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mike gregory - Posted - 12/22/2014: 16:55:46
I was at St. Vinnie's thrift shop, scored this little electric for $9.98
It has a speaker, built-in amp, output jack for guitar amp, output jack for earphones.
Already undid the neck, reprofiled it to 5-string, removed one peg.
After supper, I'll see about removing the bridge, and putting on a flattened soft-drink bottle, like I did with Electric Red
Here's Red--->youtube.com/watch?v=T1xY72zDmUg
I'll post pics when it's done.
Ought to fit into my big suitcase, for flying down to Missouri in Feb.
Edited by - mike gregory on 12/23/2014 20:00:04
xnavyguy - Posted - 12/22/2014: 17:06:04
Nice work Mike!
mike gregory - Posted - 12/22/2014: 19:51:54
Didn't seem worth the effort to remove the frets, reprofile both sides of the neck, and refret, so I just ran the neck through ye olde band saw, then rounded the back with a rotary rasp in the Shopsmith drill chick, then a belt sander.
Then some steel wool and 2 coats of TRU-OIL (TM).
Body didn't need much work. Band saw through next to the end pin, cut the circle, epoxy and pretty tacks to hold the p.e.t.e plastic head over the hole.
Let the epoxy set up overnight, take some graffiti remover to clean off the red marker, heat the plastic with a hair dryer to shrink it tight, trim it, and re-attach the neck.
mike gregory - Posted - 12/22/2014: 20:17:04
The 5th string is going to run up in a groove just below the fingerboard.
The pictures did not come out well, so I ran a red line along the groove in one edited photo, make it easier to see
jason999 - Posted - 12/22/2014: 20:19:29
That's really nice!
mike gregory - Posted - 12/22/2014: 20:26:36
Mr. 999, I hope you can honestly reprint that comment after I've finished it and posted a sound file.
If it's not up and running by Tuesday night, I assure you I am not staying home from the three parties I've been invited to, on the afternoon of the 24th, the morning of the 25th, and the afternoon of the 25th.
(Apparently, knowing a few chords on the 5-string DOES make one popular)
By the way: only because I suspected that the brass used by First ACT would be a lot softer than the fretwire sold by First QUALITY, did I feed the wood AND the brass into the band saw!!
Edited by - mike gregory on 12/22/2014 20:29:35
Dan Drabek - Posted - 12/22/2014: 21:33:26
Bizarre-cool Mike. I had to do a double-take when I watched the video. Kind of eerie hearing banjo tunes coming out of a solid body electric.
DD
kirbonite - Posted - 12/23/2014: 04:10:38
you're a great innovator , uppcycler and a credit to your species. well done. 
hurstie34 - Posted - 12/23/2014: 04:19:48
Sounds awesome. sweet little project.
mike gregory - Posted - 12/23/2014: 06:00:51
Another step completed.
Wonder if I should spray-paint the underside white, to make it look more like a banjo.
Nahhh, I'll see how it SOUNDS, and no worry too much about LOOKS.
Edited by - mike gregory on 12/23/2014 06:03:23
CEParagon124 - Posted - 12/23/2014: 07:15:29
Mike, I don't know how to say this without it sounding derogatory and I certainly don't mean it to do so, but you, Sir, are a genius of simplicity in a most complex manner.
Like all the great inventors of old, when you look at something, anything apparently, you see something the majority of us are unable to see.
Kudos to a sow's ear / silk purse kind of guy.
Charlie Noyes
Edited by - CEParagon124 on 12/23/2014 07:17:09
mike gregory - Posted - 12/23/2014: 08:02:42
well, dang!
It's a learning experience.
Since the instrument was designed for a child, the fingerboard is narrower.
I should not have kept the original top nut, and narrowed the neck.
Should have left the neck the original width, made a 5-notch nut, and spiked the 5th string at the 5th fret.
Made a recording, but, since my computer got repaired, my Audacity program got reased, and the "Sound Recording" program on here does not seem to make MP3 files, which is what the HangOut demands.
I'll see if I can get Audacity AND and Audacity interpreter downloaded and try again.
Anyway, it's a shorter scale, so I'm tuning it to C instead of G.
And it sounds as banjo-ish as it can, with that tiny head.
But the speaker, when it's on, makes for feedback. Sounds decent with earphones, though.
mike gregory - Posted - 12/23/2014: 08:35:31
quote:
Originally posted by CEParagon124
Mike, I don't know how to say this without it sounding derogatory and I certainly don't mean it to do so, but you, Sir, are a genius of simplicity in a most complex manner.
Like all the great inventors of old, when you look at something, anything apparently, you see something the majority of us are unable to see.
