Comment by marc dalmasso on May 16, 2013 at 16:34

 "What does everybody else think? " said Richard

i have several banjos : reso or not reso ? ; i play the banjo like he comes from the past ...  recently i notice that the reso is good for my nickel allergy on the right ' leg ....

inlays or not , anyway , i will play with the exception of the " tree of life " inlays , i have a couple of early  " inlaid artist " ; the neck didn ' t have problems , but there are early ones ( more than 6 years old ' necks )  ;however , i had to inlay some dots more on the fingerboard , even if the side dots are Ok  but tree of life is difficult to play for the fast songs , it is easy to make a fret mistake , i agree .

Tone ring or not , ?  don 't car , i play all

the most important for me is 1 /  Scale

2 / neck , not too narrow

3 / general sound

 

Last thing to say ;  up to the style of the tune , i will choose one banjo or another ( i play in my home or record it )

On stage ; i will choose a " versatile " banjo ; can 't say in English ; a banjo on which i can play all the tunes with no problems ;  i will play pretty soon  and my choice is ( for the time ) aregular  CE special wood hoop

Comment by Mike Moss on May 16, 2013 at 17:34

Well Richard, I've played a c. 1890s banjo with a large, shallow clad rim and a long scale length with the bridge very close to the tailpiece, and I didn't care for it. My favourite banjo right now is a wood hoop banjo with a thick, deep rim and no tone ring. I find it's just as loud as the other one, but the tone is richer, fuller and more musical. Just my opinion, though. We haven't had any tone ring debates here on Ning before, this should be interesting! *brings popcorn*

Comment by Trapdoor2 on May 16, 2013 at 19:46

While I have played a lot of different banjos, all of them were designed for their period-specific popular music; a very narrow snippet of time. Some of them excel outside of their original design intent (White Laydies and Tubaphones vs clawhammer, for instance), some do not. My Stelling sounds pitiful when played clawhammer or classic style.

I personally prefer larger diameter rims, 12" and up...but it often depends on the music I want to make. My "perfect" classic banjo is currently a CE Special...probably because I don't have access to a Pluperfect Paragon or Perambulated Paramour or whatever.

I do think the depth of the rim has a lot to do with it. I feel a resonance in banjos that have larger internal cavities (such as the CE) as opposed to those with smaller ones (like a Stewart of similar diameter). Tone rings...well, I've never experimented with gut/nylgut/nylon on any of my tone-ring banjos. I might try though. I have a Gibson-style pot that is "tube and plate", so it can be easily made into an "open back". It does have a zither-banjo style neck for it (tunneled 5th string...I have a plectrum neck for it too, they're easily interchangable). Hmmmm. It has a very heavy and very expensive tone-ring (Kulesh "Big Ten"), sounds like a good "Saturday evening" project...

Comment by thereallyniceman on May 18, 2013 at 15:15

I have the same feelings about resonator banjos as Richard..they just feel too big and don't sit as nicely on the thigh as 11" open back. I am not terribly fond of 12" open backs for the same reason. I bought a Paragon and removed the resonator and flange to play as an 11" open back!

 Tone rings are  a real puzzle to me. I have a Fairbanks WL 11" open backed with the WL tone ring and it sounds too harsh and strident (Jody once described an "acid" sound, and I agree with that), but I have a CE Special XX with the CE Whyte Laydie clone tone ring, and it is the nicest sounding banjo that I own. It is heavy, but feels and sounds great... even to my sarcastic friends!!!!

I think that the tone ring was not only designed for greater volume, but for greater sustain. The bluegrass banjos that I have seen use these heavy metal tone rings and are tightened to ring like a bell... but that is not really what we want for classic style. To me the sharp snappy tone that doesn't sustain too long is part of the joy of the classic sound.

I once owned a 'New" Paragon and apart from the fact that it was so heavy it needed two to lift it, I thought it was a lovely banjo. I unfortunately sold it after being brainwashed into believing that it was a heap of garbage by my banjo teacher and his mentor who believed that anything other than Weaver banjos should be burnt... ah well, I am older and wiser now... but without a "New" Paragon!!

My "New" Paragon was one custom made by CE for the Lancashire Police Band and was totally black (apart from the shield and pearl) with very dark inlay bands on the resonator... silly me for selling it!!!!!!

Comment by Jody Stecher on May 18, 2013 at 16:07

The Fairbanks Whyte Laydie sound can be improved with changes of bridge, vellum tension and material (a real vellum or Ren head each sound better on WL then standard plastic heads), the right tailpiece and the right strings. I've never owned one but I have set up old WL-s belonging to students and a cowhide vellum and heavy-ish nylon strings have worked very well. Bridge material can make a big difference. Even two identical looking bridges can sound strikingly different.

For me, a resonator adds comfort. No brackets digging into my leg. This has nothing to do with sound. 

Comment by marc dalmasso on May 18, 2013 at 18:19

Yes ; the tonering is designed for the sustain ; not only the tonering but every mass add sustain  ; metal or wood ; discovered a long time ago , i guess by the luthiers & acoustic engineers ; sebastien Erard , the famous French piano maker added strange pieces of wood glued  here & there on the harmony table  ; on  some German piano & Yamaha upright  pianos , the big metal " contre sillet " ( contre nut ? ) add sustain  , making the piano easier to tune in the trebbles because of the very good sound .

The reso is supposed to send the sound in the front of the banjo , ( for the audience or mike , may be ) ; but not to add power to the banjo , despite the old CE advertising . This was measured by electronical Db experience on the pianos ; on an upright piano , 70 % of the sound come from the back of the instrument

Comment by Mike Moss on May 19, 2013 at 9:15

I don't mind the size of a reso (I find that a 12" banjo sits better on my thigh than an 11") but I ended up removing mine as it was slippery and the banjo was at a constant risk of slipping off my thigh and smashing into the floor. The brackets are a bit unpleasant, but at least they prevent the banjo from falling.

Comment by thereallyniceman on November 11, 2014 at 20:58

I believe that John is right about Jean Marc Andes using steel strings and picks for classic style, as did the late, and great, site member Dave Hum. (check his videos on this site)

.. and here is Jean Marc Andres playing Morley's Zarana. 

Comment by Trapdoor2 on November 12, 2014 at 15:05

Yah, Jean-Marc is an excellent player. His 'Classic Banjo' CD is really well done. I believe he plays a Stelling on it. Haven't heard much from him in years.

Comment by marc dalmasso on November 12, 2014 at 23:07

you are right , inspector Trapdoor , jean marc plays a Stelling Tony Trischka  sold to him years ago  ; here's a picture from this year in St Gervasy  ; stage with jean marc & Gilles Rézard

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