Viper - Posted - 11/11/2009:  14:03:29

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This is going to be one of those can-o-worms topics, isn't it?

This next payday, I wanted to buy a subscription to further my knowledge of banjo and Old Time music. But my delemma: which publication do I go for?

There's the Old Time Herald, which is specifically focused on my preferred music, but it is only a bi-monthly. The Banjo Newsletter is monthly, but it covers some banjo topics that I won't be as interested in. Both are around the same price.

So, what are your suggestions?

Cheers!

__________________________________________________________
Right way or wrong way, I just want to play the banjo SOME way.

banjo_brad - Posted - 11/11/2009:  14:31:17

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Depends on what you're looking for from the subscription.

Tabs and tutorials, banjo-centric, probably BNL

History, over-all information, maybe slightly heavier on fiddle (the basis of OT music), etc., OTH

Personally, I subscribe to both and would be hard-pressed to decide which to give up.

Brad
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www.PricklyPearMusic.net
http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/5/ My ezFolk page
http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/3371/ Tucson Old Time Music Circle page on ezFolk
http://www.totmc.org Tucson Old Time Music Circle Homepage

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Edited by - banjo_brad on 11/11/2009 14:32:39

BANJOJUDY - Posted - 11/11/2009:  15:13:21

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Both are excellent publications. What are you looking for, though?

The BNL has a lot of banjo only information - nice interviews, tabs, and also different styles of banjo music and tabs.

The OTH is a great publication. I continue to delve into the back issues that I found fairly useless when I first subscribed. Now I relish reading, re-reading, and digesting them.

If you have the money, by all means, go for both. You won't ever be sorry.

********************************************************************
Next up in ABQ is the WMA (Western Music Association) annual event. November 19,20,21. Free!!!!
Email me for more information: inquiry@siliconheights.com
*********************************************************************

banjoike - Posted - 11/11/2009:  15:55:07

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Both!!! You can't go wrong!!

omiimii - Posted - 11/11/2009:  17:58:13

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i subscribe to both and if you are only going to go with one, i would personally (no offense to anyone who disagrees) got with the oth. they are both great publications but i peronally feel that for the most part,
bnl seems to be geared more towards bluegrass, although it does have good and pertinent old-time columns
and articles. i just get way more excited when the oth shows up.

however, since neither is that expensive, if you can afford to, go with both!

raybob - Posted - 11/11/2009:  18:31:24

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I love'em both too. Back when I first subscribed to OTH it had been a quarterly for a long time, and I loved it when they went to bi-monthly. Waiting for a quarterly seemed like it took forever. Guess it depends on your perspective.

Ray

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history." --G. Santayana

R.D. Lunceford - Posted - 11/11/2009:  22:57:15

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BNL will get down more to the nuts and bolts of playing.
It discusses technique, includes tabs every month. In short it
will provide you with playing material.

The OTH will give you more of an overview of OT music in general,
but there aren't very many banjo tabs if that is important to you.

They both serve their purposes. If your focus is banjo, I'd probably
go with the BNL. It is not solely CH banjo, but has something for the clawhammerer each month. Dan Levenson coordinates an outstanding
feature called The Old-Time Way quarterly, and in the meantime there are individual columns by other CHers like Ken Perlman and Hugh Strawn.

At several times in the past, a few radicals from the BG camp tried to force the OT element out of the BNL, but the editor Donald Nitchie held firm and demonstrated his loyalty to the OT readership. He is to be commended for holding the line.

R.D. Lunceford- "Missourian in Exile"
Model 1865 Bowlin Fretless Banjo
****************************************************
"Drink from the Musselfork once, and you'll
always come back." -Dr. Bondurant Hughes, 1917

Bill Rogers - Posted - 11/12/2009:  00:19:37

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R.D., a former BNL columnist, has offered a most clear, concise and accurate answer to your question.

Bill

Viper - Posted - 11/12/2009:  06:22:38

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Wow, thank you, R.D. That's the kind of answer I was looking for. And thanks to all of you who said I should subscribe to both; I probably will do so eventually. However, I can only go with one for right now. Payday is tomorrow. I will think on it until then.

Cheers!

__________________________________________________________
Right way or wrong way, I just want to play the banjo SOME way.

LEUllman - Posted - 11/12/2009:  20:26:57

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I subscribe to both, but if I had to choose one? That's an easy call for me: Old-Time Herald for sure.

OTH is a beautiful publication filled with interesting articles and reviews. It's about the old-time community, past and present. There's fascinating stuff about players, places, ensembles, festivals . . . there's more to old-time music than just the banjo! I'm always delighted to discover the envelope in my mailbox, and I look forward to reading it cover to cover as soon as it arrives. Even the ads are fun to peruse.

Pretty much anything and everything in BNL can be found right here on the Hangout. Come to think of it, I consider the $30 I send to Eric each year to join the "Player's Union" and help support the Hangout to be the best subscription value of all.

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"I want another banjo. Sure, I own two banjos already, but the world is a sad place these days and I think extra precautions are needed." - John Kavanagh

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Edited by - LEUllman on 11/12/2009 20:54:13

MountainBanjo - Posted - 11/12/2009:  20:52:55

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I miss my subscription to OTH, but have never been tempted to subscribe to BN. I'm not going to pay money for something that is primarily non-OT.