J-Walk - Posted - 12/20/2011:  16:30:36

See: For Sale: REMO Fiberskyn2 Banjo

When I get a head that has a logo, the first thing I do is remove it using nail polish remover. It takes a lot of rubbing, but it eventually comes off.

Eastbaygeorge - Posted - 12/20/2011:  16:44:56

I don't recognize the make. Anyone know what it is?

NINJO - Posted - 12/20/2011:  17:04:50

I have to respectfully disagree with you. It is just as important to a banjo head maker to stamp his product as it is for a banjo maker to. I checked out your collection on your home page and it made me drool. I would not remove the logo from the head any more than I would from the headstock. I guess I am newly aware of the importance of the branding of a product as I have just recently begun to produce my own instrument related products. I am happy to let people see who made my banjo head so they can support the same person that I do. My skis say Rossignol, my car says Subaru.... We live in a world where branding is ubiquitous and neccesary for profit.

J-Walk - Posted - 12/20/2011:  17:07:39

And I respectfully disagree with you, Ninjo.

I'm not paid to display advertisements for Remo. And none of my banjos have the maker's name visible.

NINJO - Posted - 12/20/2011:  17:15:57

Do you sign your name on your work?

NCjones - Posted - 12/20/2011:  17:17:14

Well, it's kind of like the cigars I smoke.  Some people say one should remove the bands before they light up, some say you shouldn't. 

Mark Twain once said, "It's proper ettiquette to remove the band on your cigar before you smoke it, so as not to embarass a fellow smoking a lesser cigar."

If it's a Remo, I'd leave it.  If it was a "yakahami" or some other embarassing manufacturer, yeah, I'd probably remove it.

But I smoke my cigars with the band on.

Banjov1 - Posted - 12/20/2011:  17:23:14

Wouldn't it be easier to hide the logo under the tail piece? I think lots of folks do that

J-Walk - Posted - 12/20/2011:  17:35:52

Most of my banjo have "no knot" tailpieces -- not suitable for hiding the stupid logo.

I just spend some time and remove the logos. No big deal.

And yes, NINJO. I sign my name to my work. But that's really quite irrelevant. 

derwood400 - Posted - 12/20/2011:  17:36:03

HA!  Hi John.  When did Remo start making banjos?  That is a lovely FiberSkyn2 model though.

rudy - Posted - 12/20/2011:  17:36:18

Lots of reasons to remove a logo, mostly esthetically centered.

One of the banjo styles I make is a "faux mountain-style" utilizing the Renaissance head.  There is no bridge to hide it under, and the logo would stick out like a sore thumb. All of my new cars have the main manufacturer plainly emblazoned on them, but I make sure the dealer has not put a dealership sticker on before I leave the lot.  One dealer had left it on, and I would not accept it until they took it into the shop and removed the dealership sticker.  I did offer them the compromise of leaving it on if they were willing to write me a $500 check, but somehow that didn't meet to their liking.

The following thread is referencing a Boucher style early banjo build that I'm currently doing, a head logo would definitely not be appropriate on this design.

banjohangout.org/topic/221884/1

Edited by - rudy on 12/20/2011 17:41:34

jack crowder - Posted - 12/20/2011:  18:02:15

As a builder you have the right to brand your merchandise, Once I purchase it, it becomes my merchandise, I'll make the decision whether I want my banjo, guitar, car, motorcycle, jeans, whatever it is, to provide free advertisements for that particular product.  I don't owe the builder or maker anything other than the purchase price.

J-Walk - Posted - 12/20/2011:  18:16:37

Thinking about it some more... I don't mind having Martin or Fender written on my guitars. That identifies the guitar. 

But this isn't the first time I've seen a banjo misidentified as a "Remo" banjo because of that ugly head logo. And besides, NOBODY will read it, unless they're about two feet away. To everyone else, it just looks like a black smudge in the wrong spot. Frankly, when I see a banjo with a logo on the head, I think "Hmmmm, that person doesn't know about nail polish remover."

Penchaser - Posted - 12/20/2011:  18:21:43

This guy obviously just signed up at BHO to sell his banjo and probably not to participate in any other way. This irks me for some reason. Other groups that I belong to require members to post some messages and participate to some degree before selling things. I think that might be a sensible rule for BHO to consider to support credible sellers.

Thoughts?

Bob

J-Walk - Posted - 12/20/2011:  18:25:17

Yeah, that irks me just as much as you, Bob. 

Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 12/20/2011:  18:34:18

Well, if the guy is so ignorant as to think that "Remo Fyberskin2" is the brand name of the supposedly hand made banjo he's selling, do you really have any interest in what blather he might post in the forums in order to be allowed to advertise here? I certainly don't.

Edited by - Marc Nerenberg on 12/20/2011 18:35:12

RG - Posted - 12/20/2011:  19:21:18

Originally posted by Marc Nerenberg

"Well, if the guy is so ignorant as to think that "Remo Fyberskin2" is the brand name of the supposedly hand made banjo he's selling, do you really have any interest in what blather he might post in the forums in order to be allowed to advertise here? I certainly don't."

That hits the nail squarely on the head...couldn't agree more...

OK-4 - Posted - 12/20/2011:  20:04:23

I don't mind the logo so much if it is right in front (or beneath) the tailpiece. It bothers me a little but still not so much if it is in front of the neck (under the strings). But I have no use at all for the off-center look that pops up sometimes, with the logo randomly set at the 4 o'clock or some other such position. Is this a purposeful "look"? There is no accounting for taste, but this just bugs me.

Edited by - OK-4 on 12/20/2011 20:05:45

pastorharry - Posted - 12/20/2011:  23:49:35

Someone once told me you can tell the size of a man's character by the size of the things that make him mad......

RG - Posted - 12/21/2011:  00:22:18

Originally posted by pastorharry...

"Someone once told me you can tell the size of a man's character by the size of the things that make him mad......"

Haha, so true!!!  That "someone" was very wise...

maxmax - Posted - 12/21/2011:  01:51:50

I'm with you J-Walk! First thing I do is to remove the logo and since I'm obsessed with how my banjos look, the second thing I do, is to paint the inside of the head. Off-white for Renaissance and white for fiberskyn. I don't like makers name's or any kind of inlays either. I don't wear shirts with logos either. 

Max

SFI - Posted - 12/21/2011:  05:28:44

I will remind fellow BHO members that I sell Remo heads with no logo. It sure saves a lot of time and VOCs.

smakula.com/BanjoHeads.html

Bob Smakula

Tinfoot - Posted - 12/21/2011:  07:33:58

Now there is filling a market niche. Nice, Bob!

arnie - Posted - 12/21/2011:  08:20:37

Me - I don't like those logos on the heads- I take them off too, but when the aliens land in the distant future and find out you took the logo off they will discount your banjo as not being original and vintage but a bastardized version of the original because anything with the name Remo on it will be worth a fortune.

On another note of recent contention I really like those banjo armrests that Little Mountain Music makes on my Rickard tubaphone. What this does for me is gets my arm up at a higher level and allows me to reach over and down on the strings over the neck scoop area to play clawhammer easier than without an armrest. I believe also that any arm contact resting on the head can dampen the response of the banjo strings ( depending on the banjo )- which may or may not be desirable. I think his design is super as well.

Edited by - arnie on 12/21/2011 08:25:42

rudy - Posted - 12/21/2011:  09:55:15

"On another note of recent contention I really like those banjo armrests that Little Mountain Music makes on my Rickard tubaphone."

Arnie, What is the note of contention?  I can't think of a reason why there would be any contention over the use of the Little mountain Music arm rest.

The Mighty Ant - Posted - 12/21/2011:  12:51:34

I checked my RK80, and my Saga Rover 115 and neither had the name of the head on it.



But it wouldnt bother me in the least if they did.

Unless of course it said... "BOZO's  el-cheapo banjo heads'" or something like that, of course. 

Edited by - The Mighty Ant on 12/21/2011 12:59:56

Spitfire-Smith - Posted - 12/21/2011:  13:56:54

It wouldn't bother me one bit what my banjo's head says on it, as long as it makes that sweet sweet sound.

Klondike Waldo - Posted - 12/21/2011:  17:39:41

Did anyone besides me think to send him (or her ) an email to clue him(or her)  in rather than to rant about it?

Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 12/21/2011:  17:43:31

quote:

---

Originally posted by Klondike Waldo

Did anyone besides me think to send him (or her ) an email to clue him(or her)  in rather than to rant about it?

---

I did...It was replied to as well, but I don't see any change in the ad (I suggested they call it "Maker - unknown")

Tinfoot - Posted - 12/21/2011:  18:53:48

Just for those Banjo Agnostics, eh Marc?

Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 12/21/2011:  19:10:04

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tinfoot

Just for those Banjo Agnostics, eh Marc?

---

That's pretty funny!

KE - Posted - 12/21/2011:  19:42:29

quote:

---

Originally posted by pastorharry

Someone once told me you can tell the size of a man's character by the size of the things that make him mad......

---

Zing!   (That's gonna leave a mark.)

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 12/21/2011:  20:40:08

Take the logo off the head and people will tell you it is an Elton banjo - after reading the tailpiece.

Edited by - oldwoodchuckb on 12/21/2011 20:46:58

maryzcox - Posted - 12/22/2011:  07:49:27

It is very popular among affluent young people to never have any logos on anything :) My grown children own nothing with logos Except maybe running or sporting shoes which are pretty hard to find what you need without logos. Of course, they love for me to make them handmade quilts, accessories, clothing-even underpants. I do put a quilt label on my quilts to hang in shows--it is required for historical documentation--but the label is on the back right hand corner and very inconspicuous. Also, they are not logos, but each unique.
That might be a good idea for heavy logo banjo heads--a small, quiet logo at the edge on the backside for historical documentation.

A suggestion for head logo haters is to order a clear plastic head from Deering . It doesn't have a noticeable logo, sounds like any other synthetic head, shows off the natural wood and hardware of your banjo better, no one killed a goat for it, and---ta. da--- your very trendy non logo clothing will show through letting everyone know how young and hip you are :)
Hope this helps,
MaryZ

Tinfoot - Posted - 12/22/2011:  08:00:13

"your very trendy non logo clothing will show through letting everyone know how young and hip you are :) Hope this helps, MaryZ"

That, or reveal to the world that you can't eat a hot dog with dropping mustard on your belly. :T

maxmax - Posted - 12/22/2011:  09:09:51

I’m getting the feeling that some here are ridiculing us that care how our banjos look. My banjos are the only material things I deeply care about. I do want my banjos to look, sound and play in a very particular way, but I promise that has absolutely nothing to do with wanting to show anyone how cool I am. It is only because it makes me happy and I am not ashamed of saying that a nice (to me) banjo really does make me happy.

If I wanted people to think I’m cool, the proper way would probably to do the absolute opposite thing, of only playing the cheapest, ugliest banjos around and telling everyone how little I care about what banjo I have. I’ve met many of those “proud” people, both young and old.

J-Walk - Posted - 12/22/2011:  11:58:15

At the Remo support forum:

support.remo.com/remoinc/topic...o_removal

pastorharry - Posted - 12/22/2011:  12:11:43

Why is it the "young, hip, non logo types" all have tattoos?

Beachbum Scott - Posted - 12/22/2011:  12:31:50

Cuz it's really cool now to be all hip and non-conforming... oh wait a minute...

quote:

---

Originally posted by pastorharry

Why is it the "young, hip, non logo types" all have tattoos?

---

maxmax - Posted - 12/22/2011:  13:46:11

quote:

---

Originally posted by pastorharry

Why is it the "young, hip, non logo types" all have tattoos?

---

I know this question was only asked as a mean-spirited remark without looking for an answer, but feeling struck by your comment (I guess I still qualify as young, do remove logos on my banjo heads, have tattoos (even though I started getting tattooed at 15 before I even knew what old-time was), but however do probably not classify as "hip" regarding to American fashion taste) I will answer the question that to me is very obvious - if, you care how your banjos look, care about how you yourself look, than the answer is that these people care about aesthetics. 

pastorharry - Posted - 12/22/2011:  14:15:14

Do you really think it was "mean spirited" Max?....I was giggiling the whole time and frankly I think this whole thread is ridiculous, to think that "cool and hip" has anything to do with a certain look is about as shallow as you can get. What a laugh.
Iv'e seen alot of the new old time group with this non-logo mindset with Vega, Gibson,Harley-Davidson tattoos, but yet their banjos must be as plain as can be, it just does'nt make sense to me that's all, but to each his own....just remember the thread was started because someone "hated" logos..so I guess we all need to non conform and hate logos too, eh what??

maxmax - Posted - 12/22/2011:  14:39:58

PastorHarry – about once a year here on the Hangout, the topic of why the younger crowd in old-time look the same and all have tattoos, comes up. In the past, all of these threads have been mean spirited, so perhaps I took offence a bit early now with your comment. I apologize if I misunderstood you.

