DG-banjo - Posted - 02/26/2010:  06:55:54

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Sonny you can correct me if i am wrong about this: but David Crow that played fiddle with the Osbornes released a fiddle album on pincastle records several years ago. If I remeber correctly Sonny played on it.. I dont know if this album is availible now or not..

TheChief - Posted - 02/26/2010:  08:30:32

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Album on Pinecastle.."As The Crow Flies"
It's a fiddle album, not just fiddle and banjo. However it does have one tune which features the fiddle and banjo.
You could probably find it at The Music Shed, which is a division of Pinecastle Records.
Columbus, NC.
s

bhrb75 - Posted - 02/26/2010:  13:07:36

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Well Sonny I found out at Banjothon this year that I don't have them all ! lol

Thanks for that compliment!

B.

Ebanjo - Posted - 02/26/2010:  13:19:23

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Sonny, You're right , Brandon's got'em down and very well I might add.
Eric

TheChief - Posted - 02/26/2010:  14:47:36

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Brandon..just a matter of listening and hearing what you're listening for.

The mind set.

s

bhrb75 - Posted - 02/27/2010:  05:18:41

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Thanks Eric! Coming from someone who can blast it like you can that really makes me feel good. I like your record a lot btw, I don't think we've talked since Gilkey. That tune "Cedar Creek," did you write that?

Sonny, I think I will remember to play "shave and a haircut" correctly from now until the "grass grows over me." lol

B.

TheChief - Posted - 02/28/2010:  06:41:38

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Brandon..the little things that you overlook are just as important as the parts you might consider to be most important...or the "hard to do parts." Like washing a car, or detailing it, big difference.

s

bhrb75 - Posted - 02/28/2010:  11:33:09

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It is funny how the "little things" are really the "big things" when it all comes down to it.

B.

Ebanjo - Posted - 02/28/2010:  11:43:05

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Brandon, Glad you like the cd. I did write "Cedar Creek". About 24 years ago.
Eric

TheChief - Posted - 03/03/2010:  06:58:08

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Brandon..the great banjo players..in my opinion..when they are trying to do another banjo players break, or a specific lick, pays very careful attention to every detail...every string in the right place..and knowing enough about the banjo to know what they're listening for...and the REALLY great one makes his own.

Can you imagine Earl, in the early days, to prove how great he was, had no one to ask if the things he was doing was right or wrong. There wasn't anyone else. But what he did was so right that we're still, 65+ years later struggling to get it the "way Earl did it." Absolutely amazing!

Branch Rickey once said about Willie Mays: "Nobody knows what Willie knows, but Willie knows." Same with Earl.

For those who don't know who Willie Mays is/was, he is perhaps the greatest baseball player to ever play the game. Good comparison..Willie and Earl!

s
Sonny Osborne Banjo Company
chiefbanjo@comcast.net
615-824-0096
web site: sonnyosborne.com
"IN GOD WE TRUST"

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Edited by - TheChief on 03/03/2010 07:11:01

bhrb75 - Posted - 03/03/2010:  08:13:44

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Sonny, it is amazing to listen to players who can come close to Earl, but then it is even more amazing to listen to Earl afterwards. I was letting a friend of mine hear a really great player doing a Flatt & Scruggs tune, and this player who shall remain nameless, was cutting the mess out of it; better than anyone else I've heard do the tune. Then I put on the original cut with Earl. My friend who is not a banjo player, and doesn't listen to bluegrass on a regular basis, just said "Wow!" after he heard Earl play. I said, Earl just has a "magical" sound that no one else can get. The guy was playing all the right notes, but it didn't have that "heartbeat" and "lightning" that Earl had when he played. I don't know anyone else besides Earl who can kick a song off with one simple pinch, and make me go back and listen to just one note over and over and over. The song I'm talking about in particular is the second cut they did of Shucking the Corn (the one with the snare drum). I can listen to that one pinch over and over and over.

B.

Sheldon - Posted - 03/03/2010:  12:20:35

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Sonny
I don't know if this has been covered here. . . . .
You wrote el Randa and Dandelion. I think there was at least one more siimilar song, perhaps more. What are the titles and where can I listen to them?

