OleRed - Posted - 01/22/2012:  13:22:13

Hi there. I have launched an eBay store where I will be selling custom painted banjo heads, primary working with flags. Most of my friends (and enemies lol) here know me by my Confederate flag banjo head, which I have been painting for years, cause of either heated debates or warm approval. Regardless, I will now be offering them online to anyone who is interested in buying them. However, no need for a flag debate, I will be offering any kind of flag imaginable, from Canadian to Zimbabwean, and anything in between. Custom designs other than flags can be proposed, and will be anylized and considered. They will be made where I live, in the Scottish Highlands, but will ship worldwide, for free. The price is £65 (about $100) flat, all included and good to go.

My selling point, besides of the designs and customization, is the sound integrity of the banjo head. That is my main priority. Technically, anybody with a little bit of artistic abilities can paint a banjo head, but the problem remains with the amount of paint, which can compromise the banjo sound and make it dull or too mellow, especially for us bluegrass pickers. My banjo heads do not compromise the sound. As I have been painting them for years, I have learned how to do it nicely through experience, trial and error and a lot of ruined banjo heads. My method is to carefully plan and arrange the painting in a way that I isolate one color while painting the other, in order to keep the paint coats to a minimum, mostly just one coat worth of paint. The final result is a painted banjo head that sounds very similar to the regular white banjo head, thus sacrificing the sound for the sake of a "cool" banjo head. I have made a video comparing the sound of both the white and painted and I am very satisfied with the results. If you wanna hear the difference, just click on the link below. Be warned that Confederate flags are displayed in the following video, and were not put there, or here to cause an argument. If you can get past them, you can give me feedback on the sound difference if you will. So far, I have received positive replies. My girlfriend, who can't tell a banjo from a shamisen, could not tell the difference, but most banjo players can hear a tiny bit of more warmth on the painted one, and so can I. But I would say, although I am biased, that the sound similarity is very good, bright and clear. You'll be the judge:

youtube.com/watch?v=l6RLlds5VAY

Well, I'm not gonna go on and on here about advertising, just this post and maybe another one on my own page here. If you're interested, do not hesitate, go ahead and contact me. And remember, if you are interested, I can put any flag on a banjo head with the same quality of sound as this one. It's not just painting heads, it's painting heads carefully, with consideration and understanding about the sound. I have painted many banjo heads over the years and tried many different methods, and the reason why I am selling them now is because I am confident that I have reached the best method I could possibly reach when it comes to painting banjo heads.

A lot more info and pictures are available on the item's page on eBay here:

ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsch%2...amp;_rdc=1">ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsch%2...amp;_rdc=1" target="_blank">ebay.co.uk/itm/220938252255?ru...mp;_rdc=1

They are basically painted on the underside, hence why they need just the bare minimum of paint, as they are protected underneath. The shiny clear head also gives the design a nice glossy finish and enhances the colors, like a glossy computer monitor does when comparing it to an opaque. I still offer the opaque as an option though, to those who do not like the feeling of a clear head. They both sound similar, the glossy is brighter and louder though, and of course, lasts for as long as the banjo head itself will last.

Thank you for your time, ladies and gentleman. Keep on a-pickin'! Contact me if you have any questions, the e-mail address for inquiries related to this business is custombanjoheads@hotmail.co.uk

Have a goodin' y'all! I will answer to questions here, if asked any.

Mike

PS: To those who would like to have them, but are not interested in buying them or cannot afford it, I am currently uploading a tutorial on YouTube. It's more than one hour long, but it will show the process of how they are painted step-by-step. Just bear in mind that it is not as easy as it looks, painting a truck or a mail box is one thing, as they do not need to be thin to produce good sound, or produce sound at all - painting a banjo head, which is the very essence of the banjo sound is very tricky business and must be done very carefully. To give you an idea, the tutorial video is a remake - the first one was ruined after I dropped a banjo head with paint on top on a dirty kitchen floor while filming it - accidents happen, no matter how many years you've been doing it! Alright, bye for now.

snapjackson - Posted - 01/22/2012:  14:37:45

How much for a custom African flag?