Kudos to a sow's ear / silk purse kind of guy.
Charlie Noyes
Thank you, Mr. Noyes.
In years past, I was hailed as "The KING of cobbling crap together".
Since I have taken that as a compliment, nothing else can be perceived as derogatory, unless the person posting it makes dang sure I know it's SUPPOSED to be derogatory.
Meanwhile, I shall accept you comment as absolutely rogatory, even though that might not even be a real word.
But if ROGATORY ain't real, where DOES "derogatory" come from???
It is obvious to ANY student of the ancient wisdom of the philosopher Sir George of Carlin:
If we allow ourselves to be discombobulated and disgruntled by derogatory remarks, we owe it to ourselves to be combobulated and regruntled by rogatory remarks.
BY the WAY:
Since the average banjo has the 4th string as the lower left peg in the peghead, I attached a lump of epoxy to the 5th string tuning button.
That way, when wanting the 4th, and grabbing the lower left peg, the lumpity button will let the fingers will notify the brain that YOU ARE ABOUT TO SNAP THE 5th STRING, ya MORON!!
I may be crazy, but I ain't stupid!
mike gregory - Posted - 12/23/2014: 10:56:53
Oh, goody! It DOES fit in my largest suitcase.
Now all I have to do is hope the baggage tossers don't toss it TOO hard!
Buzzsaw - Posted - 12/23/2014: 11:08:30
Great Job Mike... You are The "Rube Goldberg" of the Banjo World.. Just Incredible.
mike gregory - Posted - 12/23/2014: 11:19:10
As a child, I had seen one or two of the Rube Goldberg cartoons in newspapers when visiting in other towns.
As a young adult, I found a hardcover book of his work, in the Public Library.
I can think of no compliment more rogatory than to be compared to such an imaginative genius.
For those of you who have never seen any, here's a link
search.aol.com/aol/image?s_it=...+Goldberg
mike gregory - Posted - 12/23/2014: 19:59:03
Turns out that when it's jacked into an amp, so the onboard speaker is NOT pulsing underneath the strings, the feedback simply is not there.
banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=
An improvised rendition of "Joy to the World" and Handel's "Hallelujiah Chorus".
(Yes, I know that Handel's "MESSIAH" was written for EASTER, but the choirs DO perform it at Christmas, and, why not? A good bar of music is a good bar of music, any time of year, and with a mustache like mine, the Handel bar is a favorite!)
MrManners - Posted - 12/23/2014: 21:14:32
cool mike i been kinda thinkin i need an all electric one,nice job
jason999 - Posted - 12/23/2014: 21:42:53
It sounds good! I have this strange attraction to small instruments for some reason. I currently have a Yamaha Guitalele (great value), A Gold Tone BG Mini(too expensive!), two nice Parlour guitars, and Fender Mustang (small but not tiny) with a cube amp. When I see a small instrument, I just want to buy it. I'm 6'2, BTW. Does anyone else share my strange interest?
Of course my little boy helps me to justify buying them. He's going to love the Junior Dum Set with the tiny throne that he is getting from Christmas.
A friend asked if I had bought earplugs for the drums. I said, I don't need earplugs. I have a small electric guitar!
We'll rock a little Old McDonald on that setup :-)
mike gregory - Posted - 12/24/2014: 03:02:50
Gimme an E! Gimme an I! Gimme an O!
What's that spell?
Old MacDonald!
MrManners - Posted - 12/24/2014: 13:13:35
you know,what this is showing me,is how the banjo membrane and bridge,influences how the string wiggles,since the pick,up is picking up the strings but still has a hill billy twang.
rudy - Posted - 12/24/2014: 15:57:43
quote:
Originally posted by jason999
It sounds good! I have this strange attraction to small instruments for some reason. I currently have a Yamaha Guitalele (great value), A Gold Tone BG Mini(too expensive!), two nice Parlour guitars, and Fender Mustang (small but not tiny) with a cube amp. When I see a small instrument, I just want to buy it. I'm 6'2, BTW.
Does anyone else share my strange interest?
Of course my little boy helps me to justify buying them. He's going to love the Junior Dum Set with the tiny throne that he is getting from Christmas.
A friend asked if I had bought earplugs for the drums. I said, I don't need earplugs. I have a small electric guitar!
We'll rock a little Old McDonald on that setup :-)
What's so strange about it?
Edited by - rudy on 12/24/2014 15:58:37
cbrianroll - Posted - 12/24/2014: 16:19:10
Awesome Rudy!!!
