Denton - Posted - 01/31/2013:  14:40:11

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Excelsior Moonshine with resonator removed for comparison



banjohangout.org/global/img/fi...s/mp3.gif

dmiller - Posted - 01/31/2013:  21:43:20

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quote:

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Originally posted by Tedd

Excited to be with the Nechville team again @ SPBGMA.  We're going to have a van load of banjos....some cool new ones since last year.  Stop by to pick and say howdy to Al, Jeremiah and me.

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Tedd - - you have yourself a good time down there, eh?  SPGMA is too far for me to go to (this year) even though I thought about it.  I hope to see all the "Nechville gang" at the MBOTMA festival in March, there in Minneapolis.  I'd like for Tom (if he's there) to look over the tailpiece that's on my Nuvo.  It tends to come loose from time to time, and I'm not sure how to fix that "problem". 

I don't know how all the screws work in it.  I hope to learn.  

 

 

Stiv_MacRae - Posted - 02/01/2013:  08:29:50

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Something's wrong with that tailpiece. No way you'd route a 3rd string like that.

dmiller - Posted - 02/01/2013:  09:24:37

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That's the original tailpiece.    I've seen others like this one

that were "punched" on other banjos, but this one isn't.

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Edited by - dmiller on 02/01/2013 09:28:33

Denton - Posted - 02/01/2013:  23:30:33

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I hated those last posts of Blackberry blossom i did so I deleted them. but you could have heard the difference of sounds I was trying to example.
Maybe later...

Baltimonkey - Posted - 02/02/2013:  17:46:11

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So... I am just getting over having food poisoning... without going into the gory details, let's just say my entire torso is sore.  I am just feeling up to playing banjo tonight.  I tried to play one of my "conventional" metal ring banjos, but by back and stomach muscles are still too sore for the weight.  

It's a good thing I have a Nechville TimberTonic Zeus - ready to go.

My wife is at work... But, I will be sure to remind her what a smart purchase it was to get another Nechville!

Feel free to use my story, or any variation as an excuse for your wives.  This story is 100% true for me, and I know the banjo community feels my  pain.  So that means its true for you, too. 

  

vlawson - Posted - 02/04/2013:  15:57:56

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I just traded for a nechville zeus with a 40 hole ring in it. I might not be able to play bluegrass the way it needs to be but this Nechville sure sounds bluegrassy to me.

Salty Dog

dmiller - Posted - 02/04/2013:  17:26:55

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Hey there vlawson - -  

What do you mean "I might not be able to play bluegrass the way it needs to be"?

That version of Salty Dog sounded mighty fine to me!  Nice!  Really nice!  

jswkingsfield - Posted - 02/07/2013:  10:32:06

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In case anyone is looking for one of these, there is a used Nechville Classic DLX with the cyclotronic rim and radiused neck, up for sale at what to me is a very reasonable price ($2250) in San Diego:

sdoldtimemusic.com/banjos.html

Disclaimer: I have no actual knowledge of this instrument.  I have no interest in this instrument -- mine is safely with me and ain't going anywhere else.

pick1936 - Posted - 02/09/2013:  12:31:12

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Man  $ 2250   is  a  nice  price  for  a  Nechville  Like  That.   My old  Timbr--Tronic  is  still   sounding  great.

 

 

 

Nechville.  In  Higginsville,

Lee  kelso

DuncanK - Posted - 02/09/2013:  13:28:53

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Sure is! Wish I saw that before I ordered the same model last week from Banjo.com. Ah well, at least I'm getting a new one with the lifetime warranty. Looks like Nechville customer support is outstanding. Mine should arrive on Monday. This is a very long weekend...

Denton - Posted - 02/10/2013:  08:39:47

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I forgot to mention that before I recorded my Excelsior sound examples that I changed out the .022 GHS wound 4 th string for a .024 phosphor bronze wound string. Then I tightened the head about 5 teeth worth and cranked down the tailpiece some. I was looking for more Pop, Growl and Zing as Lee would say. I am happy with the result. When I do hammer on's on the 4th string hard the sound is powerful. When I pick or frail hard the sound does not get brash or flat on any string. The only problem is the operators timing and abilities. Lol
I made up that middle part of Steamboat trying to show what it sounds like picking softly going for a mellow effect. I still need to get a resonator on and off comparison doing the same song but will have to wait till I get home in March. If anyone wants one.

Beardog - Posted - 02/11/2013:  16:45:11

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My XXV with no hole brass tone ring should be on its way to me by tomorrow evening. Can't wait to get it in my hands!

vlawson - Posted - 02/11/2013:  17:13:04

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quote:

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Originally posted by dmiller

Hey there vlawson - -  

What do you mean "I might not be able to play bluegrass the way it needs to be"?

