Comment by Trapdoor2 on September 2, 2020 at 16:20

Well done!

Nice sound on the banjeaurine too.

Comment by Joel Hooks on September 2, 2020 at 17:31

Yes, well done!  Bob Darch's finest composition (well, the only one I know about).

I'm glad you are enjoying the banjeaurine. Are you changing your opinion on clad rims?

Comment by carrie horgan on September 2, 2020 at 17:42

Welcome to the bijou banjeaurine club - great tune choice!

Comment by nick stephens on September 2, 2020 at 19:16

thanks guys, tune choice Carrie was kinda dictated by the fact that I so far only know one tune that sounds ok in F, not so keen on this rag when I try it on a grown up banjo in C ! Joel, I am still changing my opinions all the time, this is still quite new territory for me. I guess my bias against clad rims goes back to my earliest endeavours on this instrument, back in the day all the cheap hock shops had unplayable vile derelict banjos for sale with clad rims covered in algae and I longed for a banjo with a wood rim like the pros ! only now am I learning about the integral tone ring idea one gets with a spun pot.

Comment by Pär Engstrand on September 2, 2020 at 19:50

Oh. I like that very much! Sounds great!

Thanks for posting.

Comment by Jody Stecher on September 2, 2020 at 20:46

I'm not quite following something here, Nick. On a regular 5 string banjo Calliope Rag is played in F major, not in C. Your "C" fingering on the b-rine will sound good played along with a regular banjo tuned in C tuning but fingered in F and sounding in F.  That being the case, why try to play Calliope Rag in C on a regular banjo?  It sounds great in F.

Of great interest (to *me* anyway) in respect to clad rims: When I was reading up on the Bohee Brothers (also of great interest to me)  Clad rims, when first introduced, were considered to be the ideal banjo for stroke style, which is  to be played with a metal thimble. Wood rims were for 3 finger "guitar style" to be played with bare fingers. The exact opposite from late 20th, early 21st century perceptions that 3 finger picking is to be done with picks, whereas  down picking (stroke/frailing/clawhammer/rapping etc) is to be done with without plectra.

Comment by nick stephens on September 2, 2020 at 21:04

Jody, I do play Calliope Rag in F on my regular banjos, that is how I learnt it, however when I got this new banjeaurine it occured to me to try it using C fingering for the F key. most of the tunes I have learnt have been in C and sounded somewhat silly  on the small neck so, I tried CR and liked it , it was also easier for the open strings/full chords hence that is why I shall now use this little instrument for this tune and, of course the novelty value is immense too ! even my banjo playing buddies admit to never having seen one before, ask most Brits what a banjeaurine is and they think it is something to eat ! I like wood pots mostly from an aesthetic viewpoint

one of my fave banjos is my old Fairbanks Vega with just a hoop in it, the weight is good for sitting at home with it in your lap too ! for me, polished wood is beautiful, tarnished old metal, not so much.

Comment by Jody Stecher on September 2, 2020 at 22:16

Hmmm... my experience of 100 year old metal on British banjos is that it is astonishingly new looking. Perhaps the old spun over banjos that were green in the hock shops were made in the USA (?).  

Comment by Joel Hooks on September 3, 2020 at 1:35

Yep, to echo what Jody wrote, I have 3 clad rim British banjos, CE Pro, CE Special, and a Clamp piccolo, all have excellent and clean metal work.

Nick, FWIW I "got" the transposing and thought it was cool.  If you ever run into another classic banjoist that plays CR you can play your Banjeaurine with no trouble.  The regular second banjo part would work for you too.  In my mind you used the Banjeaurine for exactly what it was designed for.

Comment by nick stephens on September 3, 2020 at 9:06

perhaps only the good/well kept examples make it to your shores ! the ones I have encountered here in the UK have mostly been rather grubby and uncared for. my first open back some 30 odd years ago I now know to have been a CE I don't remember which model though it was pretty sad with brass showing through everywhere and a badly twisted neck, I of course perpetuated the original sin by using steel strings on it ( I knew no better !) but, I always coveted a wood rim banjo . Decent banjos 30 years ago were hard to come by this side of the pond things are slightly better nowadays, Joel thanks for your encouraging words, I am hoping that the Midland Banjo Festival will take place in October here, lots of classic players in attendance there !

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