Dan Drabek - Posted - 12/24/2014: 17:13:52
I think my next banjo project will be something along this line. I don't need another "performance" instrument. Just something I can take on vacation or a camping trip. Something I can use to practice playing when I'm sitting around a motel room or airport, and not bother any one else. Barely audible would be good. Like an electric guitar with no amplification. Something I can stick in a container the size of a fly rod or pool cue case, but with a full-scale neck, just like my regular banjos. And really nicely made, with good wood, fit and finish. This will take a little thought.
DD
mike gregory - Posted - 12/24/2014: 18:39:58
Great thoughts there, Mr. Drabek.
I envision something like an electric guitar neck, but extended to be as long as a banjo.
A rectangular strip of P.E.T.E. plastic for the head, and maybe a pair of spring steel bands on the sides, which , when slid down and locked into place, spread in twin arcs, to form an 11 inch "body" shape.
Dan Drabek - Posted - 12/24/2014: 18:48:25
Mike, you were echoing my thoughts. I was thinking of a flat strip of fiberglass or carbon fiber that could be wrapped in a circle and each end plugged into the bottom if the neck. Take it apart and it would return to straight and could be packed along with the neck. Wouldn't even need a head for my purposes. Just something to support the bridge. I don't care about sound quality or volume. The quieter the better, as long as I can just hear it.
DD
rudy - Posted - 12/24/2014: 20:12:57
If you go with a Cane-Jo it will "assist" you in more ways than just being a nice take-along instrument. The "handle" attaches with 2 1/4"-20 furniture bolts for quick disassembly with an Allen wrench.
Edited by - rudy on 12/24/2014 20:16:32
Dan Drabek - Posted - 12/24/2014: 21:22:27
I like it! How does it sound?
DD
cbrianroll - Posted - 12/24/2014: 21:59:57
Wow that'd be small but awesome!! Would you need a full circle, or just arm rest and leg rest? My first "vision" was a,long neck and two 1/4 arcs that'd be pinned in at comfort points. Sound to lame?
cbrianroll - Posted - 12/24/2014: 22:02:22
Wierd, I didn't refresh in time to beet Rudy's post, the Cane jo is sweet!
mike gregory - Posted - 12/25/2014: 07:02:44
And the Canejo looks just so ELEGANT!
Plus, instead of a peg HEAD, it's got a peg TUMMY.
Wish I had thought that up.
rudy - Posted - 12/25/2014: 13:41:51
quote:
Originally posted by Imstillnotthatgood
Wierd, I didn't refresh in time to beet Rudy's post, the Cane jo is sweet!
The original Cane-Jo topic is HERE
Not trying to de-rail the White Knight topic; a mighty fine job of doing a conversion. Much admiration extended and my (much smaller than yours) hat 's off to you!
mike gregory - Posted - 12/26/2014: 07:03:11
I don't mind.
The Good Lorne knows, I've derailed a bunch, with comments that had little, if anything, to do with the actual topics.
I like that the Canjo "body" comes off to fit more easily into a suitcase of backpack.
Lorne knows
Edited by - mike gregory on 12/26/2014 07:04:19
mike gregory - Posted - 12/28/2014: 12:39:39
quote:
Originally posted by CEParagon124
Mike, I don't know how to say this without it sounding derogatory and I certainly don't mean it to do so, but you, Sir, are a genius of simplicity in a most complex manner.
Like all the great inventors of old, when you look at something, anything apparently, you see something the majority of us are unable to see.
Kudos to a sow's ear / silk purse kind of guy.
Charlie Noyes
I'm just a happy little cobbler, making scraps of stuff into what- if you wish SINCERELY enough, will sound like REAL banjos!
![<a href=]()
hangoutstorage.com/banjohangou...22014.jpg" src="http://www.hangoutstorage.com/banjohangout.org/storage/photos/medium/88/8805-133351228122014.jpg" />
BrentSims - Posted - 03/08/2015: 05:39:06
quote:
Originally posted by mike gregory
SOUND CHECK!
banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=
Not bad, for a head that's only 3 and 3/4 inches across!
Amazing... you get better sound with those magnificent contrapions you whip up than some of cheap banjos I've looked at spew out. Good thing you've managed to avoide the dark-side or an evil genius you'd be, for sure.
Brent
Edited by - BrentSims on 03/08/2015 05:43:28
mike gregory - Posted - 03/08/2015: 09:01:41
Thank you, Mr. Sims
The Dark Side people ARE out there.
Some have not gone COMPLETELY over...
BY the WAY
His TIP JAR sign is just great.
To read it clearly, click this link/
theislandambler.files.wordpres..._1325.jpg
If you click on the picture, it might get even bigger.
