He had a new Pisgah banjo on display - the Rambler. It's a 12" silver spunover with a beautiful sound. I'd been in the process of trying out banjos for a while (thanks to Zepp for letting me play his exquisite selection!), zooming in on Ramseys, Rickards and Enochs - and Pisgahs. With either a Dobson, brass or no tone ring.
But this weekend's encounter cinched the deal. The spunover had exactly the right ring and bass to it, with great looks on top. Patrick was very accommodating. It's a big step, the first step up from my Chinese Mastercraft entry model.
The Rambler will have a slightly different look. Not only because of the spunover rim but because fretboard and headstock are black - made of Richlite, so no tree culling involved. Patrick's emphasis on sustainability is something I really appreciate anyway.
Plus: Cherry neck and rim, Dobson heel, black paddle head, no inlay on head or neck, nickel hardware, black buttons on the tuners. Simple to the point of being austere.
The Rambler should be ready by end of April. Can't wait! No pictures yet, but it will look similar to the Rickard and Brooks spunovers - though with Pisgah contours and sound!
20 Comments |
 | Hoytt says:
2/11/2014 7:59:50 PM
Sounds like another winner. Pisgahs are great, unique banjo.
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 | BOHICA says:
3/4/2014 10:50:52 AM
I ordered #002 when I heard about it...I'll see if I can post a few photos.
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 | Patagorda says:
3/4/2014 10:54:07 AM
Great!! Here is Patrick with the prototype at Boone's Old Time Fiddler's convention.
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| Patagorda says:
3/4/2014 10:54:59 AM
Sorry - can't post photos from my iPhone it seems.
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| Patagorda says:
3/4/2014 3:16:41 PM
Two photos on my homepage. This is the prototype. My version will have the Richlite fingerboard and all nickel parts.
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| Patagorda says:
3/4/2014 3:18:03 PM
@BOHICA - where did you fall for the Rambler? I see you already have two (!) Pisgah's.
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| BOHICA says:
3/5/2014 9:05:59 AM
I dropped in a close up of the new Rambler on my page. I statred with a Fender banjo because I knew nothing else. I then convinced my wife to also begin this journey. Thats said, I also decided that a banjo should be made in America.....which led me to Partick. Both of my previous ones are used. The early one has a heart headstock rather than the quited star. I gave that one to my wife. I was talking to Patrick early winter and asked him if the new one (yet unnamed) was ready. He sent me the shot of the prototype and as they say, the rest is history. No I simply have to wait...
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| Patagorda says:
3/5/2014 9:09:15 AM
Cool. It looks like yours also differs from the prototype in the sense that it doesn't have the brass brackets and hoop. Looks awesome. What other specs? Cherry or walnut? 12"?
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| BOHICA says:
3/5/2014 11:00:25 AM
That is the prototype...#001
Mine will be a 12", Cherry, black fretboard. Not sure how its developed from the early ones but looking forward to it none the less.
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| Patagorda says:
3/5/2014 11:37:57 AM
Interesting. The prototype I saw in Boone had brass brackets and a brass hoop.
I'm dropping by Patrick's workshop in a couple of weeks - a great opportunity to see how they're progressing!
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| BOHICA says:
3/5/2014 12:22:07 PM
He easily could have used stock he had at the time from the shop to fab it up.
Tell him my birthday is April 16...it would be a good present to et in the mail!
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| Patagorda says:
3/5/2014 12:49:09 PM
Interesting. The prototype I saw in Boone had brass brackets and a brass hoop.
I'm dropping by Patrick's workshop in a couple of weeks - a great opportunity to see how they're progressing!
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| Patagorda says:
3/5/2014 12:49:19 PM
Interesting. The prototype I saw in Boone had brass brackets and a brass hoop.
I'm dropping by Patrick's workshop in a couple of weeks - a great opportunity to see how they're progressing!
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 | BlowingRockNC says:
3/7/2014 8:24:34 AM
I too saw Patrick at the Boone festival. I've got a fretless Dobson being made, hopefully in my hands sometime during April. Patrick is putting all brass hardware on it, along with a dyed skin head. I can't wait to get my hands on it. I've been working on various OT tunings in anticipation of getting it. In the meantime, I'm also practicing on a fretless mountain banjo, which is really hard to play for many reasons other than just being fretless. It's good to see the Pisgah guys are trying to keep things moving forward with new styles, because that should help them succeed in the competitive world of banjo making.
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| BlowingRockNC says:
3/7/2014 9:38:23 AM
By the way, I meant to ask Patrick about the Richlite, as I wonder what happens when the wooden neck expands or contracts with weather, but the Richlite doesn't. All it would take is a tiny faction of movement to cause a problem with the connection between the Richlite fingerboard and the neck. Just wondering.
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| Patagorda says:
3/7/2014 2:26:29 PM
Congrats! I briefly played a fretless model in Boone - not sure whether it had a dobson ring or not. But it sounded lovely.
As to your Richlite question, that's one for Patrick. He told me he'd been looking into ebony alternatives for a long and had finally found one that he was happy with.
I suspect the same risk exists with ebony, which is much harder than cherry (3700-3200 for ebony v 950 for cherry on the Janka scale). Doesn't it?
I read some posts on the forum here that richlite and other substitutes have been used since the sixties and seventies (on guitars) and that the durability is great.
Plus, importantly, you avoid all the trouble associated with ebony.
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| BlowingRockNC says:
3/7/2014 7:42:30 PM
Yes, I hope the stuff work well, as I might get one at a later time I think these guys know what they are doing.
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| BOHICA says:
3/11/2014 8:36:00 AM
Martin guitars have used Richlite for years without issue.
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| BOHICA says:
4/8/2014 7:24:32 AM
Just posted shots of next weeks delivery from the boys....its here!
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| Patagorda says:
4/10/2014 10:39:09 PM
Looks amazing!
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