dhergert - Posted - 05/29/2009:  09:46:10

Hi Tim,

Yes, I'm distributing to your area. I didn't receive either your PM or the email; if you can try the email again and send me your receiving address, I'll get some Yellowstone material out your way. Since you've read the thread and probably have seen Mark's installation instructions on his website already, it sounds like you know what is involved.

I've personally got a ballbearing (which looks like an archtop from the head point of view), a no-hole archtop and a flathead in Mastertone-style, plus I've got a Tubaphone, all vintage banjos that I've installed Yellowstones on. I wouldn't categorize one as having been more difficult to install than another, the process has been just about identical from banjo to banjo. I've also installed Yellowstone heads for a number of friends on their heavy tone ring banjos and have found the installation process to be essentially the same.

In general these heavy tone ring banjos all tend to sound pretty wonderful with Yellowstone heads -- they get the same dry, skin like tone and volume boost that non-tone ring banjos get, but a whole lot more of it. My main jamming banjo is the Ballbearing mentioned above and its sweet tone has always been pretty pleasing, but the Yellowstone head on it turned it also into a world class cannon, that dry tone and extra volume cuts through just about anything.

quote:

---

Originally posted by tanglefingers

this is arguably one of the most interesting threads on HO. i have been folowing for about 6 months now, and i suddenly come into ownership of a particularly good candidate for a yellowstone test. this will be my beater, a fair chance it will get wet or at least dewy at 4 am (if i dont spill beer on it first..) and posibly sat too close too the fire with. Have PMed you Don, i beleive you are doin the distro?

Im also curious.. how many are on archtops? i know you have one or 2 don. does the more gradual breakover from 2 angles make it easier to fit than a 90 degree bend on a flat top?

edit,>> emailed you @verizon.net my PM button isnt working tonite..??

---

mike gregory - Posted - 05/30/2009:  08:15:42

Looked at the link Switzforge posted.
If ANY of my opinions were humble, it would be my humble opinion that the hexagonal brass stock on that link, would be FAR superior to my idea of making striations.
Uniformity, and less than a dollar a foot.

That's what I like about the HangOut.
There are, potentially, thirty-seven THOUSAND brains available to think about whatever needs to be thunk about.
Engineers, surgeons, woodworkers, welders, and a hundred other trainings and specialties, each with a little something to toss into the mix.

It works in BOTH directions.
Some of us have used brake drums to make banjo laminating molds, and some of us have used banjo strings to repair our brakes.


Some of us have struggled for months or years with a problem, and then somebody says
"Well, what I was taught was, you do this HERE and that THERE, and the durn thing sort of automatically lines up perfectly every time!"

dhergert - Posted - 05/30/2009:  09:09:30

Mike, I agree about the idea power here on Hangout. It's amazing...

There are a number of considerations I can think of for flesh hoop material... Among other of the less significant reasons is ease of availablility, I sort of have a bunch of accoustical ceiling tile hanger wire that I'm still interested in using up . And it's relatively good material for flesh hoop, the only condition where it flat-out doesn't work is where a tension hoop is too large or misshapen to hold it properly. And that's why I've taken to "widening my flesh hoop" with a single duct tape wrap most of the time now, just to make sure those off-shaped tension hoops will work.

My impression of the Yellowstone material is that it memorizes folds and crimps very quickly such that if you can get a good tight crimp around a flesh hoop early on, it will probably be permanent. But it's also stiff material and getting that crimp, without spaces that can slip later on, is not easy. That's why a few of us have taken to using water as a mechanical lubricant in the area around the flesh hoop as we tighten up the first time, and it does seem to help.

I'm still intrigued by the idea of using hex weed-eater whip chord for a flesh hoop. I like the idea that it automatically will take a round shape around the rims, I like the idea of the hex shape for grabbing the Yellowstone material, and I like the idea of the softer-than-metal edges for avoiding cuts in the Yellowstone material. But I don't know if it is available thick enough to be used as a flesh hoop, and ultimately I don't know if it will really work yet, and that's the biggest detail.