That version of Salty Dog sounded mighty fine to me!  Nice!  Really nice!  

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Thanks for your kind words.

pick1936 - Posted - 02/11/2013:  19:57:06

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Man  You  guys  are  really  pickin  some  good  stuff.   Makes  Me  want  to  practice  more.  THANKS.

 

 

Nechville.  In  Higginsville.

Lee  Kelso

vlawson - Posted - 02/12/2013:  13:16:06

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quote:

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Originally posted by Beardog

My XXV with no hole brass tone ring should be on its way to me by tomorrow evening. Can't wait to get it in my hands!

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I can't wait to hear that no hole tone ring. Please.Try to do a video so we can see it in action.

Beardog - Posted - 02/12/2013:  22:07:50

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quote:

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Originally posted by vlawson

quote:

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Originally posted by Beardog

My XXV with no hole brass tone ring should be on its way to me by tomorrow evening. Can't wait to get it in my hands!

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I can't wait to hear that no hole tone ring. Please.Try to do a video so we can see it in action.

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I'll try to get one done, Virgil. Tom sent me a note letting me know that my Phantom shipped out this afternoon!

DesiFern - Posted - 02/14/2013:  14:56:19

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I heard someone playing a Nechville vintage, and it instantly became my dream instrument. There is something so special about the way it sounds. When my skill level warrants that kind of purchasing power I'll definitely turn to Nechville.

Beardog - Posted - 02/15/2013:  12:29:54

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My XXV Phantom with a new Nechville no hole tone ring arrived today!

I had Tom put light strings and a standard, frosted white head on it.

The banjo has been together for 3 days, and was shipped as soon as It was put together and set up. I took some pictures and did a quick sound file of the banjo, straight out of the box. Awesome banjo! Thanks, Tom and all the Nechville guys that I hung out with at SPBGMA! Please excuse the quality of the photos and the picking/recording!

banjohangout.org%2Fmyha...ID%3D29667">banjohangout.org%2Fmyha...ID%3D29667" target="_blank">hangoutstorage.com/jukebox.asp...D%3D29667

vlawson - Posted - 02/15/2013:  12:54:47

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Very nice. I bet you love it.

Denton - Posted - 02/15/2013:  14:27:44

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Whooo Hoooo!!

Guy - Posted - 02/16/2013:  01:37:08

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What a beauty!

Beardog - Posted - 02/16/2013:  07:45:25

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I played the snot out of the XXV last night, for about 4 hours.The brand new head went a little loose about 2 hours into the gig, so I took the resonator off and tightened the head between songs. Everyone was flabbergasted at how good it sounded thirty seconds later, after just one little twist of the wrenches.

jbanjoist - Posted - 02/16/2013:  08:59:52

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Lookin good!  Welcome to the Nechvillian club.

Beardog - Posted - 02/16/2013:  11:06:34

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Day number 2 of my XXV Phantom, no hole tone ring. Standard white head, tightened to G#. The banjo has about 5 hours of playing time on it since it left Tom's shop.

Standard disclaimer. Not responsible for damage to your ears or sensibilities if you freely choose to listen!

banjohangout.org%2Fmyha...ID%3D29676">banjohangout.org%2Fmyha...ID%3D29676" target="_blank">hangoutstorage.com/jukebox.asp...D%3D29676

pick1936 - Posted - 02/17/2013:  11:41:43

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Great  lookin  banjo. The  quilted maple on  the  resonator  sides  just  about  knocks  Your  socks  off  just  looking  at  it.  WOW, and  WOW.

 

 

Nechville.  In Higginsville,

Lee  Kelso

DuncanK - Posted - 02/17/2013:  12:11:44

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Okay, now that I've had my maple Classic Deluxe a week, I can answer the question: "What do you think about Nechville?"



Beautiful tone, very pure sound, even my wife commented on that. The neck is like butter! I can't believe how easy it is to play. I still have my flat neck Recording King and I still like it, but I'm not sure I can go back to a flat neck with narrow frets. This has the 3/4" bridge (I believe) which is higher than my other banjo and I find it much more playable than the shorter one. It might be due to my large hands and lack of technique, but I tended to strike the head a lot on the shorter bridge but I don't do it at all on this one.



