Shimdog - Posted - 08/31/2012:  09:10:38

I have to share my excitement.

I feel very fortunate to have an old 3 and 12 that I love.  Despite that, I have been smitten with the banjos Steve has been cranking out.  The vintage Hubers are great too, but there is something special about these Truetone versions. 

I couldn't hold out any longer, so I am now a proud owner of a new VRB-G that is terrific.  I wanted the maple sound to complement my other mahogany and walnut 'jos. 

I sorta understand the process Steve and Doc Rae used to model the prewar flathead tone, but I am still bowled over by the results.  For a new banjo to have the dry cracking sound that is characteristic in the old flatheads is amazing.  Also, the tone is even all of the way up the fingerboard and still strong when capoed (many non-prewar flatheads lose something when capoed in my opinion).

If you have been contemplating adding something to your arsenal, treat yourself as I just did.  I think you'll love it too.

Paul  

Barnet in SoCal - Posted - 08/31/2012:  10:32:13

Yep, these are great banjos, no doubt. And Doc Rae's work on the rim is maybe even more significant than his work on the ring. The more original prewar flatheads I've played, along many great conversions and lots and lots of new banjos, I've come around to agree with those who credit the rim with making perhaps the biggest difference in tone. Who knows... it may well be that rims from original flathead banjos, having been cut 80 years ago when they were built, and having dried out over those years, produce the "old" in the overall tone, that most elusive element of the prewar sound. And maybe there's something important about the ring and rim being in contact together for all those years. Maybe all that has something to do with why putting a new ring on a prewar flathead rim can sound just about as good as it gets.... who knows, I don't, that's for sure.

But having said all that, to my ear the engineered rims designed by Doc Rae and Steve, and built one-by-one by Brian Sims, are just as big a factor in the Huber sound as the HR-30 ring...

Barnet in SoCal
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--Earl… the one… the only….

Shimdog - Posted - 08/31/2012:  12:46:46

Totally agree, Barnet.  It seems like the rim is a real key.  I've heard HR-30 rings put on old rims and they really sound awesome, especially rims from old flatheads, probably for the reasons you stated.  The old flathead banjos still have a little something extra, but I think the Truetone rim/ring combo will likely get there over time as the rim dries further and vibrates with that ring.

Banjov1 - Posted - 08/31/2012:  13:21:50

was lucky enough to play this banjo and it was AWESOME!!

I think it's amazing that you can get something that sounds as close to those old Gibsons in a brand spanking new package that looks as beautiful as your's does Paul.

Great tone all up and down the neck, but I'm still blown away by the mid range on that thing... just absolutely superior tone. And I just kind of wonder how much more incredible it's gonna sound as it really opens up over the next couple months.

congrats Paul

jessie - Posted - 08/31/2012:  13:37:48

i have been buying and reselling banjos for around ten years ,looking for the so called " the one  ".you name it ,i have had most top makes ,some really great banjos .i recently bought a huber vrb75 [all mahogany neck and resonator model ],as soon as i took it brand new out of its case and played it ,i knew this banjo was what i have been looking for .it has it all .i have since sold all my banjo collection except my stelling archtop and flathead .i wish it was around ten years ago ,would have saved myself a bundle

corcoran - Posted - 08/31/2012:  18:28:29

Here's the deal:  For 40 years, my only banjo was a wonderful prewar Gibson flathead.  Then I got a Huber with a Vintage ring, and then Ii got another Huber.  A couple of months ago I received my third Huber, a VRB-3 Truetone.  Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather, the banjo sounded so good right out of the box.  Really, Steve and Jim Rae seem to have captured the sound of the prewar flathead Gibson in banjos that are just babies.  What will they sound like in 5, 10, or 50 years?

Michael

Edited by - corcoran on 08/31/2012 18:29:50

Shimdog - Posted - 09/01/2012:  19:45:52

Thanks, Tony.  Your Huber with the HR-30 is a great one too.  It can stand up to any of them.  Great pickin' too on your part.

Just Bill - Posted - 09/02/2012:  09:03:14

Congratulations, Paul! I know you will get many, MANY years of enjoyment from that wonderful sounding banjo. I have a VRB-G on order and hope to get my hands on it perhaps this month.

Bill

Emiel - Posted - 09/02/2012:  14:00:21

I have read about the "engineered rim". But what do they exactly (or approximately) mean by that?

Banjov1 - Posted - 09/03/2012:  08:42:14

quote:

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Originally posted by Emiel

I have read about the "engineered rim". But what do they exactly (or approximately) mean by that?

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I think the "engineered rim" label comes from the fact that they used vibration analysis to come up with measurable properties of pre-war Gibson rims and basically went through a re-iterative engineering process to create a rim that matched those measurements. 



You may have seen this already... but here's a video of Steve describing his Truetone components... 

 

VIDEO: Huber Truetone is Here! (click to view)

Emiel - Posted - 09/03/2012:  13:59:33

Thanks. Yes, I saw that video, but the principles of the engineered rim didn't cling with me... Thanks for the explanation that it went by the way of vibration measurements...