Prust tackhead banjo.

ALCO · #1 04-01-2016, 11:07 AM

I have the basic tackhead that Eric Prust makes. Does anyone else play one?

sweiss · #2 04-10-2016, 11:52 AM

Not yet...but I'm seriously looking at buying one.

I've seen several demos of them on YouTube, and I really like that plunky old time sound...not to mention the almost primitive look of them. My only reservation is that I've never played a fretless instrument before. But I suppose it's just a matter of getting used to it.

I've seen nothing but good reviews on them, and the price is almost ridiculous, so why not?

What do you think of yours?

ALCO · #3 04-11-2016, 04:52 PM

Hi,

I have have just composed a rambling reply to your question, extolling the virtues of the Prust, only to discover that it would not 'send'. As I'm unable to rewrite it now, I will just say that you should most definitely buy one as they are truly amazing!! The lack of frets should not be a problem if you are playing Minstrel tunes as they are generally in 1st position. Look on YouTube for Tim Twiss playing some tunes from Thomas F. Briggs Banjo Instuctor on the basic tackhead.
Please let me know how you get on.

Kind regards, Ian.

ALCO · #4 04-11-2016, 04:58 PM

Hi,

I have have just composed a rambling reply to your question, extolling the virtues of the Prust, only to discover that it would not 'send'. As I'm unable to rewrite it now, I will just say that you should most definitely buy one as they are truly amazing!! Look on YouTube for Tim Twiss playing some tunes from Thomas F. Briggs Banjo Instuctor on the basic tackhead.
Please let me know how you get on.

Kind regards, Ian.

ALCO · #5 04-11-2016, 05:01 PM

Hmm, now you get two of the same message!!!

cu4life7 · #6 04-21-2016, 05:08 PM

I live near to Eric and have strongly considered picking up a tackhead from him for a while now. I have the money sitting, but am not sure I want to pull the trigger quite yet. I have a few hesitations. Mainly, I have an Enoch Tradesman which I am absolutely in love with. I am currently near the amount I need to pick up a Tradesman fretless Cherry to go alongside my fretted Tradesman in Walnut. I would love that. My other concern is tuning. I have yet to jump into the rabbit hole of banjo tunings. I play in standard tuning and have a few classics in Mountain Minor/ Sawmill and am pretty much haunted by that tuning. As I understand it, these banjos need to be downtuned. I love the idea of the Prust however. I don't play any "minstrel" music, nor do I intend to. I simply love the sound of fretless and Rob Stenson in particular. He is one that made me pick up a banjo to begin with, along with Maya de Vitri of the Stray Birds.

So I am currently hand wringing over getting a Prust as an easy and affording foray into fretless and seeing how I like it, waiting and getting a fretless or semi-fretted Tradesman with nylguts, or something else.

ALCO · #7 04-21-2016, 10:32 PM

Hi,

Could you visit Eric and try one of his instruments?
I have just watched Rob Stenson on YouTube and think that if he is your inspiration then the Enoch would be the one to get. However, I must stress that my main instrument is the fiddle and I only play tunes from the Briggs Banjo Instructor on the Prust, which is ideally suited to that style. Whilst i wonder whether it would be dynamic enough for the music you want to make, for anything less spectacular than the Stenson style, the Prust has to be worth the money. There are videos on YouTube of the Prust being used for clawhammer that may help you to decide.
Although I don't think it is essential, the Prust does sound amazing when the pitch is lowered. I tune down by about a whole tone because the real gut strings I use tend to last longer and also I'm not playing with anyone so it doesn't matter what pitch I use.
I'm sorry that I can't be of more help to you but hopefully somebody with more experience will offer some advice here.

Kind regards,

sweiss · #8 04-24-2016, 06:37 PM

I just got my Prust, the Basic in A scale, this past week and have been getting acquainted with it. It's turning out to be a fun little banjo.....an amazing bargain at two hundred bucks.

It came with the action much higher than I like, so now that I've got that sorted out I'm starting to explore what it can do. I found out that although it can be tuned to standard pitch if your strings aren't too heavy, it really shines when tuned lower. I'm tuning it to the same intervals as open G and Sawmill....but one step lower. That seems to be the sweet spot to my ears, at least at this point.

I've also learned how sensitive the calf skin head is to humidity. I left it on my work bench in the basement overnight in 65% humidity, and by morning the head had gone almost completely slack! I put it in the room with my acoustic guitars at around 45%, and it tightened right back up after a couple hours. Lesson learned.

Now if I can just get the hang of fretless-ness........

