wiseguy142 - Posted - 03/10/2010:  19:48:39

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Anyone know?

Bill Rogers - Posted - 03/10/2010:  19:54:44

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Early on (pre-Warlocks) he played a fancy Weymann. Later some kind of Mastertone. Don't know about others or when he moved from one to the other.

Lachlan - Posted - 03/10/2010:  19:56:31

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Not sure, but I'm pretty sure he played three finger style.

What?

shal0mnurh0me - Posted - 03/10/2010:  19:57:09

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During his days with Old and In the Way I believe he played a Mastertone as Bill Rogers said above.

plunka5 - Posted - 03/10/2010:  20:03:17

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I was just watching the dvd "Grateful Dawg" with Jerry Garcia, and David Grisman. Jerry started with the Weymann, and played an RB-250 with Old and in the Way. But I'm sure he had several banjos as many different pictures exist with him playing several different ones.

here's one with a top tension (looks likes a Gibson?)
img24.imageshack.us/img24/7513...anjo1.png

here's probably his most famous shot with a banjo
thebestofwebsite.com/Photos/Mu...y%201.jpg

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Edited by - plunka5 on 03/10/2010 20:16:30

frailin - Posted - 03/10/2010:  20:22:56

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Here's a pretty good write up of Jerry's Weymann banjo story (bought with wedding $$) and his early years.

thebestofwebsite.com/Bands/Jer...Years.htm

Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 03/10/2010:  21:28:30

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quote:

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Originally posted by frailin

Here's a pretty good write up of Jerry's Weymann banjo story (bought with wedding $$) and his early years.

thebestofwebsite.com/Bands/Jer...Years.htm

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That's a really interesting article...thanks for the link.

f#dead - Posted - 03/10/2010:  21:32:54

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quote:

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Originally posted by Lachlan

Not sure, but I'm pretty sure he played three finger style.

What?

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Yeah Yeah good

dmiller - Posted - 03/10/2010:  22:50:48

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youtube.com/watch?v=IX5e8gRnAhY

flange5st - Posted - 03/11/2010:  05:17:38

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quote:

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Originally posted by Marc Nerenberg

quote:

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Originally posted by frailin

Here's a pretty good write up of Jerry's Weymann banjo story (bought with wedding $$) and his early years.

thebestofwebsite.com/Bands/Jer...Years.htm

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That's a really interesting article...thanks for the link.

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I agree......good article....peace

Jon Eric - Posted - 03/11/2010:  07:39:16

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Funny that the APPLE don't fall far from the tree.
wires and wood STILL RULE!

Did you guys catch that cig in the headstock of the top tension?

RIP - Jerry G

5stringpicker2 - Posted - 03/11/2010:  10:24:13

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Old Jerry had it going on that's fer sure..



(I )===='---<::)

steve j. - Posted - 03/11/2010:  11:09:02

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quote:

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Originally posted by Lachlan

Not sure, but I'm pretty sure he played three finger style.

What?

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Hah, seen the t shirt?
never will be another Jerry. Jery & David together were the dynamic duo, Ive heard some people say Jerry couldnt sing,,, he sounds real fine to me.
R.I.P Jerry Garcia

The Old Timer - Posted - 03/11/2010:  15:18:57

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Jerry didn't play the exact "3 finger style" that Earl and many of us play.

He was missing the end of his middle finger on the right hand, consequently had his finger pick on his RING finger, and played his own unique 3 finger style. The photo of him with the top tension shows it, sort of.

BTuno - Posted - 03/11/2010:  16:46:10

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On the High Lonesome Sound album of O&ITW, the liner notes show him playing a Bowtie with d-tuners, maybe an archtop. I live in Marin Co. where he did, and after he died recall reading about the big fight between the remaining 'Dead' and his wife(s) over his guitars. I never saw anything about his banjos, and often wonder where they are now, who is playing them?
I miss Jerry!

250gibson - Posted - 03/12/2010:  09:05:48

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quote:

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Originally posted by BTuno

On the High Lonesome Sound album of O&ITW, the liner notes show him playing a Bowtie with d-tuners, maybe an archtop. I live in Marin Co. where he did, and after he died recall reading about the big fight between the remaining 'Dead' and his wife(s) over his guitars. I never saw anything about his banjos, and often wonder where they are now, who is playing them?
I miss Jerry!

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His RB-250 was a bowtie. Not sure if it was an archtop or not. Not sure where the banjos are now. My guess would be Jerry gave/willed them away. Maybe Dave Grisman???

As far as the fights about his guitars, Jerry willed them back to Doug Irwin, who was the manufacturer of the custom guitars Jerry was known for playing and most associated with. The band said that the guitars should not have gone to Irwin, because they were not technically Jerry's to give away to anyone, rather all of the Grateful Dead's equipment and instruments was band owned. I believe the band sued Irwin for return of the guitars. Ultimately, it was judged that Irwin got to keep the guitars. Subsequently the guitars were auctioned off to the tune of $XXX,XXX.00 (not sure of the exact amount, but in the hundered thousands, or maybe even the two hundered thousands).

Maybe the "band" still owns his banjos??

Ebanjo - Posted - 03/12/2010:  16:18:13

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I have read about the Weymann and seen the picture of the RB-250. I recall seeing a picture several years ago taken at the Golden State Bluegrass Festival in 1974. He was jamming with John McEuen and Steve Martin. As best as I remember Jerry was playing what looked to be an original RB-1. Don't know what year it would have been.
Eric Ellis

larrytoto - Posted - 03/14/2010:  18:06:10

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My primary banjo is a Weymann 5 string, open back. I bought it an an auction (live auction....where you raise your hand to bid!!!....not eBay!) for $30 as I recall. It has a thick 5 ply maple rim, and a maple neck, and original tuners. I have a skin head on it and I have been playing it with Aquilla composite strings for the past several years. The serial number puts year of manufacture as 1927. I love it. I play clawhammer on it.

