making 261/4 scale necks. He was also under the impression that Gibson had used the longer scale in the 1920s... John Monteleone's name came up, (he used to do necks for Mandoline Brothers), and Hub pretty much concurred that he was probably about the only one at the time that might do this.
I finally connected with John in 1990 and he did not think a 271/8 scale banjo neck was a big deal and agreed to do it. I remember John showing me a metal neck template that had supposedly been made from an old (Gibson I thought) 271/8 scale banjo neck. He used this pattern to make my neck. I had asked John to do his own inlay design, but he said that since it was going on a Gibson, I should use a Gibson pattern. Hence my avatar - I went with Florentine Special, since I wanted something a little different. It took 2 years to make, but it was worth the wait.
Back to 2009 - It appears no such thing exists as a pre-war Gibson banjo using the "Vega" 271/8 scale. I posed the question here and the 2PF owners of original 5-strings that responded all use 261/4 scale!
Anyway, I think the "big" neck on my TB-4 has balanced the sound and improved to overal tone . It definitely was more on the treble side with the smaller neck.
Taking the Gibson out of the case is interesting around people I do not know. Questions like is that an RB 250? (I guess they are thinking that only "lower end" banjos have arch top rings.) When people hear it, minds change. I have had more that one offer to buy it at jam sessions. I have even been accused of having somehow electrified it. (I can pick hard and loud if need be.) Also, at that time I had it set up "loud". I now have it set up a little looser, but it will still project if I want it to.
What I find interesting at this time, whenever I take the Baldwin out, there is more interest in it than I can ever remember. Younger pickers have asked where can they get one and older pickers say "I remember those". While not a Gibson sound, it is a great sound and lets not forget Bobby Thompson played a D - and his is most recorded banjo ever (there was a thread here on this)...
Take it Easy ... MarK
revellfa - Posted - 10/28/2009: 04:10:42
Yes sir! My Dad has a 36 TB-3 Conversion. I have recently discovered that I like the archtop sound better than any other!
Actually, we don't live that far away, as I live in Abingdon, Md. Give me a call or contact me on the hangout!
Frankie
flatpickerhangout.com/my/revellfa
BanjoLink - Posted - 10/28/2009: 06:37:41
Chris:
Wonderful posts! I love to read my exact thoughts when they are expressed so much better than I can express them. I guess when you have a passion for something it just comes out better!
My favorite banjo is a gold plated 2-piece flange archtop that I converted to a 5-string a number of years ago. The funny thing about this banjo is that is was definitely a Recording King, but it had "Gibson" engraved in the pearl block in the headstock rather than "Recording King". I own a number of other arch tops, which I love, but this one just "has it". It's hard for me to describe sound, but this one just seems to have that " hollow" plunky sound.
I prefer this banjo to my flathead six (also considered by some to be "not quite good enough"), so it is not a case of "flathead envy". Also agree totall about the pyramid ring banjos, but that is a secret that was not supposed to be let out of the bag - now everyone will want them!
Great post!
tubeandplate - Posted - 10/28/2009: 09:26:04
I appreciate you guys...I've been on threads where NO one is courteous enough to even acknowledge my post, even when I have a legitimate question. I actually figured I had bared the bullseye over my heart when I posted that last one, but I guess I stumbled into a group of nice fellas....too bad we're all not gathered around a big fire somewhere in the mountains with a coffee pot on it and a bunch of chairs and raised head banjos just sittin', cussin', and discussin' this whole thing in person.......then we could just throw these keyboards in the fire and enjoy each other's company in person........maybe even pick a tune or three....
Mark-Nice post! Moneleone is a wonderful craftsman!
Actually, the "prewar" Gibson plectrum and 5 string scale is 26 3/16" not 1/4"; nor 3/8" like the new Gibsons, Brian England and FQMS boards.
Vega, and their parent company, Fairbanks, and other contemorary pre-1910 5 string makers used a MYRIAD of scale lengths AND pot sizes....there was no standard, but some "standard" (read frequently encountered nowadays on extant examples) combinations of scale/pot size marraiges were "common".
Mark, I've enjoyed corresponding with you! Love to play your banjos someday. I like how you've let your banjo teach you about itself, and you take it as good cousnel, and then get to reap the rewards!
Like Charles Sawtelle used to say..."you don't learn to play a great Old Master instrument....it TEACHES YOU how to play".
Hi Emiel-
LOVE one piece flange raised heads....just love them. They're a little expensive these days for my wallet, but....I love them. I guess my direct answer is use any superlative adjective you want, and I will likely agree with it regarding them.
BanjoLink-
Thanks for your kind words. Since I opened my shop, I don't have a lot of time to spend on the hangout (most of my time spent here is dropping in on threads that catch my fancy like this one, reconnecting with old lost friends that are here through the homepages, and working my shop thread which is my only "advertising"), but thank God, I took a typing class in college, which I hated, but let me tell you, it has and is serving me WELL. I can just about type as fast as I can think....thinking seems to be my main problem..... So, as you say, what I type is what I'm thinking at the time, but I usually do edit my posts immediately for spelling mistakes.
Well, "light weight" and "low profile" original flatheads can sound really good too....I've played a few of them that were absolutely wonderful. Curtis McPeake had a lightweight low profile 2 piece Granada about 15 years ago that I just really, really wanted, but I didn't have $8k at the time (nor do I now...the more we change the more we stay the same....). There's a TB-6 here in town like that too....really, really great banjo.
I used to have the 2 style 6 Recording Kings-both 2 piece raised heads....the chrome one and the gold one. Of course, they are gone now, but boy...they were cool. I'd love to see yours with the name in it like that...I love the odd Gibson mismatch stuff.....I just bet yours is a great instrument.
"Not quite good enough" is their loss, and our gain, eh???
I LOVE my pyramid TB-2's. I always wondered why Gibson stopped making them...they were really an experimental ring, and as far as I've found, only came in 4 or 5 lots of diamond/hex flange -2's. When I bought my last one from George Gruhn, he told me when I picked it up "you know those are rarer than high profile flatheads", to which I replied...."that's ONE reason why I just bought it over the phone unseen and just came over here to pick it up".
....ooooooooopsss....SSHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
This is probably the wrong thread to mention top tensions in, too, but.....
banjohangout.org/topic/152453
Chris Cioffi
(615)382-1376
Edited by - tubeandplate on 10/28/2009 09:49:49
arnie fleischer - Posted - 10/28/2009: 11:04:25
My archtop is a 1929 TB-4 conversion, 40-hole, tube & plate, 5-string neck by Frank Neat. I've had it for nearly 30 years, and it was my main banjo for a long time. While that's no longer so, it's still quite a player, with great tone and power.
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