#121
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This Saturday afternoon's trio of players: Republic Duolian - OME North Star - Taylor 356ce 12-String
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 |
#122
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Okay fine, you convinced me again. Here's the Ode along with my Kentucky KM-272 mandolin and my beat up old Dobro somebody was getting rid of.
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#123
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Thanks for posting your ODE! When I was young, I lusted after the ODE Longneck as it was much less costly than a Vega Pete Seeger. I had a chance to buy a used one last fall at Bernunzio's Uptown Music, here in Rochester, but I'd just purchased my Eastman EBJ-WL1, so I had to forego the ODE.
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 |
#124
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Nice! You have some recordings?
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https://www.mcmakinmusic.com |
#125
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No recordings yet but I hope to put some together soon.
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 |
#126
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So out of all the open backs which ones your favorite?
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It's all about the small victories. |
#127
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Thanks for asking!
It's difficult to pick a favorite as all the banjos are fun and sound great but if I base my choice on the banjos that feel just right when I pick one of them up to play: I love the comfort and tone of the OME North Star; The Eastman EBJ-WL1 Whyte Laydie is a joy to play because it feels so compact and comfortable; The Pisgah 12" Walnut Tubaphone Custom is also easy to play and has a nice full and bassy tone. All the other banjos still need a bit of tweaking to get them feeling more comfortable to play. The Deering Sierra Flathead is a wonderful banjo but it feels so heavy and I'm really more into clawhammer than bluegrass so it hardly ever gets played. Current Banjos: Vega No. 2 Tubaphone OME North Star Walnut Eastman EBJ-WL1 Whyte Laydie Vega 12" Old Tyme Wonder Rickard 12" Maple Ridge Dobson Pisgah 12" Walnut Tubaphone Bart Reiter Regent Whyte Laydie Deering Sierra Flathead
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 |
#128
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Nice! Does the one have a rolledbrass tone ring or wood. I think Ome does both ?
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It's all about the small victories. |
#129
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Quote:
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 Last edited by SpruceTop; 05-22-2020 at 12:57 PM. |
#130
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Nice!
I love banjos and have had numerous. My best was a Hatfield Walnut Custom with a Huber tone ring and Cox rim, it was beautiful and sounded so great but times got tough and I had to let it go. I was down to only 1 my first, an Baldwin ODE series 2 archtop (aluminum pot) but the other day I added a Deering Vega. I had been wanting an open back again for a while. I had an Gold Tone Cripple Creek back when that was the only open back they sold. I was into bluegrass @ the time and my nephew wanted one for Christmas so it went to him. I also had 2 Goodtimes openback and resonator, but I never bonded with either and flipped them. I really like ODE banjos and lusted over OME through the years. When I decided to buy an open back I saw that OME has reacquired the ODE name and are now making a mid priced banjo ($1700-$1900)models under that name. They also have a UTE line of affordable no-frills openbacks for under $900. I had read that they were using maple drum shells for these which helps keep the cost down. On my Baldwin I can take the individual flanges, brackets, and resonator off and have essentially the Series 2 openback. So I was weighing buying a wood rimmed ODE and using it a my grasser then keeping the Baldwin as an openback. That is when I found the Vega and it fell well into my price range whereas the ODE would have exceeded the budget. |
#131
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Quote:
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 |
#132
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I got a Vega Senator with the brass tone ring. It sounds great, nice and plunky but rings with plenty of volume. It is heavyish. Far heavier than my old Cripple Creek but it isn't uncomfortable.
The only negative I have, and it is very small, is the 5th string nut is a nail vs. a pip which lowers the 5th a touch. I have thought about adding a pip or just swapping to a raised 5th bridge but it just isn't a major deal. I thought I wanted a scoop initially but decided that wasn't a big deal either as plenty of folks play over the fretboard and scoops weren't really a thing except within minstrel. It wasn't until Mike Ramsey began offering scooped banjos commercially did people seem to really see a need. Right now I haven't done any modifications although I may try a fyberskin head, Nygut strings, and experiment with bridges to help bring up the bottom. I have a Moon 1/2" heavy on my Baldwin that I really like so I may try a Moon but in 11/16th size on the Vega to give a bit more height for the thumb on the 5th. For now it sounds pretty good. I added the Moon Heavy bridge to the Baldwin because it has an archtop and a clear head. It helped with the intonation which what it was designed to do. The heavy bridge calms it down some as did heavier strings but I never thought to replace the head with a frosted one though. It stands out but I like that. |
#133
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Quote:
I, too, find Deering's usage of a railroad spike as a draw-down to the fifth fret for its usage as a nut a bit puzzling as it lowers the 5th-string a bit too much and makes hitting it hard and cleanly more of a challenge than a higher, pip-nutted 5th-string like other makers use. I've changed a couple of my banjos over to Gary Sosebee bridges when wanting to add a bit of height to a maker-installed bridge. I don't find much difference in tone but the extra height makes it easier to play with more precision.
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 Last edited by SpruceTop; 05-22-2020 at 03:45 PM. |
#134
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I contacted Rickard and they indicated the new Cyclone 10:1 tuners are a direct retrofit for the 4:1 tuners that came on my 2018 Rickard Maple Ridge. The brass Cyclone 10:1 tuners are $200 USD direct from Rickard and cost $50 extra to "relic" the brass tuners to the aged brass finish like my Rickard banjo.
Has anyone either purchased a Rickard banjo that has the new Cyclone 10:1 Planetary tuners or converted a slightly older Rickard to these tuners and if so, how do you like them? Rickard 10:1 Ratio Tuners
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 Last edited by SpruceTop; 07-20-2020 at 09:12 AM. |
#135
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I bought a Rickard last year - as I understand it, it's got the 10:1s on it. They work well - easy to tune and change strings, and pretty stable. The finish looks great. (Can't directly compare to the older ones, though.)
D.H. |