I have messed around with the head tension a bit, and I have it a little looser than it was set up by Banjo.com, which was about 88 on the drum dial. I tried tightening it to 90, but it lost a good deal of volume and lower end tone, so I dialed it back to where it is. I'm not sure I have all the volume I can get out of it, but I don't care that much at this point since I love the tone and playability right now. Mine has the metal tone ring and cyclotronic metal ball system. I'd like to try the wood tone ring and maybe some other bridges at some point. I tried both my banjos, the RK-R25 with wood rim and no tone ring, and this one back-to-back, and the Nechville is noticeably louder, but not by a whole lot.

Also, I use a banjo mute for practice most of the time, I got a radiused Mike's Mute because I use a flat one on my RK and like the way it sounds. The Mike's Mute on the Nechville sounds horrible. The string volumes are very inconsistent, and it's very tinny sounding, like the pot is a coffee can. I switched back to the Gold Tone Ultimate mute for the Nechville, had to widen the gap a bit to fit on the compensated bridge, but it sounds much better. It's louder than with Mike's Mute but the tone sounds like a fine guitar instead of a coffee can, and my family doesn't seem to mind a less-muted sound.

One point I would like to make about setup tips on the Nechville site is that I'd like to see some guidance as to specific drum tension settings for those of us with drum dials. I know it's easy to change tension and experiment, but I'd just be curious about what to set it at to get various tones out of the banjo.



Here's a picture of me last night playing for a family gathering. They all thought it sounded great, even though I flubbed a bunch of notes. Well, back to practicing :)

 

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Edited by - DuncanK on 02/17/2013 12:23:27

Playing the Classic DLX

banjo bill-e - Posted - 02/17/2013:  13:29:56

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I played an Excelsior at SPBGMA (thanks AL) and just LOVED the neck, the radius fretboard, and the wider spacing. I'm still working on how some models look, and it was way too noisy to really discover how they sound, but on playability, they've got me sold. 

Denton - Posted - 02/18/2013:  03:39:22

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Bill be carefull! Once I started playing on mine I had to make myself take breaks. I always found myself gravitating back to Moonshine, (Moonglow). That banjo sits comfortably in my lap. That rounded body makes it unnoticeable, and along with that great neck and the awesome sounds that can be derived from it. Those are things that help to make the hours slip on by. It is a great all around banjo. No more cricks in my neck or resonator impressions on my lap, when I have it attached, either is another big plus.

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Edited by - Denton on 02/18/2013 03:44:47

vlawson - Posted - 02/18/2013:  05:31:32

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The neck on my nechville is perfect.I took the compensated bridge off and put one of my non-compensated L bridges on and the intonation is perfect all over the neck. The bridge that was on it weighed 2.5g I like a lighter bridge so I put on it Was 2.3g. It worked perfect with the head tuned at A. I love this banjo.

rfrizzle2 - Posted - 02/18/2013:  09:02:52

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Hi Everyone, A special Thank you to Al Price and Tom Nechville for such a Awesome banjo I bought from them. Some of you probably have heard I was having trouble with my Goldtone OB250+ because it was way to heavy for me. I sold it several weeks ago to Sherry Belcher, who is very satisfied with it. Tom and Al introduced me to Greg Kautz from Manasha WI who I meet at the Swampngrass Bluegrass festival on the weekend of Feb 7th 8th and 9th. Greg said he would help me with learning how to do the neck and head adjustments. We meet on that Saturday Feb 9th. When he looked at my Athena Banjo and said just leave it alone because it had great snap and pop and sounded very Bluegrassy. We were going to tighten the head or maybe change it, but decided to just leave it alone. Even Dale Reichert banjo player from Art Stevenson & Highwater played it and he said it had a very great tone. Once Again, Thank you to Greg, Al Price and Tom Nechville from Nechville Musical Products for great customer service and a Beautiful Light weight Banjo, only 6 lbs 2 oz.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Again

Rich Freeze

alprice - Posted - 02/26/2013:  11:09:50

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I hope to see a few of you good people this weekend at Wintergrass!

jbanjoist - Posted - 03/02/2013:  08:34:43

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Played my maple custom last night with the regular Friday night jam and she was sure sounding and playing great.

