El Dobro - Posted - 01/16/2010:  11:24:16

Sonny, it may have been hard to play, but it sure was easy on the ears.

stringman711 - Posted - 01/16/2010:  13:13:48

quote:

---

Originally posted by TheChief

I don't remember right off the top of my head but I will make a point to find out.

Dana's on here occasionally, if he sees this he'll tell you. I remember it was a cheap little mic. One would not think it would produce the sound but it did.

I hope you're doing well Don.

s

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El Dobro - Posted - 01/16/2010:  14:00:29

quote:

---

Originally posted by stringman711

quote:

---

Originally posted by TheChief

I don't remember right off the top of my head but I will make a point to find out.

Dana's on here occasionally, if he sees this he'll tell you. I remember it was a cheap little mic. One would not think it would produce the sound but it did.

I hope you're doing well Don.

s

---

It was an Audio Technica Pro 37R. It worked well.

---

dale v - Posted - 01/17/2010:  06:58:42

Sonny,if i remember correctly,the mic is an Pro 37

caloscalzo - Posted - 01/17/2010:  15:46:21

Chief, how bout them Cats!!!!???? 18-0. Best season in years.

El Dobro - Posted - 01/17/2010:  19:40:44

The Pro 37R is discontinued, so it looks like the Pro 37 will be it.

Banjo Stan - Posted - 01/19/2010:  04:46:23

quote:

---

Originally posted by Silber



Hey all! Chief #58 (maple-Huber) here. Thought I would try to catch up with the banjo list. Haven't had the banjo out of the case for a couple years due to a freaky case of tendinitis-both elbows! on the inside. major ouch.
The mandolin hasn't been as much of a problem so kinda migrated to that for the time being. Though I'd drop in and say howdy!
-Mike

---

Banjo Stan - Posted - 01/19/2010:  04:50:33

I've been playing my Nechville Turbo a lot lately because of the band I play in, but gave a lesson last Tuesday and broke out Tammy Swinette. Man.....It sounded so Suh..WEEEET! What a great banjo!

TheChief - Posted - 01/20/2010:  07:59:22

The following is a letter I received from Steve concerning Recording King and The Scout banjo. I've been dealing with these people from Recording King for a few years now and have founed them to be honest and up front with everything they said they would do.
I am sending a link you may go to and see what is being done with the Scout. Saga is actually advertising a Scout banjo with "Osborne Arrowhead" inlay. It's a Scout banjo, which they removed "The Osborne" and "Recording King" from the peghead replacing that with "Flint Hill", and my name block which they replaced with a blank pearl block.
It is unreal what people with no respect for design originality will do...for money. I would have thought Saga to be above this sort of thing.
Read the following then go to the link.

s

Sonny,

1.Here is the link to Saga and the guy selling The Scout.
cgi.ebay.com/Flinthill-Profess...QQptZLH_D

2. The thread on Banjo Hangout is under Shopping Advise.


3. Below is the post I put on Banjo Hangout about 2 months ago
explaining what was going on.

The Music Link built the factory in question exclusively for Recording
> King branded guitars and banjos. Over the course of a few years, we
> discovered that we were having both money and parts stolen from the
> factory. A lawsuit was filed in China, and the factory was closed and
> sealed by the courts. We opened a new, higher quality facility and
> stopped doing business with the original factory at the beginning of
> 2009. We have reason to believe that the stolen parts have been made
> into banjos that are only recently hitting the US market with our
> designs under different brand names.
>
> Currently no exports can be legally made from this facility. This
> alone is proof that none of this has to do with any "commitment
> quantities." The stolen wood and metal components for entire banjos
> were in fact all pre-paid by us. In addition, while some of the stolen
> parts are of high quality, many also were pieces that we had rejected
> for not being up to our standards.
> If any of the stolen Recording King metal or wood parts are being made
> into non-Recording King banjos, not only are they potentially in
> violation of the law, they also are certainly not being assembled by
> the same highly-trained staff - all the original luthiers are now
> employed directly by us at the newer facility.
>
> Fair competition in this country continues to drive business and
> product quality higher and higher. Unfortunately, if any of our
> competitors are knowingly purchasing stolen product, it is a sad state
> of affairs for our industry. While The Music Link and Recording King
> will aggressively defend the rights of our original RK designs, we
> also will continue to move forward with new designs, rather than
> retread on other companies'.
>
> I understand you may have more questions for me, but for obvious
> reasons I can't say more at this time. I want to thank this community
> and its members for the continued support over the years.
>
> Sincerely, Steve Patrino

