richla - Posted - 01/31/2012:  07:56:12

I recently discovered Richie Stearns and am really intrigued by his sound.  I find it incredibly warm.  I seem to be drawn to that "plunk" sound of nylon strings, which is why I'm surprised I love his sound so much.

Can anyone share any light on what type of banjo he normally uses?  I'm still too much of a banjo rookie to be able to tell one from another, I'm wondering who makes it, if it's a tubaphone style, etc.   To my eyes, all I see is an old open back style with a skin head.

Can anyone share any information?    I think it's a neat sound, maybe it's just my ears, I'd love to try to duplicate it, if I knew how.  Not that I'd be able to play like him!, give me a stratocaster, I still won't sound like Hendrix!

atracksler - Posted - 01/31/2012:  08:04:20

I met him a few years ago and he was playing a johan bonefass (pardon my butchering of that if I did...) with a hair-on hide head. He was a really nice guy.

richla - Posted - 01/31/2012:  08:16:28

Thanks. That could be, as I saw a couple of references to a Bonefass (sp?) "Richie Stearns Model" but I have never seen a definitive confirmation? Thanks for responding so quickly, too.
Rich

J-Walk - Posted - 01/31/2012:  08:19:17

You can see him playing his Bonefass on several YouTube videos. Here's a good example: youtu.be/Y402E7AkNj8

Viper - Posted - 01/31/2012:  08:22:18

And here's a link to the banjo maker: johannesbonefaas.com/

Modeled after the H.C. Dobson Silver Bell. 

richla - Posted - 01/31/2012:  08:32:12

Man, you guys are amazing! You post a question, and you get info within minutes. I looked at Johanne's site (thank you, Viper) and I see:
"While working on a banjo for Richie Stearns, new ideas came up and improvements were made, resulting in the new "Richie Stearns" model, that have the sweetest and cleanest ringing high notes and warmest deepest basses."

I think I got my question answered, although I suspect Richie can make any banjo sound that good.

Thanks again,
Rich

orangikan - Posted - 01/31/2012:  08:57:54

Greg Galbreath (Buckeye Banjos) recently made a special commission interpretation of Richie Stearns' banjo. You can see it here. Just scroll down to Banjo #116.

The man himself shares some insight into how he get's his tone at this series of Youtube videos.

jbalch - Posted - 01/31/2012:  09:41:16

I had a JB (Johannes Bonefaas) banjo for a while.  But it did not make me sound like Richie Stearns. 

JB banjos are very costly.  Check out Bill Rickard for a very good spun-over / Dobson type instrument.

richla - Posted - 01/31/2012:  10:59:56

yes, I think the secret here is a beautiful banjo in the hands of a professional. Such a beautiful sound, and now it's starting to make sense to me.
Orangikan, thanks for that Buckeye link, some serious banjo eye candy going on, for sure.

PeterRedwoods - Posted - 01/31/2012:  12:50:35

I saw him perform this fall and he had a half circle of thick grey foam filling half the pot of both of his banjos both looking like bonafaas models. Both of them had Dobson rings.

He does some wild and fast strumming scales up the neck an then back down to his thumpy poppy drop thumbing. Love it!

atleson - Posted - 01/31/2012:  13:50:07

Ritchie, as a friend always says, is a musical genius.  You can hear do a wonderful variety of things on the new Soundwagon cd.  He clawhammers, plays up the neck, clucks, and does a variety of movements that, to me at least, sound very drum like in rhythm.  I've tried to watch him closely, even had a workshop with him, and i'm still in the dark---but totally amazed.  He's a warm and engaging fellow too.

jim

richla - Posted - 01/31/2012:  14:18:36

I feel like the last guy in the world to find out about this guy. I saw the youtube videos and have been really amazed, and spending some money on downloads, too.
Jim, what is the Soundwagon cd, I don't recall seeing that one?

atleson - Posted - 01/31/2012:  14:36:47

Richla,

Soundwagon is a band who recorded "Give the Fiddler a Dram" recently.  I just happened to see it somehow.  You can buy and hear parts of the tunes on CD Baby.  I get most of my cds from this site and County Sales.

jim

pastorharry - Posted - 01/31/2012:  16:27:21

Ah yes, the old timey polyrhythm African Mantra groove thing!! Richie Stearns is the master.

robotandroid74 - Posted - 01/31/2012:  17:36:12

I'm sure by now you've seen this series of videos on youtube .  Not sure exactly what banjo this is, but you'll get a close look.  And some insight into Richie's style.

