jack_beuthin - Posted - 10/23/2016:  11:08:15

I play three banjos in this clip in consecutive order.  Twin Sisters is played twice through on each instrument.  In alphabetical order by maker (but not necessarily playing order) they are: Enoch Dobson, Fairbanks Whyte Laydie #2, and Ome Flora.

My recording capabilities aren't the greatest, but do you have a preference, and can you distinguish which banjo is which?

Thanks for listening!

Edited by - jack_beuthin on 10/24/2016 04:54:32

Twin Sisters (three banjos compared)

 

 

 

jenorma1 - Posted - 10/23/2016:  11:17:50

quote:

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Originally posted by jack_beuthin

 

I play three banjos in this clip in consecutive order.  Twin Sisters is played twice through on each instrument.  In alphabetical order by maker (but not necessarily playing order) they are: Enoch Dobson, Fairbanks Whyte Laydie #2, and Ome Flora.

My recording capabilities aren't the greatest, but do you have a preference, and can you distinguish which is which?

Thanks for listening!

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First - no reason to knock your recordings, they sound pretty good!

My guesses as to order are: 1) OME; 2) White Ladye; 3) Dobson....am I right?

bhniko - Posted - 10/23/2016:  11:58:18

I agree with Jeff. Nice playing.

Edited by - bhniko on 10/23/2016 11:59:03

RV6 - Posted - 10/23/2016:  17:46:03

Jack,

I don't know which is which but my top rating goes to 3, then 2 and 1.

Good job on all. I'm working on Twin Sister and, from the looks of things, I've got a ways to go

carlb - Posted - 10/23/2016:  19:58:47

Prefer 3 over 1 or 2.

JanetB - Posted - 10/23/2016:  20:00:50

That's a tough one to guess, Jack.  I like Jeff's guesses.  The last banjo has the richest tone -- most sustain and depth.  You'll have to reveal the results for us before too long and tell us which you like best and why.  

Do you find that your ears hear differently when you play than when you listen to a recording of yourself playing?  I always seem to like the tone I hear in live playing better than my recordings....

Thanks for sharing this tune!

jack_beuthin - Posted - 10/23/2016:  20:59:20

I'll reveal the banjos tomorrow.  I'll say for now that 3 has a skin head, whereas 1 and 2 have Ren heads.  One and two sound more distinct live, than in the recordings.  My guess is that a professional recording set up would reveal those distinctions better.  But I also think this shows how much something skin vs plastic head has an effect.

Yes, Janet, I usually like the live tone better, but as I said, I know virtually nothing about sound engineering so it would be interesting to compare against a high quality recording.  Wish I knew more.  Maybe with all my semi-retired "spare time"...

RV6 - Posted - 10/24/2016:  06:07:15

Jack, You should record the three banjos equipped with nylon strings for your next project

I listened again this morning and my opinion is the same.  They all sound good.  IOW, they're all keepers

jack_beuthin - Posted - 10/24/2016:  17:45:24

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for (well, maybe a few of you anyway).  The banjos in order of appearance are:

1 - Ome Flora (12 in rim with Ren head)

2 - Fairbanks Whyte Laydie (10 15/16" rim with Ren head)

3 - Enoch Dobson (11" rim with goatskin head).

Jeff guessed right!

My preference based on what I hear would be for the Dobson, as seems to be the general preference.  There is good reason for this--it is an incredible banjo.

Suprising to me is how similar the Ome and the Whyte Laydie sound.  Live, they do not sound so similar, but they are still closer to each other than either is to the Dobson.  As I said previously, I think the Ren head has a lot to do with that.

I am going to try a skin head on the Whyte Laydie and see how that changes things up.  I'll post another sound comparison with the Ome when I do that.

I just acquired the Whyte Laydie last week (1903 build).  It is an very easy banjo to play with a smooth, low action.  It also has a lot of punch and sustain, and a nice low rumble on the 4th string.  I am still adapting my playing to its tonal subtleties so I expect the sound to evolve just based on that.  However, I really want to see what a skin head does vs the ren head. Stay tuned on that.

Thanks for listening and chiming in!

Edited by - jack_beuthin on 10/24/2016 17:46:34

bhniko - Posted - 10/26/2016:  07:53:46

I do have the Enoch Dobson so I was a bit familiar with the sound. Listening a lot to Janet on her Whyte Ladie it was a safe bet. So the Ome had to be the last of my choices.

Thanks for the post as such things are really helpful to those who are upgrading...but again each of us has their own set of ears tuned a bit differently so there there is wide

choice of banjo's out there for all of us.

mjt0229 - Posted - 10/26/2016:  10:00:04

Interesting! First off, great playing - I recognize that arrangement and you get through it much more smoothly than I do.

What I'm really struck by is how similar all three sound overall. I agree that the Dobson stands out from the other two, but I wonder if the head is the dominant factor (compared to the tone ring or other factors). I wonder if the overall similarity is in the player (technique, style of attack, etc) and the recording set up, and then the head, and then the tone ring.

I'm a fan of the sound of a Dobson banjo with a skin head, so that is my favorite. It's harder to choose with the others, but you ought to get that Fairbanks set up with a skin head and see what it does!

Edited by - mjt0229 on 10/26/2016 10:01:29