Woolpersteve - Posted - 01/20/2010:  08:43:07

Sonny, That is really amazing .
Steve

TheChief - Posted - 01/20/2010:  09:04:06

Steve I was made aware of this just yesterday. I couldn't believe a company as big as Saga would be a party to something like this.
Did you go to the link? I mean it's a Scout banjo..inlay and all.
One positive thing about it is we must be doing something right for them to want to do a thing like this.

s

Gillis Cashman - Posted - 01/20/2010:  09:18:04

You heart must be ripped out Sonny. The original Frank Neat Chief will still be the #1 banjo IMO.

Woolpersteve - Posted - 01/20/2010:  09:18:42

Sonny,
I did check out the Saga web site.Its not like Saga is even trying to hide it.
Steve

TheChief - Posted - 01/20/2010:  10:26:21

The Chief is still the banjo boss.(IMO)
My heart is ripped right out of the frame...and I will probably lose every bit of 4 minutes sleep but it saddens me to think what Recording King must do to protect it's products from rogues and thieves.

Kentucky is still the only unbeaten basketball team in the nation and will more than likely be ranked number 1..as is The Chief banjo ;-)>....and the world seems right.

The hangout doesn't have spellcheck any more and it really cripples me.

s

Edited by - TheChief on 01/20/2010 10:30:15

dpeacock1 - Posted - 01/20/2010:  12:34:59

"Kentucky is still the only unbeaten basketball team in the nation"

Your freshmen are awesome, like John Wall from my hometown, Raleigh, NC.

NC & KY love their college basketball (and banjos).

Doug

TheChief - Posted - 01/21/2010:  07:11:22

Hey Doug...I don't understand how John Wall got away from Roy Williams and Coach K. THE number one recruit in the country and both missed$$$$? He doesn't play the banjo, or does he..Maybe if he does Lexington puts him closer to JD.!!!!

s

Woolpersteve - Posted - 01/21/2010:  07:22:37

Sonny,
At the end of last year's season could you have imagined this team in your wildest dreams ? The players left from last year's team who iked they had never heard of the game are playing well.Must be coaching , huh?
Steve

TheChief - Posted - 01/21/2010:  08:00:30

That coach has proved his point wherever he's been. He has a great staff too..non of which play the banjo..but they are still close to JD..
This team is strange in that he got top players from Raliegh, Birmingham, Oklahoma...hard to figure that one, other than he is one great coach..and someone up there knows how to recruit.
I'm enjoying it while it lasts...and I don't feel one bit sorry for NC and Duke..Kansas, or Texas.

s

dpeacock1 - Posted - 01/22/2010:  05:35:41

Word is, John Wall will only be at Kentucky this one season.
Thus far, neither UNC or Duke have been overly interested in athletes with obvious short term agendas.

I'm a UNC alum(1969-71) and don't feel sorry for them either.
Didn't play music back then, but spent way too much time listening to "Leroy Savage, Frank Greyhouse and the New Deal String Band perform in bars. Their first banjo player, Gene Knight, is a great player, BHO member, and my motivation to try and learn to pick. Thanks Gene!

Doug

TheChief - Posted - 01/22/2010:  08:12:26

Hey Doug...I understand about the one and out thing..but our (My father and I listened to the Wildcats on WHAS radio'Louisville', from 1947. We lived in Dayton, Ohio. I say our..not mine but my son went to UK. 79-82) program was so high for so many years, and it just got progressively worse, we would darn near take anything to make it better. We were lucky enough to get what I consider to be one of the better coaches in the land so maybe we'll be back enough to have some pride in "our" basketball program. Steve's son, now 12, has dreams of being a Wildcat. As a kid, so did I. Until at age 11 a "thing" called banjo came along and consumed me and it's been very good for/to me. I left school before finishing the 10th grade to play the banjo with Bill Monroe but I wonder how many hundred times I wish I had become a football Wildcat. I couldn't have asked for a better career...but I still wonder..
The New Deal String band..I have heard about for over 40 years but I don't believe I ever had the pleasure of seeing, or meeting them. I am glad Mr. Knight led you to the banjo. It's a difficult world, but very rewarding if you work hard enough and practice..practice...practice...and then practice some more.

s

dpeacock1 - Posted - 01/22/2010:  10:33:55

Sony,
I'm also a KY Wildcat fan.
One of my best friends from high school here in Raleigh went to UK on a full football scholarship: Al Godwin, 1967-1971. Charlie Bradshaw, who had played for Bear Bryant at UA was the head coach. Al loved UK and Lexington, but they didn't win many games.