There is nothing like a Nechville. Great instruments!

ragsisme - Posted - 03/02/2013:  10:19:09

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 Folks, I am not an expert on banjos.  I've owned an Iida for over 30 years.  Played a lot of folksy stuff in the late 80s then laid it down and just picked it up occasionally to stay in a comfort zone maintaining my rolls, etc..  So haven't played a lot of bluegrass banjo. However, got the banjo bug again and wanted a nicer instrument.  I am very happy with this new Nechville.  It sounds great and, if you want to adjust the sound a little, it is not a big deal.    I am still playing with that but sometimes you just have to stop and play for a while!   Anyhow, I think it is a great banjo and It will do well in a bluegrass setting for sure.  Tom is a great person to deal with and he got me my instrument in a week.  One thing I didn't notice when ordering the Phantom is that the black suede head was an option though all the pics show it.   It states that it is an option on the Nechville site but I was a bit glued to the pics and missed the italics.  Anyway to tell you how great Nechville is, I emailed the company explaining my mistake in understanding and got an email back saying they would send me the black sued head as a compliment.  I am looking for that to arrive soon as the dark head is what drew me to the Phantom in the first place.  However, there are several Youtube videos available showing these products and well worth the listen.   But if you order a Phantom, be sure u are aware of the black suede head is an option otherwise you will probably get the traditional white head.  Again, sounds great, you can tweak it to your liking very easily, its solid in construction and materials. 

Sorry, don't have a video cam or would upload a bit of playing.  I will probably tinker a bit more as I listen to the sound and enjoy the ease of doing so with the Nechville.  Thanks to Tom and his staff!

back to playing as the weekends is my time for doing so, have a great and musical day!   

Rags

Denton - Posted - 03/02/2013:  10:34:27

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Just 4 more days till I get off these rivers and run my hands over my baby. Oh and play the Moonshine too. What were you thinking?

dmiller - Posted - 03/02/2013:  15:07:58

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The MBOTMA Winter Bluegrass Weekend is going on as I type.  I almost went down there (150 miles away from here to Minneapolis), intending to see if Tom Nechville was there and have him "tweak" my Nuvo.  Yesterday at work I knew we were going to have some "down time"  while the various clients of the group home did this, that, or the other.  So I took the Nechville Nuvo in to work with me to work on it knowing that the clients there at the home would like to see the thing, and would enjoy watching "something different" than the usual routine they go through daily.

I put the banjo on the dining room table there on some towels to protect it (and the table), and in a matter of minutes the neck was separated from the body/ the resonator was off/ the tone ring was in a different spot, strings still on the peg head and coiled up neatly/ and the head off for cleaning.  The boss came in and saw this "mess" on the dining room table, and said "HEY!  Can you get that stuff outta here before dinner time?"  I smiled, and said "No problem!"  

I did my thing to it and (after counting the balls in the ring I realized I only had 72 of them there instead of 80), it was all back together/ functional/ tuned/ and ready to play.  I'm not sure what exactly I did to make it "sound different", but it sounded much better than before.  So today I decided not to spend the money for a tank of gas/ and $$$ admittance/ and the 4 hour driving time (there and back) to the MBOTMA gathering down in Minneapolis to get it "tweaked".  

One of the nice things about Nechville banjos is - - You get all the tools you need when you get the banjo and it's easy enough to do your own work on it should you decide it "needs it".  And - - If you have doubts about what to do, there's a plethora of videos on you tube about how the Nechville works, and how to do adjustments/ etc.

pick1936 - Posted - 03/02/2013:  19:25:30

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 Hey  Dmiller,  I  hope  You  find  Your  l  hope  You  find  Your  8  lost  balls. BUT  sounds  like  You  came  out  with  a  good  sound   anyway.   My wife  found  My  lost  ball  in the  closet  I  was  doing  mine on  the  bed, and  They  rolled everywhere.

 

 

Nechville.  In  Higginsville.

Lee  Kelso

Guy - Posted - 03/03/2013:  03:14:28

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Tom told me that he had tried experiment to see what the least number of 'Tone Spheres'  were necessary for the banjo to function and he said he'd got it down to eight! So you've got a way to go before you need to start worrying ;-)

I can't remember what he said about the effect it had on the tone :-)

Guy

Beardog - Posted - 03/03/2013:  18:49:47

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Lee, I don't think that I have any balls, but I haven't taken my Phantom apart to see.  My XXV Phantom (maple neck and resonator) has the standard Helimount system, with the new Nechville no-hole ring.

I bought it directly from Tom Nechville about three weeks ago. It is rapidly becoming my "go to banjo"

Here it is, recorded just a couple minutes ago:

banjohangout.org%2Fmyha...ID%3D29885">banjohangout.org%2Fmyha...ID%3D29885" target="_blank">hangoutstorage.com/jukebox.asp...D%3D29885

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Edited by - Beardog on 03/03/2013 18:50:21

dmiller - Posted - 03/03/2013:  21:10:04

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Nice version of Salt Creek there, Beardog.  

If you've got the standard Heli-mount system, you'll have the "tone spheres" in there too.

