I like the percussive sound of claw-hammer, drop thumb style of playing. I've tried a few of the basic bum dittys on my RB3, but it's hard to get my mind wrapped around it. I notice that people frail on the banjo up where the neck meets the pot, at around the 19, 20, 21 frets. I play up the neck breaks in Scruggs style close to the where the neck meets the pot, but not up on the neck itself. I also notice that on frailing banjos there is a spot there with no frets. I think I've heard it called a frailing scoop or trough something to that nature.
What I'm wondering is this. Is it hard to play claw-hammer style on my RB3. Or should I just keep with the Scruggs on that banjo and try to get a frailing banjo if I decide to pursue learning claw-hammer.
There is no reason not to play clawhammer on an RB-3, other than it may be a little too loud in olde tyme jams. I would suggest trying to frail around where you pick your up-the-neck Scruggs-style breaks (Y position). Not every olde-tymer plays over the neck, I for one most certainly do not. And only one of my banjos has a frailing scoop, the rest are fully fretted up to the end of the fingerboard.
I also have a frailing scoop which I don't use - I'm happy with the sound playing clawhammer over the head, and so there's nothing to stop you doing this with a great banjo like your Gibson.
I know an individual who has played clawhammer banjo on his 1932 Gibson RB3 since the late 1960's. I sounds mighty fine to me. You play with a lighter touch when you have that much banjo on hand.
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Grandpa Jones frailed a Vega with a resonator. So did Stringbean. I switch from 3-finger to clawhammer occasionally during some bluegrass tunes.
As a side note, I was watching Porter Waggoner on RFD-TV last week and Stringbean was doing one of his clawhammer routines. Then he dug in his shirt pocket and affixed a thumbpick and one fingerbpicka nd proceeded to play a 2-finger tune. Porter cut him off because they were out of time. Roger Miller was playing fiddle to String's banjo.
__________________________ "It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing." -Seneca
I started frailing on a resonator banjo. I eventually removed the resonator and got a higher bridge, but you may not want to do that if you're still Scruggs'ing it. Like the others say, learn to control your volume. Good luck and enjoy.
__________________________________________________________ Right way or wrong way, I just want to play the banjo SOME way.
Many frailers do not play over the neck. An RB-3, flathead or archtop, can be fine for frailing, but I think medium gauge strings are important. Three-finger pickers sometimes use light gauge, some use medium or heavy though. Using medium gauge strings on your RB-3 will make the banjo more versatile, sounding good for both finger-picking and frailing.
Edit: I don't mean to say that light gauge stings should never be used for frailing, but rather not on a banjo like this one.
Craig you're too much. I like reading your stuff, I never knew there was such a thing as an Eelpout or an Eelpout festival until I read it on your site. Looks like winter fun. I haven't seen snow since I moved to Florida in 1985 (except on TV). I know, I know it's a terrible thing. You feel sorry for me and all that.
I do use medium strings (Sonny Osborn GHS almost mediums). I can see where learning to do this would give me a lot of versatility. I love it when a BG band does a song in the claw-hammer style. It gives the show some variety.
I'm going to mess around with this and try to get that Bum Ditty down. It doesn't look that hard, but when you have been pounding Scruggs rolls into your mind and muscle memory it's hard to do something so drastically different. I saw some really good basic claw-hammer instruction on the video section.
I clawhammer mostly on a resonator and it works just fine. Easier if that's how you're beginning to learn rather than going from an openback to resonator. I like the tone and the feel of the resonator- I usually let it rest on my right thigh and drop my arm over the resonator. It will work. I play more melodic clawhammer and two-finger style and use light strings.
Mopick..I use Sonny Osborn med-lite strings as well. They do fine for clawhammer. Now if I only had one of Sonny's "Chiefs" to attach to my Sonny Osborn Signature strings...I'd be playin' clawhammer in style...
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Frailin' on a Gibson RB3?
Posted - 11/05/2009 : 04:36:36