As this relates to music and banjos, I recall buying your Rocky Top recording(45) in 1968, which was the second semester of my senior year in high school and my first bluegrass record.

Doug

jfb - Posted - 01/22/2010:  10:35:21

Gene and his wonderfull old banjo were in attendence at Banjothon..it has been nice getting to know him a little the last couple of years..a good guy for sure..

bhrb75 - Posted - 01/22/2010:  12:58:22

I'll second that JFB, Gene is a good guy for sure and I have really enjoyed getting to know him a little bit over the past year.

B.

TheChief - Posted - 01/22/2010:  14:50:01

I'm sure I met him then if he was at banjothon. I just don't remember...a sign of age for sure.

Brandon Hinson was enough for me to contend with...


s

Edited by - TheChief on 01/22/2010 15:49:53

Spike2 - Posted - 01/22/2010:  22:15:11

Hey, some people called me a wild cat in my youth. Does that count?

Banjo Stan - Posted - 01/23/2010:  02:36:36

Hey Spike,
Where you been?

TheChief - Posted - 01/23/2010:  06:33:39

If you can back it up it ain't braggin'!

Spike..so you relocated, right.? How you liking it out there where it's so dry your picks scrape on the strings?
Man, I used to detest playing in New Mexico or Arizona for that
reason.
Spike has a beautiful Chief, engraved and all that. I doubt that it's ever had a tune played on it. What is it, four years old?
Good you saw fit to join us.
We're still here.
Y'all come back now, heah?

s

Edited by - TheChief on 01/23/2010 06:44:06

PaulKirby - Posted - 01/23/2010:  12:10:41

Hi Sonny! Greetings from Norway!

Just clicked on the link showing the Saga Flint Hill. Pretty shocking.

TheChief - Posted - 01/23/2010:  15:24:03

Hey Paul..good to hear from you.I trust you are well.

Yeah the Saga thing is shocking to say the least. I don't understand people sometimes..wait, how about most of the time.

s

ChipL - Posted - 01/24/2010:  10:22:48

quote:

---

Originally posted by Woolpersteve

Sonny,
I did check out the Saga web site.Its not like Saga is even trying to hide it.
Steve

---

TheChief - Posted - 01/26/2010:  07:02:48

I did not have it trademarked because if they want to steal the design they will do it anyhow. Much the same as Gibson's inlay. That's the reason I changed my inlay pattern. In my mind that belonged to Gibson and still belongs to them. Although I still believe the Hearts and Flowers and Flying Eagle is beautiful, it's still theirs...just my opinion..which is like Ford or Chevy, everybody had, or has one...!

grich - Posted - 01/27/2010:  10:58:53

Speaking of Saga using our inlay pattern for their Flinthill banjos I wanted to be the first to tell you about our new
enrty level Osborne. Here's a first look at the inlay pattern I designed for it .... Saga please feel free to steal it at anytime

[URL=http://img685.imageshack.us/i/featherarrowinlay.jpg/][/URL]

momo - Posted - 01/27/2010:  16:45:00

Greg Nice simple and elegant.

TheChief - Posted - 01/30/2010:  07:45:02

This may sound weird to you that live where there is lots of snow..but we get so little snow in this area of Tennessee
that when we get just the slightest accumulation we (some of us) are thrilled to see our houses, lawns, mail boxes,
and roads with actual snow on them.
We have a few inches today and it looks nice.
Every time snow is predicted it always goes North of here into Kentucky or South in the form
of rain..and how many dozen times have I heard Radio or TV announcers say: "Well, we dodged another bullet."
This time it didn't happen.
So, how's that for being "touched?" Hey, I was a banjo player..so what would you expect?

s

PaulKirby - Posted - 01/30/2010:  10:14:57

We got heavy snow early in December and it's been extremely cold since then so the snow has stayed pretty fresh. The days are short here now, but there is so much light reflected by the snow that it doesn't feel dark at all. During the cold snap in the cold part of the country, you could throw a glass of water up in the air and it would freeze before hitting the ground. -45 F.