Larry

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Edited by - larrytoto on 03/15/2010 02:38:09

Hotrodtruck - Posted - 03/15/2010:  08:56:51

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From: thebestofwebsite.com/Ban...jo_Years.htm
"The Weymanns have a uniquely focused and naturally amplified tonal characteristic created by a specially-engineered tone chamber that makes them robust and commanding in their extra-amplified projection."

Is this some kind of marketing material that he was repeating, or has it been investigated to determine what this means- in terms of specific construction detail? I have never heard a Weymann in person, that I know of, so have no idea what they sound like.

Mike

wiseguy142 - Posted - 03/23/2010:  00:25:01

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quote:

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Originally posted by dmiller

youtube.com/watch?v=IX5e8gRnAhY

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I completely forgot I posted this thread but you guys came through with lots of great info. I particularly liked this like.. I haven't heard that song in years and it sounded great, especially with that banjo in the background.

SandyR - Posted - 03/23/2010:  19:47:05

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Mike: It would take someone more knowledgeable than I am to explain it correctly. I did not get into technical details in that piece. As a result, techies said it wasn't technical enough and Jerry-fans said it was too technical. His Weymanns were archtops—does anyone know if they made flatheads?—whose focused, commanding, robust, extra-amplified characteristics seem audible in recordings as well as in person.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 03/23/2010:  21:03:30

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Far as I know all the Megaphonics were archtops. Any flatheads would have been lower on the totem pole of Weymanns. But I've loved their sound since I heard Pete Berg with Vern and Ray. [A Bay Area reminiscence that Sandy will remember.]

SandyR - Posted - 03/24/2010:  23:24:51

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In fact, Pete Berg's banjo was the one Jerry later bought, his second and fancier Weymann, through the Lundbergs.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 03/25/2010:  01:22:53

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The banjo Berg was playing when I saw him with V & R seemed to have a repro neck. As I remember (and it's a long time ago) it had white binding, and an ebony fingerboard with no inlays. Hmm. 1961 most likely; maybe '62.

JamesTanglewylde - Posted - 03/25/2010:  06:53:05

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True that the Dead legally sought possession of the guitars, as did Doug Irwin who built them. But Irwin was only awarded two out of five of Jerry's Irwin guitars after the courts settled. Of the five, (001, Wolf, Tiger, Rosebud, Mini Wolf) Irwin won Wolf and Tiger, the two most played during Garcia's career. Irwin sent the two guitars to auction, (he had recently suffered a severely debilitating accident) where Wolf fetched $789,500 and Tiger took in $957,500!!! The other three guitars are in the Rock and Roll hall of Fame on display.

Sorry to bring the thread back to the guitars but it's an amazing story and even more amazing instruments. What I would do to play any of those guitars someday!!! They are truly works of art.

-Luke

SandyR - Posted - 03/26/2010:  01:01:09

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Bill, I'm not sure if Pete had a repro. neck on that banjo or whether perhaps Mario Martello had replaced only the fretboard with Pete's preference of no inlays. Jon Lundberg might likely remember. If somebody was interested in researching this arcane question, I could supply a phone number for Lundberg.

mikey5string - Posted - 03/26/2010:  07:56:33

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i dont know if Bill Keith posts here anymore but he told me a first hand story about one of Jerrys banjos. I forgot all about it though. I was pretty new to banjo at the time.

fxstb - Posted - 03/26/2010:  09:39:09

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quote:

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Originally posted by wiseguy142

Anyone know?

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Ok, I can end the mystery about the TT seen in the post pic. Goes back to when I first started playing in 1977. I took lessons for a short time from a fella named Marshall Freedland. We both lived in Barre Vt at the time, well as it turned out Marshall was a comtemporary of Bill Keith and in fact the very banjo Marshall scored, he kinda bought it out from underneath Bill's nose..well as history goes Bill did indeed find another TT. This banjo was a late 30's TB-7 with a repro 5 string neck. Marshall was a fine player that was orginally from the NYC area when all the reivial of the fesivals were happing, Flat and Scruggs at Carnigie and such, and these times you could find these old Gibsons. I played the banjo many times...I took lesson from Marshall for a short time, and eventually moved away from Barre area. As it turns out unfortunately Marshall developed a hearing loss disiablility...and decieded to sell all of his insturment, he also has a prewar Martin D-28, obviously very valueable instruments...at first he offed the banjo to Bob Yellin of the Greenbrier Boys, as he is in the Burlington Vt area running a local music store..turns out Yellin didn't want it considering the weight and he said had some issues, not sure what these were but..Marshall then brought the banjo to Gruhn's in Nashville and the rest is history..Gerry Garcia bought it. Well as a side bar probabley the closest I could of come to aquiring a 30's flathead, I was in my early twentys and had bought a 77' Stelling Bellflower,new...when Marshall was going through all this I had moved a couple of towns over and had lost track of him..off on my own musicall adventures...I alway remembered the timber and tone of this old flathead..still haunts me to this day! Down the prewar Rabbit Hole....

JamesTanglewylde - Posted - 03/26/2010:  09:57:16

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George, great story! That pic of Garcia is one of my favorites and I can't believe that banjo came from VT. I never met Marshal Freedland, but I know many people who played with him. At one point, I got some records of the old Crafstbury banjo contest from the library at Johnson State College, and Marshall's playing really stood out. I wonder if he was playing that old top tension? I think the records were from 1970 through 1972.

Luke