"Ah! Well, now I know."
Classic-Banjo
A Site Dedicated to all enthusiasts of Classic Style Banjo
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Jody Stecher
- 79, Male
- San Francisco, CA
- United States
- Blog Posts (24)
- Discussions (2841)
- Events
- Photos (38)
- Photo Albums
- Videos (25)
Jody Stecher's Discussions
Historical question about banjo strings
19 Replies
Started this discussion. Last reply by Jody Stecher on Sunday.
St Louis Tickle: New Arrangement for 3 banjos
2 Replies
Started this discussion. Last reply by Jody Stecher Aug 29.
Three voice arrangement for The Tantalizer
4 Replies
Started this discussion. Last reply by Jody Stecher Aug 9.
Gifts Received (2)
Jody Stecher's Page
Latest Activity
"Every tune in there is a good one. You mentioned these are arrangements. Have you heard these tunes before or seen them in earlier collections? Can these be Parke Hunter's own compositions?"
"Whoa, the Cretan Patrol seems to be a strange ol' tune. Especially the 2nd banjo part. I'd like to hear this played before attempting it as something seems askew, but probably it's my mind, not the score."
"This is a treasure trove. Thank you, Joel.
I found "Dallas' Universal Banjoist No. II "containing a selection of jigs and dances by Parke Hunter" (the first is "The Old Timer"). Is the folio of jigs…"
"Maybe because the lights on this device were activated by *strings*? "
"How did the humidity discussion get mixed up with this one?
FVE made his light set using a piece of aluminum U stock. He also added a "heat shield" made from an aluminum record recording blank. For some reason owners have…"
"I cannot remember the details but I am going to look for the article as I would like to see how it all worked. I also need to look for the photos of the Van Eps banjo fitted with vellum drying lights, I suppose that they were made by VE himself but…"
".Were there as many colors as frets? Somewhere between 17 and 22 tiny flashing light bulbs each of a different color is a fantastic thing to contemplate! "
"I have a feeling that there was another instructional article about decorative light (as opposed to vellum drying lights) installation on a banjo in the B.M.G probably in the 1930s. This system involved the installation of bare wires beneath the…"
"Another piece of the puzzle solved. Another puzzle piece: I have a vague impression (maybe false) that some players of gut or nylon-strung banjos used/use a heavier 5th string. The best explanation might be that I'm…"
"When wire strings became used more widely the fifth string was found to 'sing' long after it had been struck, which irritated some fastidious banjoists. The solution to this problem was to stick a small ball of Gutta Percha (Gutta-percha…"
"However I have found discussions about gut, metal, and "tropical" strings. (Rayon?) in a 1917 BMG"
"And that might be an argument for a heavier first rather than fifth. But I never heard of that. Anyway the problem I have with consulting random BMGs is that unlike the tutor books there is no apparent way of perusing them here on this website. One…"
"One is much harder on the 1st string than the 5th.
For some British arguments for and against, I recommend the BMG's from during the Great war. Start with the 1917 year and then work backwards. Lots and lots of articles.…"
"It seems to have been a fairly common "deviation" to use a slightly bigger gauge for the 5th than the 1st. "
"I have suspicions regarding the talk about the 1st string being first.
My favorite excuse: they may have simply not mentioned the 5th as "everybody knows, you use the same string on both". This sort of exclusion is very common in…"
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Jody Stecher's Blog
Banjo Benches at San Francisco Airport!
I was taking a flight out a new terminal at San Francisco the other day and was surprised and amused to see the shape of some comfortable new benches with a new shape. Off topic because they look like plectrum banjos? No indeed, these are Zither Banjo Benches! I'm afraid my mobile phone takes horrible quality pictures but at least the shape was captured. The wave of the future?
…
ContinuePosted on November 17, 2011 at 4:06 — 5 Comments
Farland Metal banjo head on ebay
Posted on August 13, 2011 at 20:50 — 2 Comments
clear photos of the missing banjo
Note the copper bass string, the red binding around the pot and the inlay "The Cammeyer Vibrante Royal" These are distinctive.
Posted on November 28, 2010 at 22:16
Comment Wall (24 comments)
- At 4:06 on April 7, 2009,
Trapdoor2 said…
- Jody, regarding the banjo I'm playing in my videos: that's one of Bob Flesher's "Cotillion" (12") models; my main axe for about 6 yrs. Thanks for the kind remarks, I've gone from archtop Stelling "shrill" to "tubby" over the years (in more ways than one!). I have a fiberskyn head on it, Aquila Nylgut strings and one of those Cole 5-footed bridges. I have a small collection of banjos but the Flesher gets all the playing time these days.
- At 5:54pm on March 14, 2010, Joel Hooks gave Jody Stecher a gift…
- At 8:11 on August 19, 2010,
Liz McElwain said…
- Thanks, Jody. Hope to be able to meet you over the Didmarton weekend.
- At 17:08 on September 11, 2010,
Anthony Peabody said…
- I enjoyed meeting you at Backwell, and I am afraid that I assumed that you were a newcomer to Banjo, so please erase from your hard drive any superfluous and quite unnecessary advice. You don't need any encouragement either. I was the bass banjo at the end of the line, filling in the blanks, and wishing I could play better. So you see, you encorage me!
Anthony Peabody
- At 17:48 on December 22, 2010,
Eric STEFANELLI said…
Thanks Jody, to add me as a friend, i am deeply honored !
I would be to give you some piece of information about my banjos making, give me please your e-mail, mine is : eric.pat-luths@orange.fr .
About your music, many people in France like bluegrass & old timey music, and play it, there is many bands, many american banjo players come to France every years to teach, and have many pupils, there is summer country festivals...i was myself a pupil of Tony Trishka in 1978 and and Ben Eldrige in 1982/83, but we can speak about it by mail. Classic banjo is unknow or very few people know this kind of banjo music.
Eric
- At 14:09 on August 3, 2011,
Pam Tointon said…
Thank you Jody I enjoyed that. Nice to hear an original composition, but well beyond me yet as a beginner I'm afraid.
regards Pam
- At 12:51 on October 18, 2011,
Neil Angus Goodwin said…
- Thankyou for the info, that might explain why it is the only Cammeyer I have seen with the metal bands.
- At 23:51 on March 5, 2012,
allan ideson said…
thanks jody for your input.ime a guitarist .i have good instruments ...this banjo .has a lot of volume .also the neck and fingerboard are a work of art .after all these years the neck is straight .....no truss rod.when i master the beast ill put some tunes on ....thanks...allan
- At 21:34 on March 8, 2012,
skip sail said…
hi Jody,met you on your australian tour,we talked Fred Macdowell and Robert Petway and jammed a bit on some fingerpicked blues at Camperdown. Thanks for the welcome to the forum! Skip
- At 7:32am on May 14, 2012, thereallyniceman gave Jody Stecher a gift…
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