TheChief - Posted - 01/30/2010:  12:27:27

Paul that's cold..I don't care who you are or where you're from.

s

RayD - Posted - 01/30/2010:  13:36:42

Boy, that sure is cold! My wife thinks it's cold if it gets below 80 F...... Me, that's getting comfortable. But, -45 F! That's about 90 degrees F too cold for me!

Cheers,

RayD

mandopickr - Posted - 01/30/2010:  18:44:52

Wow, Greg, I really like that design. Really tasteful and distinctive. And maybe that's a Osborne that I can afford. Would this be a couple of years away?

TheChief - Posted - 01/30/2010:  19:29:17

Hopefully only a few months.
I think it's pretty neat looking for a beginner banjo.
And, I think we can make it sound like an RB11...if we're lucky.

s

DHoffmeyer - Posted - 01/30/2010:  20:37:52

quote:

---

Originally posted by TheChief

This may sound weird to you that live where there is lots of snow..but we get so little snow in this area of Tennessee
that when we get just the slightest accumulation we (some of us) are thrilled to see our houses, lawns, mail boxes,
and roads with actual snow on them.
We have a few inches today and it looks nice.

s

---

ProudChiefOwner - Posted - 01/31/2010:  04:09:51

Hi everyone,

I have a couple of questions and I was hoping someone here might be able to help.

I was thinking of coming over to the banjo camp this year.
Can anyone point me to a website where I could get some more info ?

Also, I dont know anything about banjo setup and recently sent my Chief to a guy here in the UK.
Really just for a wee straighten out. I didnt need much work.
He did a great job and it just keeps sounding better.

He did though, stick a new bridge on it, Gary Sosebee.

He told me the bridge on my chief was a "cheap run of the mill" type.

Like I say, its sound fantastic so I'm not complaining, but does anyone know what bridge comes with the Chief. I thought it was a Frank Neat ?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

laceyth9 - Posted - 01/31/2010:  10:39:09

ProudChiefOwner,

That bridge is a custom made Frank Neat piece of work fitted to that banjo. Take it from one whose tried many different bridges, Frank knew enough to build the rest of the banjo, he knows enough to build the bridge too. Hope you still have the original.

Tim L.

TheChief - Posted - 01/31/2010:  21:03:23

Dean..direct me to a 16-35 mm lens. I can't seem to find one here in any of the local stores.

s

Edited by - TheChief on 01/31/2010 21:15:56

maurice minger - Posted - 02/01/2010:  04:41:53

The bridge that came on my Chief had one of the holes cut on a angle with less maple on the inside of one the feet is that the way they all are?
Maurice Minger

TheChief - Posted - 02/01/2010:  06:54:41

Hey..there are lots of bridges to be had and each one will probably sound a little different. Every guy who makes them will
swear theirs is the best too. I probably have 200 different bridges that was sent to me at one time or another. I trieed some of
them, but I admit, not all and I came to realize that the bridge Frank Neat makes serves my purpose quite well. Not to say the others
are not good, but my banjos seem to sound better with his bridges. I also love the consistency of Silvio Feretti's bridges. If I didn't think
the bridges Frank makes were as good, that's the one I would use.
There are 10 ingredients in making a banjo sound good, or bad. (I bet you can't name them) The bridge being one of them, and it's like a folder with several different
ingredients of it's own..so to pinpoint one bridge over another would be a long, hard job. To put it simple, whatever does the job is what to use.

How did I ever get into (or out of) that.

Edited by - TheChief on 02/01/2010 06:57:22

bhrb75 - Posted - 02/01/2010:  08:02:37

Does 8 of the 10 things include the 5 fingers on the left hand and the 3 fingers of the right? lol The other two being a good banjo and a good setup.

Brandon

banjobob1961 - Posted - 02/01/2010:  08:02:55

quote:

---

Originally posted by DHoffmeyer

quote:

---

Originally posted by TheChief

---

Hey Sonny,
You know we get a little more snow up here in Virginia than y'all do, but today we got popped for a foot PLUS. I put together a slideshow for everyone here to enjoy that shows the beauty and badness:
static.mgnetwork.com/rtd/slide...ndex.html

---

Edited by - banjobob1961 on 02/01/2010 08:03:15

TheChief - Posted - 02/01/2010:  08:24:19

No Brandy...That is a whole different thing.

s

TheChief - Posted - 02/01/2010:  08:32:38

Dean that's not fair. I thought I should go buy a better camera..then decided it must be the lens, then
it dawned on me the reason I can't take beautiful photos like this ..... ME!

s