Anyway, moving forward. Got a gig to get ready for this morning. Playing my Yellowstone-clad CEB-5 this morning, should be fun.



Best,

-- Don
http://www.youtube.com/user/dh5string
http://home.att.net/~dhergert
http://mysite.verizon.net/don_hergert


"If you must use your banjo as a snow shovel, do so:
only don''t wonder if it sounds dull afterwards."
-- S.S. Stewart catalog, 1896.

tanglefingers - Posted - 06/01/2009:  23:21:01

sorry Don.. i think that must be an old email i used it was returned undeliverable, PMed you cant wait to try some of this stuff



We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can''t bomb it onto PEACE.
Micheal Franti.

tanglefingers - Posted - 06/01/2009:  23:54:50

what sort of glue are ppl using to glue with?... contact adhesive?(the yellow stuff) or something else? please keep in mind that brand names will most likely not be applicable here in Au,... so, by what "type" of glue , I mean its chemical make up... thanks



We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can''t bomb it onto PEACE.
Micheal Franti.

dhergert - Posted - 06/02/2009:  03:30:52

Hi Tim,

Mark and I have used two different glues. One is known as Loc Tite Sumo here in the States. I believe it dries hard, Mark has experience with it. The other is a 3M product commonly known as gorilla snot here, an auto-industry "Super Weatherstrip Adhesive", probably the yellow contact glue you're referring to, although it is also available in black now. It dries relatively soft, over time it becomes more firm, but never fully hard. It's 3M part numbers are "51135 08001". I have used this one and it adheres to Yellowstone material agressively, although for the most part I prefer not using glue unless really necessary.

I did receive your shipping information and have replied with email. Let me know if you don't receive it, ok?

Best,

-- Don
http://www.youtube.com/user/dh5string
http://home.att.net/~dhergert
http://mysite.verizon.net/don_hergert


"If you must use your banjo as a snow shovel, do so:
only don''t wonder if it sounds dull afterwards."
-- S.S. Stewart catalog, 1896.

Edited by - dhergert on 06/02/2009 03:31:27

Duke of Pearl - Posted - 06/22/2009:  23:03:56

Hi, Don! Just ran across the head discussion and am interested in trying out the material on my 1930 Gibson Florentine, factory pre-war flat-top, 5-st. "Florentine Special", which should be a decent test subject. I've already ordered some 3/16" hex brass from McMaster Carr for the flesh hoop.

This is interesting, because during the Grass Valley festival last weekend I was having conversations with Pat Sauber and Paul Sato about the great tone of skin heads and so was doing online searches about the subject when a link to Banjo Hangout showed up. I still need to get in direct contact with a manufacturer of skin or vellum to see about a couple of experiments we cooked up (which I'd rather not discuss at this point). Got any leads on that? I was going to hit the Thomas Register at our local library to find who to contact, but maybe you or someone else already have that info.

Thanks!

His Pearlness


"I''d like to be able to play like that and then not."
Old time banjo maker and player Frank Profitt,
on the then-new "melodic" style.

mralston - Posted - 07/03/2009:  05:58:34

Just thought I'd share some communication with a UK banjo player who, although not a BHO member, shall remain nameless. This sentence has been edited for gender neutrality.

Hi Mark
I fitted some of your material today to an old Ø12 3/16" pot. At first it didn't go too well, this stuff has a temperament like my wife's (husband's), unyielding, long memory and Sharp when rubbed the wrong way.

Don - he'd like some more material, & I forwarded his info to you.



Mark Ralston

"Now, people…. when it comes to the scientifical parts of music I know nothing about it, but I can play. Listen…. A man comes to this world naked and bare; He goes through life with troubles and care; He departs this life and goes we don’t know where; But he’ll be all right there if he lives all right here" ......... Uncle Dave Macon

www.yellowstone-jewelry.com

fergusburger - Posted - 07/24/2009:  08:22:36

About a week ago I mounted a Yellowstone head on a bakelite reso-tone pot from a Harmony tenor (Yellowstone Reso-tone, my icon to the left). I was able to reuse the flesh hoop from the old skin head. The tension hoop was quite a close fit against the rim, so there was a lot of patient (and not-so-patient) threading followed by firm tugging involved. My thumbs and wrists were whipped for a couple of days. After messing around with different bridges and tailpiece pressure I'm getting to a tone that I'm looking for from this instrument, somewhere between plunky and crisp with ample harmonics. I quite like the head material. Thanks Mark for your discovery.

