NYCJazz - Posted - 03/18/2013:  15:33:41

God bless those "Modern players"!

So... What does that make me? 

I guess this "Blue Ribbon" is sort of the PT Cruiser of the banjo world!

I made a resonator for my Blue Ribbon inspired by Eddy Davis... I took an old record (a 12" 33 1/3 rpm LP) and used a rubber band to hold it to the dowel.

Boy is Ed Britt right about geared tuners being handy for these. It's an ordeal to tune it.

The bigger pot puts the bridge closer to the center than on an 11" tenor and it makes a huge difference in the sound. I have it tuned CGBD and it sound like nothing else!

wfawley - Posted - 03/18/2013:  17:39:46

I don't know what that makes you, Nathan. But players of 5 strings today ... more times than not will reject a 27 inch scale if a 26 inch is available. That said ... if I actually was building the neck for an 11 1/2" pot ... I'd have used a 27 inch scale. The 27 inch scale doesn't sound as good with an 11 inch rim because of bridge placement on the head. It tends to be too close to the tailpiece.



On this 26 inch scale fretboard ... I left a generous amount of space after the 22nd fret to help keep the bridge out from the tailpiece even a bit more than "normal".



Trends change over time, and the 27 inch scale is not as popular as it once was. Fingerstyle players find some of the stretches on the longer scale more difficult.Clawhammer players don't venture beyond the 7th fret much, so it's of less importance to that crowd.



I drive a PT Cruiser ... so I don't "get" the analogy.

Hey ..... Check out the "Radio Special" that just hit the classifieds. Good thing I don't have more cash laying around. I'd have to worry about where to store it.



Wyatt

Edited by - wfawley on 03/18/2013 17:45:18

NYCJazz - Posted - 03/18/2013:  19:47:26

PT Cruiser = Nostalgic styling without having to learn to use a clutch or having to do without air conditioning. It's great because it's safe and reliable. It's hip AND practical.

I figured I was the "modern player" because I use those crazy diminished, augmented and even 9th chords! In ANY key!

Your Blue Ribbon looks to be a top-quality instrument. You are a truly a master craftsman.

wfawley - Posted - 03/18/2013:  19:57:45

Thanks,Nathan. That means a lot to me coming from you. I'm working on the finish "as we speak" along with a lot of other necks and resonators, so my versionofthe "antique finish" will debut soon.

Glad you weren't "dissin'" my ride too ... I love that little car.

Wyatt

Wayne Holcombe - Posted - 03/20/2013:  12:17:22

Ed,     When you get my pics feel free to post them.All comments will be accepted some might even be appreciated.

              Wayne

BrittDLD1 - Posted - 03/20/2013:  13:36:31

Hi Wayne --

I got your CD Saturday. But sent you an email on Monday (jma - -h@Yahoo.com), with some comments and info.

I do need some more time to go though the photos. (Spent yesterday blowing MORE snow... I'm having flashbacks to my years in Buffalo and Syracuse!)

I'll post the 'significant' photos in a day or two. And I'll reiterate some of my comments.

Best-- Ed Britt

Edited by - BrittDLD1 on 03/20/2013 13:37:56

wfawley - Posted - 03/21/2013:  07:57:58

Here's what "I" think of when I think of a Bacon and Day "antique" finish. It's not all dark like the original. After I get the rest of the shoes next week, I'll add some geared tuners and it will be ready for steel strings.

Wyatt

NYCJazz - Posted - 03/21/2013:  19:59:29

Bound headstock usually means gold hardware.

It usually also means carved heel.

Note my Blue Ribbon has a natural light maple finish.

wfawley - Posted - 03/21/2013:  21:50:17

In this case ... it just meant "I liked it"... nothing more. Nothing will turn an oldtime player's gaze away from a banjo faster than gold plating. I contemplated carving it ... but the wood's too "plain jane" to warrant the effort.

Wyatt

NYCJazz - Posted - 03/21/2013:  22:23:58

I don't confess to understand your world of "custom antiques"!  It's a strange place to someone like me who enjoys vintage instruments the way they were originally constructed.

Bacon products hold a certain reverence for me... after all, my mentor Roy was a big part of B&D history.

I'm glad that no original Bacon banjos were harmed in the production of your fine Blue Ribbon.

wfawley - Posted - 03/22/2013:  00:03:06

There's nothing "antique"about it. It's "just a banjo", a new one ... built from stuff I had "on hand", that was inspired by the vintage Bacon banjos, but not a "copy" of anything.



The curb appeal of a vintage instrument without the headaches of failing hide glue joinery, and built of rotting pearwood veneers. One nice damp evening and entire fretboards can fall off ... I had a peerless that actually happened to. The fretboard was little more than a veneer of some kind of synthetic. It was laying on the bench face down for a good while. I went to pick it up one day and all of the frets and pieces of "fretboard" veener stayed on the bench.



Let me ask you this. If you could spend very little money, walk across the yard to the shop and build something like this, and actually enjoy the work ... would you do it? I'll be 55 in June. I've been building banjos since I was 17. It's what I do. I do take artistic license with things from time to time. Nothing is sacred.



The other point... People get all caught up in "what they used to be able to do" ... you know "they sure don't make 'em like they used to". Anything that could be done then can be done now. Age or lineage means less to me than it does to somebody who considers themselves a serious historian or collector.



Sure, I like vintage banjos as much as the next guy..... but "I like banjos" is probably more accurate. I enjoy the fact that if it strikes my fancy ... there's a good chance I can build a reasonable facsimile of "whatever" it may be, be it a harmony banjo or a Gibson Florentine.



I enjoy the "problem solving" aspect of the creative process. The challenges are what keep me interested in the work. I'm working on a tool right now that will make some of this stuff easier....and which will cost a tiny fraction of what more "traditional" tools would cost. That's half the fun for me, right there.



Wyatt

Edited by - wfawley on 03/22/2013 00:04:38

Wayne Holcombe - Posted - 04/05/2013:  14:41:45

I think I've got all the parts to put my Blue Ribbon back in playing order.

       Wayne

NYCJazz - Posted - 04/05/2013:  19:05:57

Please take some photos & share them with us, Wayne!