Sheldon

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Edited by - Sheldon on 03/03/2010 12:21:19

TheChief - Posted - 03/04/2010:  07:47:00

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Sheldon...I'll have to go find all the titles and where they are. They are not all on one album or one record label. I'll let you know.

s

Sheldon - Posted - 03/04/2010:  15:15:03

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Thank you, Sonny. I appreciate it.
I have been working on el Randa and want to start Dandelion some time down the road.
I just hope I don't end up, "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad."


Sheldon

Goldstarman - Posted - 03/04/2010:  21:16:44

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Man both of those are great, Sonny could play slow songs like nobody before or since. Just beautiful stuff.

TheChief - Posted - 03/05/2010:  06:31:23

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Why..Thank ye Mr. Goldstarman. That's kind of you to respect yer elders!
;-)>
s

bcampbe5 - Posted - 03/05/2010:  09:27:26

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I've always enjoyed the song Siempre which I believe is another Sonny wrote. What a great, creative song.

TheChief - Posted - 03/06/2010:  07:05:39

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My second choice of a name for Siempre was "Always." But, there was a tune already by that name so I named it the Spanish word for Always. Siempre.

s

TheChief - Posted - 03/06/2010:  07:10:17

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First choice?

El cuello roho Blues.

You tell me what it means.

s
Sonny Osborne Banjo Company
chiefbanjo@comcast.net
615-824-0096
web site: sonnyosborne.com
"IN GOD WE TRUST"

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Edited by - TheChief on 03/06/2010 07:12:34

Woolpersteve - Posted - 03/06/2010:  07:32:31

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"El cuello roho Blues"
That would have been a great title.Heck , if you snuck "blanco" in there too you could have a hit on CMT.
A red white & blue theme.
Steve

momo - Posted - 03/06/2010:  13:49:47

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El cuello roho Blues. The Red Neck Blues

Siempre - Posted - 03/07/2010:  08:35:39

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Hey Sheldon,

You can find "Siempre" on Disk 2 of the Bear Family set "The Osborne Brothers 1968-1974" and "El Randa" on Disk 4 of that same set.

I do not know if "Dandylion" (note the spelling) has been issued in a digital format. It appeared on the LP "I Can Hear Kentucky Calling Me" - CMH-6244 - around 1980. You can also hear and SEE exactly how it's played on "The Bluegrass Banjo of Sonny Osborne" - Homespun Tapes (available in dvd and vhs), where you'll also find "El Randa."

Another mighty pretty tune written by Mr. Osborne but not recorded by him is "April's Fool," found as the title tune on Daniel Grindstaff's solo cd. Daniel played it on his Chief banjo.

By the way, the Homespun instruction dvd/tape also includes "Danny Boy" and "America the Beautiful." I don't think Mr. Osborne wrote those, but he surely made them his own.

Scott

bhrb75 - Posted - 03/07/2010:  08:42:27

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Dandylion is my favorite of Sonny's to play. I call it "wooing music." lol I don't know a girl yet that I've played that one for that didn't like it.
All jokes aside, that tune allows one to pull LOT of tone out of your banjo if you know how to do that. That one is a masterpiece and it is "art" when you hear Sonny play it.

B.

Silvio Ferretti - Posted - 03/07/2010:  10:25:16

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I've always loved "Siempre", and since my band's mandolin player always loved "Never on Sunday" in Dempsey Young's version we used to play both tunes in a medley, which we entitled "Siempre on Sunday" We played it in A, which is not the right key for "Siempre", but it's not a bad key either, as I really like the low tones on a flathead...

Sheldon - Posted - 03/07/2010:  12:33:57

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Thank you, Scott

Sheldon

Ribstone - Posted - 03/07/2010:  17:06:53

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Yo siempre ha gustado la cancion, "Siempre!"

TheChief - Posted - 03/08/2010:  07:00:46

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"El Cuello Roho Blues"...The Red Neck Blues...I liked it and fully intended to call it just that, but Hal Rugg (from Arizona) spoke fluent Spanish and blew the whistle on me.
I thought April's Fool was a good tune and Daniel played it well.

s
Sonny Osborne Banjo Company
chiefbanjo@comcast.net
615-824-0096
web site: sonnyosborne.com
"IN GOD WE TRUST"

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Edited by - TheChief on 03/08/2010 07:05:15

TheChief - Posted - 03/08/2010:  13:35:55

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I told you several weeks ago that we were having a problem getting gold plated parts. It has reached the point to where we had to make a decision. From now till I don't know when The standard Chief banjo will be Nickel hardware, (flange, tension hoop, tail piece, brackets and tuners) and the tone ring will remain gold.