Tom

nittio - Posted - 07/24/2009:  14:03:09

Mark I am sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. 7 or 8 months ago I got some of this material fro you
to try it on an openback banjo I use for kicking around and a couple of middle eastern drums called Dumbeg's.
The trial on the open back went very well it is the best that banjo has sounded in quite sometime. When I did the two drums
which I have been playing some 30 yrs I could not believe how they came alive again. For the last 10 years or so I have had to use
wrong sized plastic heads because these are odd sized drums . I used to use Tippany skins (which I can no longer get). With this new material
this is the best this drum has sounded in 10 yrs . Thank you very much.

May all your picking be true!!

RK-R20
Williams Kenny Ingram #14
Frank (nittio) O.

Dr. Solve - Posted - 08/09/2009:  04:46:55

I just got back from a local festival & would like to dust off an old Gatcomb that's been in the back of my attic for decades, This weird banjo has about a 21 inch scale length, 5 strings and a 12 1/4 diameter pot, so the pot is almost as big as the neck! The original skin head is there but not usable. Where can I get some of this stuff, and directions for installing it?

Ron Peterson
Cattaraugus, NY

Ron

mralston - Posted - 08/09/2009:  06:10:23

Ron - private e-mail on its way.



Mark Ralston

"Now, people…. when it comes to the scientifical parts of music I know nothing about it, but I can play. Listen…. A man comes to this world naked and bare; He goes through life with troubles and care; He departs this life and goes we don’t know where; But he’ll be all right there if he lives all right here" ......... Uncle Dave Macon

www.yellowstone-jewelry.com

suzukiguitars - Posted - 08/27/2009:  15:05:08

Just started learning banjo and built from assorted plans a banjo with xray film . I think it sounds pretty good. Have been a fingerpicker for quite awhile so haven't taken any lessons yet (and find thinking with the thumb to be kind of difficult). Nothing sticks very well to xray film though.
Banjo and a couple of tunes here:
xraybanjo.blogspot.com

suzukiguitars.blogspot.com

mralston - Posted - 08/27/2009:  17:13:10

Tom - Welcome to the Banjo Hangout ! ! ! You'll fit right in...... the spiritual leader of the "found" materials movement here on Banjo Hangout is a chronic punster aspiring auto mechanic gentleman by the name of Mike Gregory..... you'll meet Mike, I'm sure ! !.

Your x-ray film-headed banjo sounds great. Looks like you have frets..... how did you handle that ? Found materials ?

Mark Ralston

"Now, people…. when it comes to the scientifical parts of music I know nothing about it, but I can play. Listen…. A man comes to this world naked and bare; He goes through life with troubles and care; He departs this life and goes we don’t know where; But he’ll be all right there if he lives all right here" ......... Uncle Dave Macon

www.yellowstone-jewelry.com

Edited by - mralston on 08/27/2009 17:14:24

suzukiguitars - Posted - 08/29/2009:  05:22:25

Hi Mark:

I used some old frets I had from a guitar refret. But when I originally put them in, I had the 15th or so off a little, so I removed the top few...that's why I have an unfinished section, which I hope I'll get around to finishing soon.

Tom

suzukiguitars.blogspot.com

mralston - Posted - 11/21/2009:  08:00:52

Thought I'd dust off this thread with an update .......

I recently installed my largest dia. Yellowstone head...... 16" banjo-guitar. Here's how it sounds....... picked with my thumb it could pass for a string bass. Haven't replaced all the frets yet, some of them still buzz.

http://www.banjohangout.org/myhango...usicid=15101