I'll second that Soundwagon CD.  It's a fantastic collection of Mississippi fiddle tunes (plus one penned by Richie) from a native Mississippi fiddler, along with Richie Stearns and others.

Here's a review:    redeyedrooster.com/soundwagonalbumreview/

eugene1978 - Posted - 01/31/2012:  18:01:23

Geez Jim, I pride myself on being a Richie fan (despite selling my Bonefaas to J-Walk!). I'd never heard of the Soundwagon disc. It is AMAZING! He's just so percussive, it drives me mad. I wish someone would do a real in-depth analysis of his playing (like a book of tabs and such or an instructional vid of tunes).
Personally, my fantasy is to be 1/3 Richie 1/3 John Herrmann 1/3 Fred Cockerham...A guy can dream!
Many thanks for this thread, simply for Soundwagon.

J-Walk - Posted - 01/31/2012:  18:31:55

I can't believe Soundwagon slipped under my radar. I'm downloading it right now.

eugene1978 - Posted - 01/31/2012:  18:36:55

J-Walk - this is the disc for you man! It's spectacular - I'm on my third listen right now...

J-Walk - Posted - 01/31/2012:  18:58:03

Spectacular indeed. I've sampled all of the tracks, and now I have to pick my jaw up off the floor. That might be the best new old time album ever recorded. Even the vocals are great -- and I usually don't like vocals.

Can't wait to give this one some serious listening time. 

eugene1978 - Posted - 01/31/2012:  19:06:23

J-Walk,
That's exactly my assessment of the album - best! Those laid back vocals (back in the mix) really do it for me.
Check out Richie's playing in this vid - very similar vibe. It's about rhythm and fun...and the vocals are awesome.

youtube.com/watch?v=medL0ryD3wY

atleson - Posted - 01/31/2012:  20:29:35

i'm so glad to have promoted Soundwagon, just as i was surprised to find it and take a chance on it.  Not everyone, including some very traditional players, particularly like what Ritchie does, but i've always loved his playing.  And i second Eugene---Ritchie, John Herrmann and Fred C. are the top.

jim

J-Walk - Posted - 02/01/2012:  13:35:56

I listened to it three times today while I was outside doing yard work. I had more work to do, but I abandoned it so I could come inside and learn Old Joe Bone.

This album is just incredible. Do yourself a favor and just buy it.

JLSproull - Posted - 02/01/2012:  18:28:42

Richie has two modified HC Dobsons that he probably plays more than his JB.

J-Walk - Posted - 02/02/2012:  09:21:48

Richie's band, Horse Flies, has several live concerts available at archive.org. The audio quality varies, but I think this is the best one, recorded in 2003 for a radio station in Germany:

archive.org/details/horseflies...6-02.shnf

It's nothing at all like the Soundwagon album.

ScottK - Posted - 02/02/2012:  10:40:45

Thanks from me as well for that pointer to Soundwagon.  Just ordered a copy from CD Baby.

As a side note, that Soundwagon review that Rob provided a link for says:

Named after a van driven by an ethnomusicologist from New York to Mississippi in 1939 to record Mississippi fiddlers, Soundwagon recreates the journey in reverse, as fiddler Jack Magee from Magee, Mississippi traveled to New York to record tunes with some of New York’s most exciting old-time players.

The voyage of the first “sound wagon,” a one-time U.S. Army ambulance decked out with a cot, an acetate-disc recorder, cabinets for holding equipment, and other odds and ends, enabled the birth of Great Big Yam Potatoes, a record that features, among other fiddlers, Enos Canoy, from Jack’s hometown. The second migration fulfills Magee’s vision of bringing relatively little-known Mississippi tunes to a wider audience and hooking the listener with hypnotic grooves and funky, percussive instrumentation.  

That Great Big Yam Potatoes recording is long out of print, but can be found on the "Times ain't like they used to be" web site.

Scott

J-Walk - Posted - 02/02/2012:  11:35:28

Plus, a lot of the original recordings from the Soundwagon CD are here: 

slippery-hill.com/M-K/

Bisbonian - Posted - 02/03/2012:  20:16:43

Okay, on all the recommendations, I bought it.  Love it!  Funny thing is, I recently burned a CD for a road trip (yes, my car still uses those) of Misississippi String Band Tunes, covering many of the same songs. Same funny way of singing the lyrics, too. But, Ritchie Stearns banjo sure adds a lot of pop to them, and you can never have too many recordings of Tupelo Blues, in my opinion.

