Well... NBD.

All instruments that aren't guitars (or bass guitars).
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Larry Mal
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Well... NBD.

Post by Larry Mal » Wed May 30, 2018 3:55 am

I've been waiting for something like this. I found a 1991 Deering Standard on Craigslist sold by a super nice guy, and it was time to get back into the banjo again:

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Scruggs tuners:

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Fifth string capo:

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The guy who sold it to me I guess just never got anywhere with it, but it wasn't for lack of trying. He threw in a whole banjo lifestyle kit, including VHS tapes, cassette tapes, a strap, he did all the hardware updates I would have done with the fifth string capo and the Scruggs tuners (which I don't know how to use yet), he also threw in another capo and a torque wrench for setting the tension of the banjo head equally across the lugs which I also don't know how to use.

I have never owned a banjo anywhere near this nice. I sold my last banjo, a nice Deering Goodtime 2, to fund a Telecaster. I had the intention of getting a higher end Deering some day but banjos cost a lot of money and there isn't a clear pathway from a student level instrument to a pro level instrument like there is with guitar, all of a sudden you are talking about a pretty serious amount of money.

Except in this case. I got very lucky on the price and had to dip into savings with Mrs. Larry's kind permission, and now the Challenger is on the block on Reverb, something had to go for this one. But I'll hardly miss it.

I'm happy to be back with the banjo, I'm a little rusty, not so much with the playing of it but the use of the fingerpicks. I had just bought a fresh set by coincidence to use with my guitars, though.

By the way, the "Standard" was later replaced in the Deering lineup by the Sierra model, which is their flagship and best seller to this day I understand. I think the main change was going from the rosewood fingerboard on the Standard to the ebony on the Sierra and the Sierra has gotten more ornate over the years whereas this keeps the model's barebones pro level instrument concept.

You think your guitar is heavy? This thing weighs like twenty pounds.

Could not be happier with this. There's been way too much homogeneity in my instrument world these last years and this is at least a small step out of that. Plus, I have always loved the banjo, and so far it's popular with the Goofs, who feel that since there is a drum on there then the instrument can be played by the whole family at the same time.
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.

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Telliot
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Re: Well... NBD.

Post by Telliot » Wed May 30, 2018 5:06 am

:-* :w00t: :-*

Awesome pickup, Larry, congrats! I’ve always loved the banjo but have always been too intimidated by it to ever consider buying one. You may be getting a PM from me from time to time... :shifty:

Also, your next guitar should be a pedal steel... :whistle:
The cool thing about fretless is you can hit a note...and then renegotiate.

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Embenny
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Re: Well... NBD.

Post by Embenny » Wed May 30, 2018 5:15 am

Awesome. My friend lent me a much more modest open-back banjo that I've been meaning to learn clawhammer on.

Hope you figure out all the new doodads on it! Never seen the Scruggs tuner before. Looks neat.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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wproffitt
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Re: Well... NBD.

Post by wproffitt » Wed May 30, 2018 5:43 am

That is pretty cool. My buddy and I once worked out and performed a cover of "In a Big Country" on banjo and acoustic. It sounded a lot better than one might think! I, too, am intimidated by the whole different-tuning, different technique thing. I figure I'll need to stop sucking at guitar before I move on to another instrument, though.

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Larry Mal
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Re: Well... NBD.

Post by Larry Mal » Wed May 30, 2018 5:53 am

Telliot wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 5:06 am
:-* :w00t: :-*

Awesome pickup, Larry, congrats! I’ve always loved the banjo but have always been too intimidated by it to ever consider buying one. You may be getting a PM from me from time to time... :shifty:

Also, your next guitar should be a pedal steel... :whistle:
Don't be intimidated by it! In some ways it's easier to play than the guitar, provided you can play with your fingers.

It seems like banjo players are playing super fast, and they are, it's a fast playing instrument. The main thing is that high E string on the top, the one with the capo on it. That is right next to the lowest string, so you can alternately play that high E string as a pedal note (although you can and will fret it sometimes), and that string is tuned to the tonic not (usually) of the key you are in.

So, in most common tuning, open G, that high string rings out a G note very often and if you alternate your thumb roll on the highest string and the lowest (tuned to D usually) then you have a very fast I-V note sequence on those strings, while you play a melody on the other strings or chordal accompaniment there.

If you change the key, then you might just change the tuning to reflect that, so if you play in C major instead you could just drop the lowest string down to C from D or even up to E, and then you will be playing a V-I on the strings or a V-iii sequence.

But the point is that with fingerstyle banjo (what I play), it's easy to keep popping that high string out so while you are potentially making a lot of notes happen quickly, your left hand isn't necessarily working all that hard. Also, if there's an instrument that lends itself better to pull offs and hammer ons then I don't know what it could be.

Now, there's a lot more to it than that, there's entire other techniques that I can't even address and can't play, either. But my point is that the banjo isn't something to be intimidated by, providing you can play with your fingers to some degree (although there are plectrum banjos).

Get one!

And yeah, I would love a pedal steel, but they are expensive and when I think how badly I suck at slide guitar, I feel like I would be wasting money. One day, though!
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.

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Larry Mal
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Re: Well... NBD.

Post by Larry Mal » Wed May 30, 2018 6:08 am

mbene085 wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 5:15 am
Awesome. My friend lent me a much more modest open-back banjo that I've been meaning to learn clawhammer on.

Hope you figure out all the new doodads on it! Never seen the Scruggs tuner before. Looks neat.
Yeah, we were talking about clawhammer and frailing the other day, I never got anywhere with any of that back in the day. I bought a book on frailing, probably still have it, I just can't seem to wrap my mind around it. I will probably not make much effort this time, I'll probably just work on my fingerpicking technique and get that back up to speed with the banjo again.

Remember, though, that an open-back banjo is no less relevant than a big resonator banjo, it's just different. Maybe it would be equivalent to the difference between a classical guitar and a steel string dreadnaught.

Like, if I was doing a piece of music and wanted an authentic old-time banjo sound, then that's the open-back banjo. The big resonator banjo is a big-city banjo with a loud bark and powerful sound, designed to cut through ensemble playing. The open back banjo is that country old world sound.

(I know you probably know all this but in case it's news to someone else.)

I'm excited about my banjo. I have always thought it was a great instrument.
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.

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