OleRed - Posted - 01/22/2012:  14:44:51

What kind of African flag? South African? Well, either way, it's all flat rated, so all the flags are the same price, as listed above. Matter of fact you can see a simulation image of the South African flag banjo head installed on a banjo shown on the eBay page description, if you scroll down further. Your country says "United States", are you a South African living in America? My grandparents live in South Africa and I was there not long ago, that's why I ask. Anyways, all the flags the same price.

snapjackson - Posted - 01/22/2012:  22:28:39

I have a student that seen your post and asked me to inquire. Thank you for the reply. I wil pass along the info.

OleRed - Posted - 01/23/2012:  00:22:54

That's nice of you to look it up for him. Yeah, any flags or any kind of banner, it can be done. Tell him he can also read about it on eBay by simply searching for "custom painted banjo head", it's visible worldwide. Thanks for inquiring, Jackson, and a big howdy to California, wish we had yall's weather for a day up here!

Helix - Posted - 01/23/2012:  01:50:53

OleRed - Posted - 01/23/2012:  04:53:20

Looks very nice and clean painted, good work. Thanks for sharing.

daytripper - Posted - 01/23/2012:  12:02:23

I like this idea...

I'd like the colours a little subtler and am not super keen on smooth heads. Have you tried painting on frosted heads - it might mute the colour quite nicely...

I put a black decal on the back of a frosted head and like the effect a lot..:

good luck with your venture. A southerner in Scotland - you fae Aberdeen (oil patch)..?

Edited by - daytripper on 01/23/2012 12:05:46

OleRed - Posted - 01/23/2012:  13:48:19

Thank you for your input, Marc. Yes, you are very correct, some people are don't like the smooth surface of a clear head. It's taking me a while to get used to it as well, as I am used to frosted heads. However, that's why I got the opaque kind, it is a clear head with the paint on top instead of the underside, so it feels like a white head. That's the kind I have been using for a long time. As for painting on frosted white head, yep, I done that, in fact that's all I did when I started painting them, and I used them for years. I have one here like that, with the Scottish saltire painted on it. It does give it more subtle colors, however, personal preferences vary. So far, most people who have commented on it over the years tend to like the more bold, vivid colors. It is also my preference.

However, if somebody were to buy my heads, or a friend asked me to do one for him, I wouldn't have a problem doing the way they want it. The reason I don't like painting on a frosted head (for my own use) is because it feels heavy and it seems to bear too much paint when it's all done, while the clear head, either painted on top or bottom, have a more similar weight and sound quality to that of a frosted head, due the similar amount and thickness of the paint used. And again, if painted on top, it feels like a regular frosted head, the fingers don't slip when they get sweaty, bridge doesn't move, etc. The con is that like a frosted head, it will deteriorate over time, but again we get back to personal preferences, some pickers like the old patina look.

I like your design and what you did there. It is very discreet and it looks professional. And the best reason - it is unique. Nobody else has one like yours, and that is one of the reasons I like painted banjo heads, they are very personal. Again, beautiful work on yours.

Thanks for wishing me luck, I appreciate it. It's something to do while I am unemployed, it raises my self-steam and makes me feel useful. Even if I don't sell a single one of them, I already feel good that I shared it, made that eBay page (that thing is a pain to deal with, I lost all the text and images on a draft at first) and all that stuff. And if I weren't to sell any, I won't lose a think, as it is a custom service and I don't have to make them, obviously, before someone orders and pays for it. Therefore if I am to lose anything is just a tiny amount on eBay fees to post my product there.

Alternatively, I uploaded an hour long video on YouTube showing people how to do it step-by-step, while I do it, 'cause many folks there requested a tutorial and well, not everyone can afford buy them from me, so it's my pleasure to help those who are interested. Well, and that's that. Again, thank you very much and good looking banjo head!

snapjackson - Posted - 01/23/2012:  14:47:23

Very nice, Marc.

daytripper - Posted - 01/23/2012:  15:56:56

I was actually talking about painting on the backside of a frosted head. It would mute the colours - which I like - and not wear out. The underside is smooth too, so the methodology of painting and take of the paint would (I presume) be the same - although I do realise the head will be 'twice-painted' and therefore heavier...