Edited by - Bisbonian on 02/03/2012 20:24:03

rudy - Posted - 02/04/2012:  04:47:40

Another tip of the proverbial hat for the Soundwagon album.  This thread is turning out to be quite the love fest for this band.  It has a lot of rough edges, but they actually add to the total package for me.  You won't hear of this one referred to as over-produced.  There's a lot of the room sound on the recordings, like it might just be a live living room type of thing.  I'd be interested in the details if they were posted somewhere.

There are a lot of deliciously crooked tunes here that really have a charm all their own.  I haven't had the fiddle out for quite a while, but Tupelo Blues was too much to ask me not to pull it out and play along until I got it.

J-Walk - Posted - 02/04/2012:  05:17:57

Right now it's the top-selling album in CD Baby's Country/Old Timey genre:

cdbaby.com/Style/368

And the CDs are sold out (download only). The power of word of mouth advertising.

atleson - Posted - 02/04/2012:  07:26:55

wow, i had no idea that by mentioning Soundwagen it would cause a run on CD Baby and other sources.  I'm happy for the band.  I bought it on spec, buying nearly all OT band cds, without even knowing that one of my favorite players was in on the action.  Until i played the cd in the car, i hadn't even looked to see who was playing.  I recognized Ritchie's playing right away.  

 for those who like this kind of playing, John Herrman is another hero.  He plays with Big Foot, an extraordinary band including Rhys Jones, who won at Clifftop fairly recently.  If you check on Youtube you can see and hear the band play a tune--Newt Payne as i remember,  which will be on their expexted album.

jim

rudy - Posted - 02/04/2012:  15:26:24

quote:

---

Originally posted by atleson



wow, i had no idea that by mentioning Soundwagen it would cause a run on CD Baby and other sources.  I'm happy for the band.  I bought it on spec, buying nearly all OT band cds, without even knowing that one of my favorite players was in on the action.  Until i played the cd in the car, i hadn't even looked to see who was playing.  I recognized Ritchie's playing right away.  

for those who like this kind of playing, John Herrman is another hero.  He plays with Big Foot, an extraordinary band including Rhys Jones, who won at Clifftop fairly recently.  If you check on Youtube you can see and hear the band play a tune--Newt Payne as i remember,  which will be on their expexted album.

 jim

---

 Good for Soundwagon, although a "run" on CD at CDBaby can be a small run indeed.  Two of my friends that I played with earlier today have a CD available at CDBaby, and it initially sold out often, as CDBaby would only order more copies when they ran out and only ordered 5 CDs per re-order.  CDBaby much prefers the digital downloads, as there is very little overhead for them to digitally distribute an album.

If you haven't heard the Turinos, go check 'em out, their latest is a 2009 release.

cdbaby.com/cd/mtturino 

hdplayer - Posted - 02/05/2012:  15:47:33

I love you guys! thank you for turning me onto this Soundwagon CD! My office neighbors are gonna hate me tomorrow, but this will get me through Monday morning very nicely.

charlied - Posted - 02/05/2012:  16:27:47

Lets face it, Michael Jordan made Dennis Rodman look good.  

Jack Magee is the Man!!

(just kidding Mr. Stearns)

J-Walk - Posted - 02/05/2012:  16:59:36

I must admit that I've never heard of Jack Magee until a few days ago. But that combination is killer. 

I'm still trying to figure out why I never heard about this CD when it came out. And that makes me wonder how many other good ones are released, but nobody hears about them.

PrairieSchooner - Posted - 02/06/2012:  11:16:54

What I want to know is, what does it say on his banjo head?  "I need Help Japan?"

richla - Posted - 02/07/2012:  17:19:09

Yes! That is my question, too: anybody??

Viper - Posted - 02/08/2012:  08:37:38

It does look like "I NEED HELP JAPAN." I'm guessing it was in reference to the earthquake and nuclear disaster there last year. 

Greg Galbreath - Posted - 02/08/2012:  09:11:43

Just an interesting side note - the Richie Stearns banjo I recently made, and that was mentioned earlier, was for Jack Magee of Soundwagon.
Greg

sugarinthegourd - Posted - 03/09/2012:  11:21:16

I had the pleasure of being there when Jack got his banjo -- what a beaut -- and of jamming with him later at Clifftop. He's a great player, and quite a character. Boundless energy.

biscuit joiner - Posted - 03/10/2012:  05:46:14

quote:

---

Originally posted by J-Walk

Richie's band, Horse Flies, has several live concerts available at archive.org. The audio quality varies, but I think this is the best one, recorded in 2003 for a radio station in Germany:

archive.org/details/horseflies...6-02.shnf

It's nothing at all like the Soundwagon album.

