Gibson Banjos
The Gibson name has been associated with Bluegrass from the beginning, with names like Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs and J.D. Crowe to name a few, it’s not hard to understand why. A lot of the top pickers use Gibsons, and they use them for a reason - great sound.
Here are a few Gibson Banjos to look at and admire - or buy if you so desire.
Gibson RB
Gibson RB-250
Gibson Earl Scruggs Standard Banjo
Gibson Granada Hearts and Flowers Banjo
If you want a small taste of the Gibson sound try the Earl Scruggs signature strings - they are very good strings and seem to hold up better than most.
RELATED POSTS:
Changing your Banjo Strings
Washburn B-9 Review
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The Lost and Found - Sawmill Road
Listening to an all Bluegrass channel on the radio exposes you to a lot of different styles of bluegrass, a band that I always enjoy hearing is The Lost and Found. What a great sound, and what a tight band; these guys play with passion and definitely have a unique style.
Founding member and mandolin player, Dempsey Young plays with such conviction and clarity that you just HAVE to stop and listen. His mandolin tone just jumps out at you, it is so rich sounding. Unfortunately Dempsey passed away a few years ago at the age of 52; what a loss to the bluegrass world. Although the mandolin takes front and centre, I can’t get the banjo out of my thoughts - it is so solid.
One of the songs that I really like is “Sawmill Road”, it’s a mixture of an old time sound with a definite modern edge. One of the highlights is the mandolin solo, WOW; the banjo licks are really catchy too, and in C tuning, to top it off. Have a listen to this song, I know you will appreciate something about it; maybe the vocals, the lyrics, the bass, who knows, but I’m sure you will be impressed.
The banjo player on this cut is Lynwood Lunsford, who handled banjo duties in The Lost and Found for five years. Lunsford also has his own group; Lynwood Lunsford and the Misty Valley Boys. Jimmy Martin employed Lunsford as his banjo player in 1990 and 1991, a job that Lynwood Lunsford coveted for a long time.
Here’s a couple of links to find out more about The Lost and Found:
The Official Site
If you would like to purchase some of the band’s music or some Jimmy Martin just click on the links below:
Give the Lost and Found a listen and it wouldn’t hurt to listen to Jimmy Martin and The Sunny Mountain Boys either. For that matter, listen to as much banjo music as you can - it’ll inspire you to play better.
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Great New Banjo Book by Tony Trischka
Tony Trischka is not only a great and innovative banjo player, but he also writes a fantastic book. The Complete 5-String Banjo Player is exactly what it claims to be; a comprehensive and indispensable reference book for the serious banjo player. If you are really serious about becoming a good banjo player, you need to own this book- it is well written, the TABs are big and easy to read, it is full of examples and seems to touch on every banjo style there is.
This is a great resource book for the beginner, but any banjo player will find something of interest in this book. Tony Trischka’s 40 year career has included a series of critically acclaimed recordings; performing with the likes of Earl Scruggs, Pete Seeger, Bela Fleck, Alison Kraus, David Grisman and even the Violent Femmes; and of course writing books and teaching the banjo. What makes this book stand out from the rest? It is written by one of the great innovators in the history of the banjo, it has plenty of diagrams, pictures and photos, no topic is left untouched and it is in one huge 255 page volume.
Have you ever thought about playing a familiar song in a new way - flip through this book and you will be inspired by the diverse range of material. Melodic style, single string and of course all of your favorite rolls and licks can be found in these pages, but if you are looking for something a little different, you can investigate the styles of the greatest banjo players. There are 28 pages dedicated to the banjo styles of some of best, including Earl Scruggs, J.D. Crowe, Bill Emerson, Bela Fleck, Bill Keith, Don Reno, Eddie Adcock, Ralph Stanley, Jim Mills, Sonny Osborne and more.
This book doesn’t end at 255 pages, you also have access to over 20 more free lessons on the internet at http://www.hybridpublications.com There is a great article on the site that will help you memorize songs more easily - Tips for Memorizing Tunes; buy the book and check it out. To purchase Tony Trishka’s - The Complete 5-String Banjo Player at Zzounds,com click on the picture of the book.
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Play the Banjo Faster
Banjo is an instrument that is usually associated with speed, and if you’ve ever listened to Bluegrass you have heard some ridiculously fast banjo work. How can you increase your speed you ask? Well its simple, you just practice and practice for years. Of course dedication is important, attention to detail, strength, and about a hundred other things, but I recently discovered an easy way to let you play faster.
One of the easy ways to play faster is by keeping your strings clean. The reason for this is simple - If your strings are clean your fingers will slide on them more easily. There are a few different string cleaners available: Dunlop Ultraglide 65 String Cleaner, Tone Finger Ease String Lubricant, and my favorite GHS Fast Fret.
