When did Earl Scruggs first record Randy Lynn Rag? While he was still using cam style D tuners, or after he started using Keith tuners?
He was definitely using cam tuners, as Keith tuners had not been developed yet. I think it was released as a single on Columbia in the mid 50s.
"RLR" was recorded on September 2, 1955, according to Neil Rosenberg's detailed liner notes to the 1991 Bear Family box set. The first recording where Earl used his newly invented tuners was "Flint Hill Special", recorded on November 9, 1952.
Tunes like that can't reliably be done without Scruggs tuners, because they require the player to tune a string to a specific note, and leave it there while doing other stuff, before tuning back. Compare that to "Earl's Breakdown" (recorded 10/24/51), where the detuning and retuning occur in one continuous swoop, during which the player's fretting hand never leaves the peg. (Even then, it's kinda iffy, as that 1951 recording shows.)
BTW, a major dividing line in Flatt & Scruggs' history is 1955, when "Josh" Graves joined on Dobro. Even if we didn't know the exact date of the session where "RLR" was recorded, we could use the presence of the Dobro to date it to 1955 or later.
Interesting that he didn’t use the tuners on this 1973 version. (btw, what a wild double fiddle break by Vassar,,, lol)
youtu.be/T7UdgD9Aci8
Now that I reread this thread, I see that I was responding to a question that Mark DIDN'T ask--namely, "Did Scruggs record 'RLR' without Scruggs tuners?"
D'OH!
Can I plead lack of coffee?
Below is a link to discography information on Randy Lynn Rag from the Bluegrass Discography website. If you click on Randy Lynn Rage under the the Song Information heading, you get specific information about the associated recording session.
quote:
Originally posted by chuckv97Interesting that he didn’t use the tuners on this 1973 version. (btw, what a wild double fiddle break by Vassar,,, lol)
youtu.be/T7UdgD9Aci8
I like this version. Earl showed me how he played it without the d-tuners. I like this album alot.
Thanks for the information. I have a friend who wants me to learn it but all my banjos have cam tuners which are sort of cumbersome to reset.
I suppose I could play it on one of my two banjos that have Cheat a Keys. I no longer own a pair of locking D tuners.
There's a famous/infamous fragment of F&S live show tape from 1951 in Crewe VA, where Earl plays the A part (only) of Randy Lynn Rag (no name is announced for the song on this tape), and Everett Lilly also takes quite a brash mandolin break on it. Everett continued to play this mandolin break all through the later years, whenever Randy Lynn Rag was done by the Lilly Bros and Don Stover.
I believe this 1951 tape was a prototype of the song, and Randy hadn't even been born yet. I believe Uncle Josh added some magic to it in 1955, perhaps for the B part.
quote:
Originally posted by Ira GitlinNow that I reread this thread, I see that I was responding to a question that Mark DIDN'T ask--namely, "Did Scruggs record 'RLR' without Scruggs tuners?"
D'OH!
Can I plead lack of coffee?
We all have those days,Ira.
The reason for my question was because Randy Lynn Rag requires the second string to be tuned up instead of down like normal. That is not such a big problem with locking D tuners like Keith or Schaller. The stops can be unlocked and the tuner can be reset. With cam style D tuners it's not so easy. That is why I was a little surprised to find out that he recorded the song when he was still using cam tuners. But it was definitely recorded before Keith tuners were invented.
quote:
Originally posted by Cullodenquote:
Originally posted by Ira GitlinNow that I reread this thread, I see that I was responding to a question that Mark DIDN'T ask--namely, "Did Scruggs record 'RLR' without Scruggs tuners?"
D'OH!
Can I plead lack of coffee?We all have those days,Ira.
The reason for my question was because Randy Lynn Rag requires the second string to be tuned up instead of down like normal. That is not such a big problem with locking D tuners like Keith or Schaller. The stops can be unlocked and the tuner can be reset. With cam style D tuners it's not so easy. That is why I was a little surprised to find out that he recorded the song when he was still using cam tuners. But it was definitely recorded before Keith tuners were invented.
While it might be a pain in the butt to reset the tuners on stage, it's certainly not impossible to reset them. I'd assume that in the recording studio, unconstrained by the need to keep a stage show moving along, they'd have felt free to take whatever time was needed to prepare for a number they wanted to record.