---

That is a good one. Have you found any others there that are good quality? I've looked a bit for sbd or matrix recordings, or ones with decent mics, but there's quite a few listed. I'd d/l all of them and cull through em, but our internet stinks out in the country.

DArcySimpson - Posted - 03/12/2012:  11:59:54

I love the video where Richie shared his trick of putting a wadded up piece of towel under the strings in front of the bridge to approximate a gut string sound. After some research I found another thread that said he and John Herman also put duct tape on top of the bridge to mute the strings a bit.  It's really a neat trick if you want to get that popcorn rhythmic effect.

mike hansen - Posted - 03/13/2012:  16:16:23

one of the cool things about Richie's banjo is that it is pretty much the only banjo he has played for the past 30 years.
He got his original H.C. Dobson for like $15 and has modified it some...but "that" banjo is what he plays most of the time.

the action is pretty high. and is strung with heavy tension strings. he had the finger board replaced and the frets re-spaced so that the bridge could be moved slightly closer to the center of the head...and he uses a down pressed tailpiece. goat skin head..and a sliding fifth string capo...

his other banjos are really just other versions of the same thing...such that when he needs them all for a performance he can put them all in different tunings and keep the same basic feel and sound...

but when he plays at an old-time jam he usually just uses the original Dobson...

elclaudito - Posted - 03/13/2012:  17:47:02

Ahh, now that is consistent with my impressions. While a $4,000 reproduction (although I expect one gets more than a mere repro) is no doubt an amazing thing, a good deal on a proven banjo coupled with a good set-up makes a fine and pretty affordable tool for a creative individual, as we can certainly all attest. Richie's rhythmic sense and his ease with the instrument, to my ears, are the best part of his sound.

richla - Posted - 03/13/2012:  17:51:23

Great info, Mike.
I'm still trying to decipher his right hand patterns from those videos mentioned previously. Great videos. I'll say this: it's hopeless, I wish there was tab available jus to break down what he is doing, and he sure goes slow enough.

J-Walk - Posted - 03/13/2012:  18:47:28

Interesting. In the videos I've seen, I always assumed that Richie was playing one of his Bonefass banjos.

I have a $4,000 reproduction (Bonefass) and I also have an original Dobson. I love playing that old Dobson, but it sounds NOTHING like the Bonefass. My Dobson is just a quiet player, and I'd never take it to a jam. Part of it is because I use Nylgut strings on the Dobson, but there's something else going on. Is it all in the set up? 

I think my Bonefass could sound like Richie (in his hands), but I really can't see how my Dobson could get his sound.  But I could be wrong. In fact, I'm sure I'm wrong. Now I'll be looking for someone to do a good setup on my Dobson.

elclaudito - Posted - 03/13/2012:  20:14:07

J-Walk, I just want to state for the record that I am green with envy. It makes a good deal of sense to me that the Bonefaas is probably a killer instrument. I've played a friend's old Dobson, with a set of nylguts on it, and that one is pretty quiet too. I'd take it though :)
I found this video of Bonefaas going over some techniques and he has some further insight into Richie's style. There's another video where he's playing with some other folks-the man GETS it. This was likely filmed around the time the Evil City Stringband disc came out, if I had to guess.

youtube.com/watch?v=VWqh0ByMWO...e=related

mike hansen - Posted - 03/14/2012:  07:58:36

j walk...I almost sold your dobson to Richie before trading it to you.  In fact he was the last person to play it before I packed it up.

I had it set up pretty close to Richie's set up and in his hands it sounded like Richie playing a Dobson banjo.

one thing about his set up that is important...he likes his banjo to be hard to play.

I've played his banjos and you really have to dig in to get sound out of them...but his banjos suit his hands...

J-Walk - Posted - 03/14/2012:  08:29:03

The first thing I did when I got that Dobson was to install Nylgut strings.

You convinced me that I should try the steel strings again.

J-Walk - Posted - 03/14/2012:  10:11:19

Change to steel strings is completed. It's like a have a whole new banjo. I put on light guage strings, and won't crank 'em higher than G tuning. It really sounds good. I prefer the tone to the Bonefaas.