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The banjo reviews database is here to help educate people before they purchase an instrument. Of course, this is not meant to be a substitute for playing the instrument yourself!
7232 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: DC BANJOWORKS
Back in 2014 I was put in contact with bridge maker David Cunningham, owner of DC BANJOWORKS by luthier John Bowlin with happy results. The bridges David crafted for me were the best I have ever used (See this review: http://www.banjohangout.org/reviews/search.asp?m=s&v=7955&redir=true ).
Recently I was looking to optimize the sound of one of my banjos, a 24" scale open-back with a Dobson tone-ring in 12" diameter. I tried several brands of strings but opted for Nylguts, medium tension, with a Nylgut 4th. When it came to bridges though, I didn't need to shop around. I knew that David Cunningham was the maker to contact. I ordered a three-foot model from him which arrived quickly. In addition to the bridge I ordered, David sent along a two-foot bridge in Walnut with a Padauk cap for me to try. I was intrigued by this bridge and David's tasteful design, that while original, definitely had a traditional look that would not be out of place on a vintage instrument. Both bridges were exceptional, but I was especially impressed by David's two-footed model. I got back in touch with David and ended up receiving an Osage Orange capped Maple bridge along with an Ebony capped Maple one. Both 11/16" two-footers with Crowe spacing. Though he provides a couple different types of maple, it was a hardwood floor maple that David crafted the bridges from. All three were outstanding. I was having a truly difficult time deciding which I liked best. I took the banjo and bridges to visit John Bowlin. After switching the bridges back and forth, we both agreed that on my particular banjo, the Maple/Ebony was the best. As an element of the overall set-up, David's bridge provided a strength of tone, and most notably a clarity that was impressive to say the least. I have rarely heard or played a banjo that combines such clarity with the sort of plunkiness that many old-time players seek. Furthermore, precision is a hallmark of David's product. If you order a bridge of a specific height, weight, and string spacing, you will receive *exactly* that. This bridge is a major factor in the superlative tone and playability of what is now my favorite fretted banjo. I immediately ordered a second bridge with the same specs as a back-up. Keep in mind that every banjo is different, both in design, and set-up. David has the knowledge to give valuable advice as to woods and design that will have your banjo sounding its best. Be sure to avail yourself of his experience.
Not only does David continue to provide an outstanding product at a good value, his customer service and response times are exceptional. He is truly interested in providing a quality product that is right for your playing and your banjo. He is a true craftsman. It was his generosity in sending along a two-footed bridge for me to try that resulted in a surprising result that I scarcely could have predicted.
I wrote in my review of 2014 that DC BANJOWORKS could be assured of my future business, well here we are in 2016, and I'll go one better: David can be assured of my business *everytime* I am in the market for a bridge.
Contact David at:
www.dcbanjoworks.com
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: DC BANJOWORKS
I was recently in the market for a tall bridge for my c1886 George C. Dobson banjo. Due to the neck angle, a height of 7/8" is preferable. This put me in the custom bridge market as 3/4" is the maximum "off-the-shelf" height. My friend well-known luthier John Bowlin had recommended that I get in touch with David Cunningham at DC BANJOWORKS in St. Peters, Missouri.
A U.S. Army veteran, David holds a degree in Fine Art and Manufacturing Technology. An expert in CAD/CAM/CNC, he was a toolmaker for a firm that made tooling for a Boeing supplier. David took up the banjo in 2010.
In addition to custom bridges, DCB also performs set-up work, refretting, 5th-string spike installations, custom hardware, and also machined neck heel and flange notch cutting. In addition, bass bridges are also offered.
I got in contact with David and found him to be very friendly, knowledgeable, and customer service oriented. He offered much helpful input as to material and design considerations guiding me in the right direction based on my particular banjo and my playing style. DCB provides bridges in a variety of heights and string spacings. A wide variety of wood combinations are available. Just a few of the woods offered are Zebra Wood, Maple, Padauk, Cherry, Rosewood, and Katalox. After some thought, I decided on Cherry with a Rosewood top. David indicated that he had Cherry in both Brazilian and American varieties and generously offered to make a bridge from each one for me to try out.
In short order the bridges arrived and I was impressed and pleased with the materials and precision design and workmanship. I am a traditionalist, and David's three-foot design is classic, well-proportioned, and flawlessly executed. The wood was beautiful, especially the Rosewood tops. David marked each bridge with height, material, and weight (2.928 for the American Cherry, and 3.768 for the Brazilian). Both bridges were impressive as integral elements in the overall acoustic system. Clarity and perfect intonation were outstanding features of both bridges. For my particular banjo, I preferred the American Cherry. It seemed a bit more "live" to me, but just a little more so, and as noted, being an element of the overall sound producing system, the Brazilian may well have been the choice on a different banjo with a different set-up. I would have been very pleased with either, and my comments are merely based on a comparison between these two outstanding bridges.