I'm always surprised that people don't decorate banjo heads more than they do - every time I see one, I think it looks great.

All the best!

OleRed - Posted - 01/23/2012:  23:34:31

Oh... you know what, I'm curious now, Marc. I'm gonna try that! I didn't realize that's what you meant. I wonder how it would look too! The amount of paint would be a little more, but not that much for flags that use the white color (Confederate, American, Scottish, English, Irish whatever) because it wouldn't be necessary to paint the white. I will get it done for my own banjo just to see what it would look like. Great idea. I wonder how much of the colors will show and how!

dmiller - Posted - 01/24/2012:  00:57:33

Just curious - - would something like this be "do-able"?

It's the Mc Ewen family crest from my great-grandfather.

Edited by - dmiller on 01/24/2012 01:00:56

banjoy - Posted - 01/24/2012:  04:29:54

Hey Mike I was wondering if you might paint the inside of a resonator too? Then put a clear head on the banjo?

I realize that would involve more cost in shipping if someone wanted something like that done, so it may not be practical.

I did that to my resonator on one of my banjos ... way back in my "hippie" days LOL.

Just thinking that might be something you can consider too....

Edited by - banjoy on 01/24/2012 04:30:18

The resonator from my custom made top-tension banjo

OleRed - Posted - 01/24/2012:  12:17:09

quote:

---

Originally posted by dmiller

Just curious - - would something like this be "do-able"?

It's the Mc Ewen family crest from my great-grandfather.

---

Thanks for the inquiry, David. Coindidentally, I have been thinking and studying for quite a while now the exact same concept for myself! Incredible coincidence that you would come up with the same basic idea. Of course, mine would be of my own clan and tartan, but exactly the same concept, the clan crest with the tartan background. Well, you couldn't have come to a better place to inquiry about Scottish clan tartans and crests. I happen to be working on a collection of all Scottish crests and tartans. I have hundreds, and still going. I happen to have the Clan MacEwen crest and tartan images right here on my laptop. Upon reading your reply, I looked it up and it was a little too different that what I see there. So I worked on Photoshop a little bit and took the liberty of making a simulation of what it would look like, so I will attach the image here. Let me know what you think. Don't worry about the color scheme (the belt on clan crests come brown or black and it varies, colored crests are not standardized), it can be changed to your personal preference. The tartan is the Clan MacEwen tartan, which I have here. But it would look something like this:

Now, to answer your question, YES, it is possible to make. Painted? No. Tartans cannot be painted very successfully, obviously. Even tattoo artists here that I have consulted usually evaluate your tartan to see how complicated it is before deciding if it is possible or not. The difficulty of getting a tartan hand painted, especially one as colorful and detailed as yours, would be beyond reach. And even if you did, the final result would have more paint that you could shake a stick at, certainly affecting the banjo sound badly. There are tutorials to paint some tartans, usually easy and simple looking ones, like the famous Black Watch (which is actually the Campbell tartan) and such, and still, it is very difficult. One like the MacEwens, no, beyond my reach in all honesty. If somebody could do it, and with little paint, I tip my hat to them and applaud standing up.

But it can be done and look similar, in fact identical to the image above by using clear sticker paper. If applied correctly, it would reproduce it very faithfully, and would not affect the sound that much. I have very thing and high quality sticker papers that I have bought for this specific purpose, a very good squeegee tool and a lot of experience with doing stickers myself. We would have to discuss the matter and see how you would like it to be done, the details of the crest, color scheme, position of the tartan, etc.. But yeah, it can be done, I don't see why not. I plan on making one for myself to play here.

So yeah, David, if you are considering it, feel free to send me an e-mail (custombanjoheads@hotmail.co.uk) or you can also let me know what you think here. Either way, your call, buddy! It would indeed look very nice. 