I’ve heard a lot of people talk about string cleaners and lubricants and never really bothered to try them. I thought what difference could it make, it’s just another product to sell. But I have finally tried Fast Fret and I am impressed. Clean strings sound better and Fast Fret also allows your fingers to slide more easily on the fretboard. Give Fast Fret or one of the other string cleaners a try - it certainly won’t slow you down.
I hope this helps you out with your banjo playing, it’s one of the few things you can do to improve without hard work. If you would like to purchase Fast Fret, or one of the other products just click on the links above.
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Record your Banjo Playing and Become a Better Banjo Player - Part One.
Record yourself the next time you practice - start by recording one song. Pick a song that is very familiar and of course, a song you play well. After you have recorded your song you can listen back and study your performance. What can be learned from recording a banjo performance and giving it a good, close look? That’s what I ‘ll be discussing in this post, becoming a better banjo player by recording yourself.
The first thing you’ll need to do to record yourself is to have something to record yourself with. This recording device can be as simple as a cassette recorder or as sophisticated as a digital multi-track recorder. I have been using a free, open source program called Audacity. If you want to find out more about Audacity or download it, click the link - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
If you want something more high tech, I’ve included a link to the Recording Equipment section at zZounds - Just click on the banner below.
Now that you have some options to record yourself, that’s the next step - record yourself. Should you record yourself once and live with the mistakes or record until you are satisfied with your performance? I think you should keep going until you are happy, not perfect, but a version you can live with. My reasoning is simple, if you listen back to a recording that isn’t as good as you thought it should have been, you can be discouraged. If you have to take three or four tries to get a good clean run, then that’s the way it is.
This is part of the learning process, mistakes are the markers that tell you - this needs practice, so pay attention and LEARN from your mistakes. If you play a song and get a third through it and make a fatal mistake and stop, you try again, but this time you are focused on this sticking point and have a higher chance of getting through it. Soon you have a good version of your song and at the same time you have had to bring your playing up to a higher level by cleaning up some rough spots in a song and holding yourself to a higher standard.
Record a song and have a listen to yourself playing the banjo - What is good? What could be improved? What is wrong, yes, wrong! - sometimes a recording points out a mistake like a wrong note. Don’t forget to make note of the things you like about this recording. That last point is VERY important - be kind to yourself and take time to be aware of the good stuff that you do. Well that’s step one, I’ll give you a few more of my thoughts on recording and using it to learn in an upcoming post.
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Changing your Banjo Strings
When should you change your banjo strings? I hate to tell you this, but you need to change them often. The metal finger picks are hard on the strings and it doesn’t take long for them to start sounding a bit off. If you are having trouble tuning or one or more of your strings sounds funny, then the first step is to replace your old strings.
I replace my strings often, about once every two weeks or so, and it’s not that bad, and it makes me sound a lot better (new strings ring so nice for the first few days). There are a lot of choices as far as strings go and I have recently made it easy for you to research and purchase them, by compiling a list of some of the best banjo strings: http://banjoblogger.com/the-best-banjo-strings/
Replacing the strings is easy, just take the 1 st string off and replace it, making sure to wind at least two or three wraps on the post. Do not wrap the string on top of itself or you will have problems keeping in tune. Repeat this process for each string, one at a time until you have them all replaced. Now, tune it up, stretch the strings and you’re ready to go.
If you want a good article with some great string changing tips, check out banjoexpert.com, Ryan has some essential tips to make it easier to change your strings.
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The Best Banjo Strings
What are the best banjo strings? Well, that depends on who you ask, everyone seems to have a favorite. I’ve tried a lot of strings; D’addario, Martin, Gibson, GHS and Ernie Ball, and I was sure each new set of strings would make me sound better. I don’t know if using signature J.D. Crowe or Earl Scruggs strings can make you sound like the masters themselves, but it sure can’t hurt to at least try their strings.
Strings are inexpensive to buy and can make a big difference in your sound, so you might as well experiment with them. In this article I will talk about six of the most popular brands of banjo strings; D’addario, Elixir, Ernie Ball, GHS, Gibson and Martin. If you would like to purchase strings, you can click on the links and buy them at Amazon.
D’addario
One of the world’s leading string makers, and a lot of choice in gauges. With strings in phosphor bronze and nickel, and of course durability and great sound you can’t go wrong with D’addario. Here are a few of their most popular sets:
D’Addario Set Banjo Nickel Wnd 9-20 Lite
D’Addario Set Banjo Nickel Lite Plus
D’Addario Set Banjo Nickel Custom Med
D’addario J60 Light Nickel 5 String Set Banjo Strings (9-20)
D’Addario Set Banjo Phos Brz Lite
Elixir
A long lasting, coated string, these are very popular strings with guitarists and are gaining in popularity on the banjo scene.
Elixir Medium Polyweb Banjo String
Elixir Light Polyweb Banjo String
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