I really hate categorization of people in general, but to see it happen in even the very tiniest of communities that consists 100% of enthusiasts, as the old-time community does, is even sadder. 

pastorharry - Posted - 12/22/2011:  14:49:35

Max-no harm, no foul-play on!

jbalch - Posted - 12/22/2011:  15:07:50

Every time this topic comes up, I think of the several old banjos I've found where the large REMO brand is proudly placed at the 10:00 position so as to be very clearly visible to everyone.  It is obvious that some early adopters of new-fangled mylar technology wanted the world to know that were not using old-fashioned animal hide.  Perhaps the way to be truly "authentic" is to place the logo to be easily seen. 

It really tickles me how banjo fashions change - and how vain we old folks are. I say: If you make good music I don't care what or where your logo is...or isn't.

Edited by - jbalch on 12/22/2011 15:18:38

Tinfoot - Posted - 12/22/2011:  15:13:47

Hrm, well... I admit I have my shiny black Deering head rather ostentatiously displaying the logo... :p

maxmax - Posted - 12/22/2011:  15:33:21

To further elaborate why I don’t like logos on my banjos…

For me, it has nothing to do with that I don’t want to give brand recognition. I just don’t like the aesthetics of it. By looks, my favorite instruments belong to the violin family. A really old, heavily used cello, is the nicest piece of art I could imagine!

I want my old-time banjos to capture some of the grace that these instruments have and for me, nice woods, nice metal parts, good finish, peghead shape and side position markers for convenience, is just enough. Inlays and logos take away from what I think looks aesthetically pleasing.

No (I bet I can be proven wrong, so I’ll say most) instruments in the classical family don’t have inlays on them. Steel string guitars have a little, but banjos are really kinda funny and different in that they often have lots of inlays! I’m having a resonator banjo built for me now and when it came to deciding on inlays, I contradict my own opinion on inlays here, because to me, a bluegrass banjo without inlays, would just look wrong.

I’ve chosen the “Squares and Diamonds” pattern, because to me it looks very tasteful and appropriate for a bluegrass banjo. But I would never want the same inlays on my old-time banjo. And I’m not even a traditionalist when it comes to the music, I use my banjos in a lot of different genres of music, but that’s just where my aesthetical preference is.

Max

hoverflytheo - Posted - 12/22/2011:  16:03:55

One of my banjos has a Remo Weatherking head. Under the logo, in bold type, it reads "BANJO HEAD ONLY."

It took me a while to work out what the hell that meant - but seeing that misclassified-classified-ad makes me see why they needed to spell it out. Or, it might just mean it's not strong enough to be a drum head.

Either way, it's probably incomprehensible to a non-banjo player, and sounds rather like a description of the player rather than the instrument. In fact, if I wanted a tattoo to fit in with the hip young old-time crowd, it would be and ideal text.

Edited by - hoverflytheo on 12/22/2011 16:07:29

J-Walk - Posted - 12/22/2011:  16:08:06

It's amazing what banjo folks can disagree about.

Today I spent 20 minutes trying to remove the REMO logo from a Fiberskin head. I've been successful in the past, but today I failed. I got most of it off, but a close examination still reveals that stupid logo. I guess their new technique works.

Then, as an experiment, I put a light coat of brown wood stain on it, and rubbed it off immediately. Now it almost looks like a skin head, but it won't fool anybody who's actually knows what a skin head looks like. But it really obscured the remaining REMO ink, and looks a lot better than a plain old Fiberskin head.

KE - Posted - 12/22/2011:  16:13:54

quote:

---

Originally posted by J-Walk

It's amazing what banjo folks can disagree about.

---

It truly is!  Imagine -- logos on a banjo head!

DEmery - Posted - 12/22/2011:  16:28:58

I have a few skin heads good friend John Balch mounted for me. Some time back John had an ink stamp made to mark his heads "JB" for those heads that went out or on his own banjos. I don't have much religion when it comes to REMO marks and understand personal taste either way. I do like having the JB logo on the old skin heads. Yes it is on the inside. Dan Knowles came up with a "Royal Conn" mark for skin heads back when he built the Goshen banjo. For those that know Dan's work, sense of humor, etc., that mark has a story all it's own and is proudly displayed under the strings. I shared that story with Tom Bergman recently when he asked about the mark. Maybe if REMO stood for some cryptic humor it might make folks feel better. David E.

Carved Scoop - Goshen by Dan Knowles

John Balch mounted skin head