OleRed - Posted - 01/24/2012:  12:31:15

quote:

---

Originally posted by banjoy

Hey Mike I was wondering if you might paint the inside of a resonator too? Then put a clear head on the banjo?

I realize that would involve more cost in shipping if someone wanted something like that done, so it may not be practical.

I did that to my resonator on one of my banjos ... way back in my "hippie" days LOL.

Just thinking that might be something you can consider too....

 

---

Well, another coincidence with what's going on with me and my banjo projects. That's two in a row! I just so happen to be getting a banjo resonator shipped here to Scotland all the way from back home in Mississippi. When I bought my new banjo, a Washburn B17 that shipped from Kansas all the way here, the resonator was cracked on the bottom. Upon finding it, I didn't wanna throw a hissy fit and make a fuss out of it, mainly because to have it returned would cost a lot of money. So I just learned to live with it. Didn't affect the sound and was hidden in the bottom of the banjo... but still, being a perfecctionist sometimes, it annoyed me. So I started looking for B17 resonators... yeah, and good luck finding them. Finally I did, I think they're still being sold on eBay, some guy from Wisconsin, much to my delight, picked up some B17 resonators straight from the factory and put them for sale on eBay. Unfortunately, he did not offer International shipping. I pulled some strings and got some friends back home to buy it for me on eBay, and I wired them the money. It arrived, then went to the post office and other places to see how much it costs to be shipped, and the price is $50. So yeah, to have a resonator shipped here costs about fifty dollars.

It's a wonderful idea, to have them painted on the resonator if someone wanted it, but due to my location, it would be impractical. They would have to ship it to me, then I would have to ship back, and that would cost about $100, only for shipping. That's the price of my new banjo heads with shipping and everything! So yeah, it wouldn't work out. I think that painting the resonator, the inside of it, can be done easily by someone who has even little artistical abilities. Unlike the head, you don't have to be careful with the amount of paint or foreign materials affecting the sound. And if you were to mess up somehow, you could always hide the mistake with a white head and not show it, until you get it fixed.

It is a good idea though, if I was still back in the states, I wouldn't hesitating doing those. I have seen some beautiful ones, the most beautiful I ever seen being one painted with some very beautiful and sober green and black Celtic knots, showing under the clear head, deep down there. It looked awesome.

dmiller - Posted - 01/24/2012:  22:27:19

quote:

---

Originally posted by OleRed

Thanks for the inquiry, David. Coincidentally, I have been thinking and studying for quite a while now the exact same concept for myself! Incredible coincidence that you would come up with the same basic idea. Of course, mine would be of my own clan and tartan, but exactly the same concept, the clan crest with the tartan background. Well, you couldn't have come to a better place to inquiry about Scottish clan tartans and crests. I happen to be working on a collection of all Scottish crests and tartans. I have hundreds, and still going. I happen to have the Clan MacEwen crest and tartan images right here on my laptop. Upon reading your reply, I looked it up and it was a little too different that what I see there. So I worked on Photoshop a little bit and took the liberty of making a simulation of what it would look like, so I will attach the image here. Let me know what you think. Don't worry about the color scheme (the belt on clan crests come brown or black and it varies, colored crests are not standardized), it can be changed to your personal preference. The tartan is the Clan MacEwen tartan, which I have here. But it would look something like this:

 

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Wow - - that is flat out beautiful!  And I've got a gold plated banjo too.  Hmmmm.  

OleRed - Posted - 01/25/2012:  01:02:52

Yes, it would look beautiful. Here's the ones I'm thinking of doing for myself, still deciding between tartan and crest or just plain tartan:

The first one is my beloved clan which I'm a member of, the MacDonald of Sleat, the biggest branch of the biggest clan in history, Clan Donald. The second one is the MacLeod of Lewis, which I'm also a descendant of. The yellow tartan is my favorite tartans of all time, and the only tartan I know that has a nickname: Loud MacLeod, because the colors are so vibrant and well, loud! But yes, those banjo heads would look beautiful and I can't wait to make them myself.