After looking at this banjo hanging on the wall since 2006 at Homestead Pickin Parlor in Richfield Minnesota, I finally decided to add it to my instrument family. I grew up on Pete Seeger and The Kingston Trio, listening along with my grand parents and aunts and uncles, now I have my dream banjo.
It is amazing, the genuine Brass Tubaphone Vega Tone Ring rocks!
Longneck is new to me, any advice on the nuances of a longneck is greatly appreciated.
17 years on the wall? This is a banjo rescue. Sarah McLachlan should write a song about you.
Everyone needs to have a longneck phase. This one is probably better than anything Vega made back in the day. The Deering Vegas are of a much higher quality than Vega Vegas from that era. I had one (the folklore model, not a PS). It was kinda junk.
Congrats
Edited by - Brian Murphy on 04/17/2023 11:58:35
I played that banjo a few times lol and haven’t lived there for 8 years
Wow, yep it is the same one, all I will say is Marv gave me a deal.
Advice? Buy a capo and lock it at the third fret.
Nice score, Rusty. As a longtime fan of the Homestead Pickin’ Parlor, I’m not so surprised that your banjo was there for so long. Marv never did much to promote that store vis-a-vis updated web site, advertising, etc., and in fact his web site has been “under construction” for some time now. It’s a cool place, and he’s a cool guy.
I suspect that Kingston Trio banjo may be somewhat collectible someday—not Gibson banjo collectible or Martin Guitar’s Kingston Trio set of instruments collectible, but worth more than whatever you paid. Nice catch, and long live the Kingston Trio’s music!
Steve
quote:
Originally posted by Joel HooksAdvice? Buy a capo and lock it at the third fret.
Kingston Trio must have done this, according to some album covers, and so did lots of KT knock-offs. What's the point? Why not explore what those long strings can do? Was it only a status symbol?
Advice? Stay away from window glass and ceiling fans.
The original Kingston Trio banjo:
Love long necks. Advice: play it like you would a standard length banjo, just acknowledge that if jamming with others you will need to capo up to be in same key.
I love to play tunes typically played in key of A using 'double C' tuning on a long neck (no capo).
I love my two longnecks. I would never be without one. Yes, the capo sits on the 3rd fret quite a bit but two great benefits:
1. Nice to play in E, F and F# on occasion in a lower register.
2. When capoing up from the 3rd fret you rarely have to "tweek" the tuning from the strings going sharp since the capo was already on. The main "tweeking" you have to do is when you take the capo off to play in E.
quote:
Originally posted by exvagabondquote:
Originally posted by Joel HooksAdvice? Buy a capo and lock it at the third fret.
Kingston Trio must have done this, according to some album covers, and so did lots of KT knock-offs. What's the point? Why not explore what those long strings can do? Was it only a status symbol?
Fully agree, I am working on a Pete Seeger review, with a monologue and playing a selection of Seeger sung tunes, 45 minute show.
Um Joel Hooks has historically not liked long necked banjos.
The Red tubing is available from Thera Band. Yes, the company that makes Different grades of Physical Therapy tubing and stretch sheeting in different colors to show different levels of pulling energy needed to get a person back to health with excercise.
the longnecks were like ugly ducklings in those days. They are hard to enclose in a case, except the ubiquitous dreadnought, dobro and my preferred bass gig bags. because they fit.
We are now swans and swans fly beautifully in most any situation.
I remember removing my capo at the bluegrass jam when the song was called in E and I was able to play G bluegrass licks while the others played key of D fingering up two for their E. It's just not common knowledge
I use a lot of spikes for this reason @ 7,8,9,10,14 and 16th fret is optional Those numbers are the same as a regular short 22 fret neck
With a longneck, you carry a long, short, A scale and C scale neck with you all the time in a fine piece of wood.
One more strange thing. Someone bought a used longneck and shipped to me for a project. the spikes were in different places than normal, because the singer was using the key of F for their voice, so they knew the music and the math. A bird of a different feather indeed.
Greg Deering plays longneck himself with chrome hardware.
I disagree that Deering Longnecks are better than the Aboriginal Swans. Vegas were and still are great sounding rigs.
Edited by - Helix on 05/14/2023 13:11:31
I love longnecks, I'm addicted to that sound.
I play Scruggs style in a band on my RB-175, and playing in E, F, A and Bb (in C position), and B (in D position) is really a lot of fun.
I've also found that me playing the long neck in a jam circle leaves more room for other banjo players, which I like.
Welcome to the brotherhood of longneck players. Only advice I have for you is be mindful of where the peg-head is bc if you’re like me you’ll constantly hit things with it: the ceiling, wall, priceless Ming dynasty vases….. other players…..
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