To sum it up, I am pleased to have met David and recommend his products without reservation. In the event I find myself in the market for a bridge in the future, DCB can be assured of my business.
Outstanding product, good value and price, excellent customer service and response time.
Contact David Cunningham at:
(636) 579-3775
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Gift
I recently had the good fortune of exchanging CD's with our own
Tim Twiss. Namely his 2nd CD, "The Grape Vine Twist" released in 2008. Maybe I'm a little late to the party, but I've got to say to anyone who has yet to hear Tim's playing that this is a magnificent offering. Tim's technical skill combined with his taste and knowledge are the very definition of virtuosity.
There are nineteen tracks on the CD. Three of the selections are played on a Jay Moschella tackhead, and two on a gourd banjo by the same maker. The rest of the pieces are rendered on a Boucher repro (circa 1840's original) made by George Wunderlich.
Tim has drawn his material from a number of 19th century banjo publications dating from 1855 to 1886 which include works by Briggs, Rice, Buckley, and Converse. These sources include jigs, reels, walk-arounds, waltzes, polkas, etc. Tim notes that he has faithfully followed the music to be found in these books. Though drawing the music from written sources, Tim’s playing has great style and vivacity. Every piece is a virtuosic tour de force.
To those not familiar, the music is played in what we know as the Stroke-Style (which shares a similar basic technique with the Clawhammer style). Many folks label this genre “Minstrel Music”. Though there may be a bit of truth to that, Tim prefers the term “early banjo music”, and I can see why. I believe it was S.S. Stewart who railed against the minstrels whom he castigated as “ham-handed bangers” and their music as belonging to the “pugilistic banjo age”. Perhaps yet another half-truth, but the music Tim has selected is anything but rough around the edges. The pieces call for the high degree of technical prowess that Tim’s mastery of the instrument is able to provide. If you had ever thought that the low-tuned fretless tackhead or gourd banjo was a rudimentary instrument capable only of the simplest music, Tim will educate you in literally a few minutes flat. The harmonies, arpeggios, and up-the-neck work are astounding. Even so, the banjo’s earthiness shines through on many of the tracks, but reveals the imprint of both the masters who composed the pieces, and the musician who brings them to us. It is hard to imagine some of these magnificent pieces being played in a tobacco barn by someone with burned cork smeared on his face!!!
Some of my favorite tracks, e.g.; Anthony Street Reel, Grape Vine Reel, Darkey Fisher’s Hornpipe, and Old Virginny Jig, are what, from my clawhammer vantage point, I think of as dance music rather than performance pieces. We will all be familiar with Fisher’s Hornpipe and Old Molly Hare, and Tim’s variants do maintain that familiarity, yet with surprising touches and flourishes drawn directly from the settings found in the old banjo manuals.
Another pleasant surprise were a couple of hornpipes which though named differently were known by me from my days as an Irish fiddler. These pieces underline the influence of the working class Irish on the banjo in the industrial Northeast of the mid-19th century.
A wonderful treat is the addition of percussion on a good number of the tracks. Bones, tambourine, bodhran (an Irish frame drum), and the jawbone(!!!) are used to such great effect that it is hard to imagine the music without them. Tim has taken great pains to strive for historical accuracy in his sources, his playing, and his choice of instruments. Having no recorded sources from the period in question, we can never be sure exactly what this music sounded like, but based on Tim’s extensive skill and scholarship, what we are fortunate enough to hear on “Grape Vine Twist” has got to be it.
The music of the minstrel stage, by virtue of its taking the nation by storm had to be exciting. Tim’s music is rousing, intricate, and exciting all at once. These tunes as he plays them are not the boring renderings of an intellectual or a preservationist. Though the pursuit of this music may require its practitioners to have an intellectual bent, and a desire to preserve, Tim’s offering is that of a living breathing musician who is playing from the heart. He has taken the seeds of a largely forgotten music into the fresh air and sunlight where they have bloomed again.
I highly recommend Tim’s CD to both aspiring early banjoists who will be well instructed in the art, and to clawhammerers who will not fail to be both educated and entertained. This is a great and valuable recording...highly recommended.
For ordering info; www.milfordmusic.com
Overall Rating: 10
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