I was just told about the Acoustic Box in Newport News VA. After speaking to the owner, I felt very good about the place. This place also got a good referral from Dave at Turtle Hill Banjo.
11 Comments |
 | Yard Onion says:
1/28/2011 2:40:20 PM
Hey Jason.
Thanks for making this group. It will be nice to share experiences around this area. I have heard only good things about Richie Dotson. A picker I know around here says he is great in the luthier arts for set-up and repair. John Boulding has done some banjo work and setup for me in the past and did a great job.
Hope this helps.
Jon
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 | Smelly Old Gibby says:
1/28/2011 3:27:39 PM
Thanks Jon. I already went and made an appointment with Richie for tomorrow at 10am. I am having him add a B-flat 5th string spike to this Deering Maple Blossom I just traded for. I am also taking my GoldTone Plucky to see what he can do to set-it-up. The Plucky is a major P.O.S. however, it would be great to play during my DC commute if I can get it to hold tune and sound decent. I will keep you posted.
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| Smelly Old Gibby says:
1/29/2011 10:14:47 AM
I am back from Richie's place. He's a great guy. Added the spike to the Maple Blossom. Then, removed the friction tuner on the Plucky, installed a new geared 5th string tuner, and made me a new bridge for the Plucky out of a tenor bridge that works great... and he only charged me $32.00 (parts and labor).
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onefirequacker says:
1/30/2011 2:55:01 AM
Greetings Baltimonkey, Thanks for stating this group, I'm always looking for info on playing, set up ect but hardly ever get to hang with other players and pickers, pretty hard to find. This is the first time I have ever joined a group or done anything like this. Please overlook my greenness. Wondering about your commute. Take the train?
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| Yard Onion says:
1/30/2011 4:43:00 AM
Jason, thats great to hear about Richie. My son has a Plucky and I agree with the POS part....Let me know how well the setup and changes affect the play. Its a great size for my son and it does make a nice travel banjo but it still needs a lot of work to make it more pleasing to the ears and fingers. If a great upgrade only costs $32, I will look into it.
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| Smelly Old Gibby says:
1/30/2011 7:35:40 AM
OneFire: Glad you joined. I agree that its hard to find players and other folks to jam with, share in the challenges of learning banjo, etc. I would like to setup a jam here soon, and I can see others have interest, too. My commute it generally by car, as I have appointments when I go to DC. However, I have driven from NoVA to Fredericksburg before ever touching the gas. Therefore, I play to Plucky when traffic is at a dead stop.
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| Smelly Old Gibby says:
1/30/2011 7:42:59 AM
YardOnion - I would highly recommend an overhaul of the Plucky. I find that the 5th string friction peg is worthless. Richie took out the friction peg (which was difficult) and replaced it with a 5-Star geared tuner (cost $20). Then he made me a bridge out of a tenor bridge by sanding-out the 4 tenor grooves, and cutting 5-new ones in the same bridge (cost $5). The plucky still sounds like toy, but at least it holds tune (and really that was all I was looking for).
The other 4 tuners I switched out myself. I had to drill the holes a little bigger, but it was easy, and I had some spare tuners laying around.
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| Smelly Old Gibby says:
1/30/2011 7:44:09 AM
OneFire: Glad you joined. I agree that its hard to find players and other folks to jam with, share in the challenges of learning banjo, etc. I would like to setup a jam here soon, and I can see others have interest, too. My commute it generally by car, as I have appointments when I go to DC. However, I have driven from NoVA to Fredericksburg before ever touching the gas. Therefore, I play to Plucky when traffic is at a dead stop.
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 | joshbearman says:
1/30/2011 12:59:03 PM
Hiya folks,
I offer services for fret leveling, head replacement (skin stretching too), hardware replacement and general set up. I live in Richmond and teach out of Guitarworks and my house. I don't do refrets or any more intensive stuff, but am capable for the smaller jobs, if anyone's interested.
Hit me up if there's some interest.
Thanks,
Josh Bearman
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| Smelly Old Gibby says:
1/30/2011 2:19:57 PM
Thanks for Joining the group, Josh. Good to know you are here for us.
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 | WoodenMonkeyLamp says:
2/14/2011 7:12:41 AM
I took my RK-80 to Richie on Saturday for a set up. All in all we ended up replacing the plastic 5th string pip with a bone one, replacing the bridge, lowering the nut action, and raising the tailpiece. I thought it sounded decent before but man does it growl now! Richie's great - I'd highly recommend him to anyone close enough to that side of the state.
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