Guy - - thanks for the info on the "least common denominator"! 

I think I'll hang on to the amount that's in there now.  8 seems kind of low!

Denton - Posted - 03/03/2013:  21:40:39

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I would guess that a timbre tronic tone ring with a titanium ring might might be at peril for indents from the balls with too few to spread the load from the tightened head. Likewise the rim might suffer without the Ti. ring atop it. Do brass tone rings use a Ti ring? Yes or no what are the tone differences if any?

Denton - Posted - 03/03/2013:  22:05:01

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Beardog, very nice Salt Creek, I enjoyed it. That XXV sure sounds Great!

alprice - Posted - 03/04/2013:  06:12:29

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quote:

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Originally posted by Beardog

Lee, I don't think that I have any balls, but I haven't taken my Phantom apart to see.  My XXV Phantom (maple neck and resonator) has the standard Helimount system, with the new Nechville no-hole ring.

I bought it directly from Tom Nechville about three weeks ago. It is rapidly becoming my "go to banjo"

Here it is, recorded just a couple minutes ago:

banjohangout.org%2Fmyha...ID%3D29885">banjohangout.org%2Fmyha...ID%3D29885" target="_blank">hangoutstorage.com/jukebox.asp...D%3D29885

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Sam, 

It does.

alprice - Posted - 03/04/2013:  06:14:01

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quote:

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Originally posted by Denton



I would guess that a timbre tronic tone ring with a titanium ring might might be at peril for indents from the balls with too few to spread the load from the tightened head. Likewise the rim might suffer without the Ti. ring atop it. Do brass tone rings use a Ti ring? Yes or no what are the tone differences if any?

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Pretty much everything we make, other than the Atlas (and the electrics) have ball bearings.  You can't see them with the metal rings, as they are covered by the skirt.  

Beardog - Posted - 03/04/2013:  06:31:34

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Awesome. I guess on further thought, that ball bearings are an integral part of the Heli-mount system.

So if I ever take my banjo apart (can't imagine that I will, unless I get an itch to try a wood tone ring), I'll need to make sure that balls don't go rolling around.

jswkingsfield - Posted - 03/04/2013:  07:03:10

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Congrats on the new banjo, Sam, sounds great! 

Denton - Posted - 03/04/2013:  08:36:31

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quote:

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Originally posted by Guy

Tom told me that he had tried experiment to see what the least number of 'Tone Spheres'  were necessary for the banjo to function and he said he'd got it down to eight! So you've got a way to go before you need to start worrying ;-)

I can't remember what he said about the effect it had on the tone :-)

Guy

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Al,
This is what I was referring to. If you had only 8 tone spheres to spread the load on a wood tone ring. Would the tone ring get dents from the balls? Likewise would the wood rim without a Ti. ring to protect the rim get dented? If so what would the least amount if balls one could use before dents appear? Given the same wood hardnesses of both the rim and tone ring.
Just curious.

Love that Moonshine!! Oh and the banjo too. ;)

alprice - Posted - 03/04/2013:  09:49:06

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quote:

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Originally posted by Denton

quote:

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Originally posted by Guy

Tom told me that he had tried experiment to see what the least number of 'Tone Spheres'  were necessary for the banjo to function and he said he'd got it down to eight! So you've got a way to go before you need to start worrying ;-)

I can't remember what he said about the effect it had on the tone :-)

Guy

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Al,

This is what I was referring to. If you had only 8 tone spheres to spread the load on a wood tone ring. Would the tone ring get dents from the balls? Likewise would the wood rim without a Ti. ring to protect the rim get dented? If so what would the least amount if balls one could use before dents appear? Given the same wood hardnesses of both the rim and tone ring.

Just curious.



Love that Moonshine!! Oh and the banjo too. ;)

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OIC.  The woods used are hardwoods.  So, no, there is a groove cut in which they rest.  

The Titanium rings sits at the stop of the wood ring, fitted to stay in place.  So its between the head and the wood ring.  

Al

banjo bill-e - Posted - 03/04/2013:  10:01:45

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OK Denton, just what the heck do you have there anyway? I see a Moonshine on the Nechville site, but it is not an Excelsior, and I played an Excelsior as SPBGMA, but it was not a Moonshine, (I don't think) and it did not have a pop-off resonator and Al did not mention one. So, I'm confused! Is this brand new? When will they be available and on the website (directed at Tom) and If so, how did Denton luck up with the first one? Inquiring minds want to know!

I have begun to wonder if the above contraption, with a tunneled fifth string neck, might just be the perfect banjo (for me).