We either do that or raise the price to $5100, and I'm just not going to do that. For now I will still do the standard package. (Price case, Elliott capo, and Dogwood Designs Leather strap. Spikes at 7,8,9,10th frets) And the price will stay the same.

Thanks.

s

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Edited by - TheChief on 03/08/2010 13:38:13

TheChief - Posted - 03/12/2010:  11:57:34

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So, I make this profound statement and everybody disappears.

Strange buncha folks.

s

Woolpersteve - Posted - 03/12/2010:  12:01:59

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Sonny,
Its a bargain at any price.Nice that you'd be concerned about costs hike.
Steve
PS you should be watching UK on TV man!

RayD - Posted - 03/12/2010:  16:03:12

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Hey Chief,

Interesting times these are. Wonder what's caused the problem with the gold plated parts? Does this mean that the value of the current owners' Chiefs (all gold plated parts) has gone up?

Cheers,

RayD
Proud Chief owner since 2007

TheChief - Posted - 03/12/2010:  17:00:54

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I don't really know other than the price of gold is so high, then too the last thing Frank had plated he told me that it was so thin it just rubbed off. But to answer your question Ray, I would think anything gold would go up in value.
So yes, I am concerned about the price of my banjos, but I just want The Chief to be a top quality banjo. Yet with a price reasonable enough to be affordable to anyone who wants a serious banjo. We'll see how these new banjos with Nickel hardware and gold tone ring will sound, and go from there. Earl had nickel with the gold tone ring for a lot of years and it didn't seem to hurt his banjo tone.
So....

In the words of the old spiritual, We Will See.

s

RayD - Posted - 03/12/2010:  18:22:44

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Chief,

I'm sure it has everything with the price of gold being so high. And I'm a little amazed to hear about Frank's comment about the very thin plating on the last item he had done. And you're spot on about Earl's nickel hardware/golf tone ring not hurting his tone. But, I bet he could make a cookie tin banjo sing! It will be interesting to see how it goes with the new combination on the newer Chiefs. Think about it though, now you will have 3 distinct styles of Chief banjos! First with the classic inlays look, second with the distinctive Osborne Chief Native American motif, third with the nickel hardware/gold tone ring on the Native American motif. Sort of the Three Eras of the Chief banjo.

Cheers,

RayD
Proud Chief owner since 2007

TheChief - Posted - 03/13/2010:  07:58:37

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Ray..just wondering if there will be more????

s

lazyarcher - Posted - 03/13/2010:  09:21:22

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Have you ever thought of a copper plated version? Copper is $3.40/lb vs $17,600/lb for gold!

bhrb75 - Posted - 03/13/2010:  11:54:06

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Sonny,

Did you ever think about having the Chief as just unplated brass, that way they can tarnish and look brown and old just like 9584-2?

B.

RayD - Posted - 03/13/2010:  15:15:25

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Chief,

More? You want more? Seriously, it's only limited to your imagination. I see some interesting ideas from lazyarcher (copper plated) and bhrb75 (unplated brass). Just so that the quality is not impaired - you may hit on some really interesting combinations. And why has the plating been nickel or gold? Tradition? You may want to talk to your luthier, set up, and other banjo experts you know to investigate other possibilities. There may be other metals to be had for plating that are comparable to or less in price that gold and give you a terrific finish. Then you'd have a truly unique Chief design. Heck, you could start a new trend in banjos!

lazyarcher - Posted - 03/13/2010:  16:13:26

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From what I speculate, gold was/is used (outside of its decorative value) because of its non-reactive with O2 therefore it dosnt tarnish. I believe copper tarnishes fairly easily in its pure state (that green colour) but not so much if its alloyed with tin or nickle. I would imagine there are lots of clear coats that would be really durable that could be used to protect the copper plating. Copper plating to me looks a lot more like old gold plating than the new gold plating.

