Deering Baucom or Hartford For Bluesy Bluegrass?

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From camlan on 1/3/2014 12:15:07 PM

I am going to buy a new banjo and am moving on from my Maple Blossom. I like the MB but want a more soulful sound (without going oldtime open back).

I am torn between the Baucom and the Hartford as I want a richer sound for slower bluesy bluegrass with some string stretching involved. I like Doc Watson style blues and anything that has a cool bluesy sounds. But I also like playing a bit of traditional bluegrass. Which banjo fits that style of music? I don't have those banjos to play in my city and need to order from distance.

6 Comments
	Garyflksngr says: 1/3/2014 3:17:11 PM I don't have either one of those banjos, but having played both, I would go with the Hartford. You might also try putting a wound third and fourth and tuning it down to D. I play folk as in Gordon Lightfoot, Hartford, Dylan etc. and did that on my Goodtime Classic and really like the sound. You might see if you can get a hold of Hartford's first instructional Cd. He plays his e flat banjo which he has set up like that with a wound third and fourth. Give it a listen and see how you like it. Hope this helps.
	camlan says: 1/3/2014 3:26:37 PM Great feedback and tips on the tuning/third string. It's so funny, I have talked to a number of retailers on this question of which banjo and they are either polarized pro Hartford or pro Baucom with little grey in between!
	RUSTYSTILL says: 1/11/2014 9:43:56 PM Everyone has different tastes and taking the advice of others may not coincide with yours. If you can't actually play the banjos, try spending a few hours listening on YouTube. With good headphones you can get a general idea of the differences between many banjos. Then find a bunch of folk playing the Hartford and then the Baucom and see what you like from the sound files. I did this and played lots of banjos a couple of years ago. Then I heard the Calico in a You Tube video and was captivated. Fortunately a store about 300 miles away had one so I took the drive, played all their banjos and brought the Calico home. No regrets at all. They had a Hartford and I really liked that but the Calico was more of what I was looking for then. Of course, if you have the bucks, by both and return the one that suits you the least. Good luck.
	camlan says: 1/12/2014 12:08:42 AM Seems like a good approach Rusty. I must have 30 hours of online listening in. I am leaning to the Baucom at this point but they are both sounding good. I am also considering buying a second cheaper open back to give me more of a woody hollow sound for songs that call for it.
	camlan says: 2/11/2014 9:43:52 AM I now have the Baucom and am I happy I went that direction. It is more rich and mellow than my Maple Blossom was and feels easier to play. It also has more consistency all the way up the neck. I also bought a Deering Senator which is on order so I will have all bases covered on the more blues side, even though the Baucom does a nice hob there too. The Baucom is an amazing banjo for the money!!
momo says: 2/13/2014 6:52:49 PM I agree the Baucom model is one heck of a good Bluegrass Banjo.
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