ALCO · #9 04-25-2016, 02:20 AM

Hi S,

I'm really pleased to hear that you like it. I have hours of fun playing through the 'Briggs' Banjo Instructor' using G D F# A D (4 3 2 1 5) lowered by one tone.
Did Eric send you three bridges to compensate for the humidity? I have occasionally had the same problem, but I have to stop playing because I use gut strings that also become slack. That said, I recommend that you try them if you can find a set. They sound amazing!!
Regarding the fretlessness, try moving the bridge back and forward until you are happy with the finger spacing and then mark the bridge position on the head with a pencil. You could also mark light pencil 'frets' on the neck but I think you are better off hearing and feeling the notes rather than looking for them.
Please let me know how you get on with it.

Best wishes,

Rudy4 · #10 04-25-2016, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cu4life7

I live near to Eric and have strongly considered picking up a tackhead from him for a while now. I have the money sitting, but am not sure I want to pull the trigger quite yet. I have a few hesitations. Mainly, I have an Enoch Tradesman which I am absolutely in love with. I am currently near the amount I need to pick up a Tradesman fretless Cherry to go alongside my fretted Tradesman in Walnut. I would love that. My other concern is tuning. I have yet to jump into the rabbit hole of banjo tunings. I play in standard tuning and have a few classics in Mountain Minor/ Sawmill and am pretty much haunted by that tuning. As I understand it, these banjos need to be downtuned. I love the idea of the Prust however. I don't play any "minstrel" music, nor do I intend to. I simply love the sound of fretless and Rob Stenson in particular. He is one that made me pick up a banjo to begin with, along with Maya de Vitri of the Stray Birds.

So I am currently hand wringing over getting a Prust as an easy and affording foray into fretless and seeing how I like it, waiting and getting a fretless or semi-fretted Tradesman with nylguts, or something else.

Eric used to offer adjustable tensioning as an option. I don't think he does any longer, but you could ask. Most people looking to get a banjo for $200 don't want to pony up for the added cost.

I'd suggest you get a Tradesman fretless since you are already familiar with Kevin's shop offerings. I personally wouldn't want a non-tensioning banjo, but they are what they are. If you are handy you might want to consider putting a simple fretless together using a 12" Remo hand drum. Using Remo's head technology results in a fixed tension banjo that doesn't slack from humidity.

I have complete directions for doing that on my website if that appeals to you. There's also a bunch of links to Banjo Hangout "How To Build" posts on my links page:

http://www.bluestemstrings.com/pageLynx.html

sweiss · #11 04-26-2016, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Eric used to offer adjustable tensioning as an option. I don't think he does any longer, but you could ask. Most people looking to get a banjo for $200 don't want to pony up for the added cost.

I'd suggest you get a Tradesman fretless since you are already familiar with Kevin's shop offerings. I personally wouldn't want a non-tensioning banjo, but they are what they are. If you are handy you might want to consider putting a simple fretless together using a 12" Remo hand drum. Using Remo's head technology results in a fixed tension banjo that doesn't slack from humidity.

I have complete directions for doing that on my website if that appeals to you. There's also a bunch of links to Banjo Hangout "How To Build" posts on my links page:

http://www.bluestemstrings.com/pageLynx.html

I didn't buy my Prust because I was "looking to get a banjo for $200". I bought it because I wanted the experience of playing an instrument similar to the ones that existed around the Civil War era. That meant a strictly utilitarian, almost primitive instrument complete with a fretless neck, friction tuners, and a calfskin head. While it's true that Prust banjos are inexpensive, don't assume that that's the only reason someone might buy one.

Your plans for a banjo made with a Remo hand drum look very interesting. It might be a nice project for next winter. Thanks for sharing it.

Rudy4 · #12 04-26-2016, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweiss

I didn't buy my Prust because I was "looking to get a banjo for $200". I bought it because I wanted the experience of playing an instrument similar to the ones that existed around the Civil War era. That meant a strictly utilitarian, almost primitive instrument complete with a fretless neck, friction tuners, and a calfskin head. While it's true that Prust banjos are inexpensive, don't assume that that's the only reason someone might buy one.

Your plans for a banjo made with a Remo hand drum look very interesting. It might be a nice project for next winter. Thanks for sharing it.

I'm not making any assumptions about why someone might choose a Prust, although I've read many, many posts from Prust tackhead owners on the Banjo Hangout forum and almost without a fault the low price is mentioned. Evidently the price does sway the purchase decision in the majority of cases.

Both of your posts above reference the low price, so it must have some degree of relevance in your decision process, otherwise you might have opted to wait for something by George Wonderich to come up on the used market.