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Edited by - lazyarcher on 03/13/2010 16:14:48

momo - Posted - 03/13/2010:  17:33:25

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The Prucha Banjos have the "Copper patina" finish....Looks really good...a nice alternative to Gold.

vtyankee5 - Posted - 03/15/2010:  17:36:28

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quote:

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Posted - 03/08/2010 : 13:35:55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I told you several weeks ago that we were having a problem getting gold plated parts. It has reached the point to where we had to make a decision. From now till I don't know when The standard Chief banjo will be Nickel hardware, (flange, tension hoop, tail piece, brackets and tuners) and the tone ring will remain gold.

We either do that or raise the price to $5100, and I'm just not going to do that. For now I will still do the standard package. (Price case, Elliott capo, and Dogwood Designs Leather strap. Spikes at 7,8,9,10th frets) And the price will stay the same.

Thanks.

s

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Last week a local shop quoted me $850 to plate a banjo for me with gold over copper the way you like it. Three years ago it was $300. The gold banjo will soon be only for the rich and famous. That excludes me.

TheChief - Posted - 03/16/2010:  06:55:45

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I'm going to do it this way for awhile, see how it works out, then decide what to do.
I'm not going to raise prices for inferior materials.
We'll see.

s

ernieb - Posted - 03/17/2010:  14:48:34

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quote:

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Originally posted by RayD

Hey Chief,

Interesting times these are. Wonder what's caused the problem with the gold plated parts? Does this mean that the value of the current owners' Chiefs (all gold plated parts) has gone up?

Cheers,

RayD
Proud Chief owner since 2007

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Regarding what the current cost of a gold-plated Chief would have to be -and- will the price of gold make the current gold Chiefs out there more valuable, I just had to add my two-cents worth on the matter... I'm the proud owner of gold Chief #121, and I can ASSURE you this - it would take a WHOLE lot more than $5,100 to separate ME from THIS banjo!!

Hopefully, times will get better soon and we won't have to deal with all these crazy issues.

Ernie

RayD - Posted - 03/21/2010:  14:19:17

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Chief,

When are you going to have Frank put together one of the 3rd Era Chief banjos so you can post some pictures on your site? Also, are you going to change the serial numbering to reflect the change?

Cheers,

RayD

TheChief - Posted - 03/21/2010:  17:55:14

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Frank's working on them now. As soon as he gets them done I'll post some pictures of the new product.
Serial numbering..I will do something to signify the change. I don't know exactly yet but there will be some change. I'll let you know.

s

RayD - Posted - 03/21/2010:  19:15:16

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Thanks Chief. Can't wait to see the 3rd Era Chiefs. Maybe you could work that in? Sort of like you did with the New Design. Except this would be the 3RD generation or 3RD era - MMYY##(MP,MH,W)[E]3RD.

Cheers,

RayD

RayD - Posted - 03/28/2010:  08:58:12

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Page 3? No way! Need to bump this up!

Great day in San Antonio - sunny, temp in the low 70s, just a gorgeous spring day. May take my Chief banjo on the porch later.

Chief, how's the change over coming along?

Cheers,

RayD

The Pope - Posted - 03/28/2010:  09:23:08

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I had my entire banjo (sans tuners) gold plated for $24! Of course, that was in 1966!

TheChief - Posted - 03/29/2010:  07:44:48

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It should be a fine day in TN Ray, but it isn't. : - (
The new banjos are due in about a week. New serial numbers will be: NGMMYY(banjo number)MP (W or MH). Banjo number 54 would be: NG041054MP.

MR. Pope you better frame that gold plated job...you surely won't get that done now for $24. More like $1024!

Brandon Henson saw Kristin play for the first time and tells me he was amazed. I tried to tole you Brandon. I tried to tole you!!
Larry Stephenson, Ronnie Reno, Robin Smith and I meet every Wednesday for lunch. If all goes well she (Kristin) will join us this week. The Grascals are doing promo work for the release of their new CD. I look forward to seeing her...She's a good friend, as well as a great banjo player and person.

s

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Edited by - TheChief on 03/29/2010 08:07:15

RayD - Posted - 03/29/2010:  14:53:45

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Chief,

Well, maybe the days will be getting better up your way soon.

Can't wait to see pictures of the NG Chiefs.

Cheers,

RayD