Dead note, 3d Fret, 1st String?

[Adam]

Hi Folks,

A week or so ago, I traded a banjo for a SSS Thoroughbred, which so far I love - except for one thing which I didn't notice at the store (doh!).  The note at the 3d fret on the 1st string is pretty much dead.  Sometimes it intones "okay" but mainly it produces a dull thud. The 2d and 3d strings intone nicely and then the 4th string buzzes a bit - but not too badly - which could, honestly, be a poor attack by me on that string.

What are the likely causes of the dead note on the 1st string?  Is it likely fret wear?  Or the fingerboard?  User (gasp!) error? 

Any/all of the above?

If more info is needed, please ask. 

Thanks!

[Trapdoor2]

Probably fret wear...it is a pretty common issue. You'll want to take it to someone familiar with nylon strung instruments, like Classical Guitars...but someone who has experience in both (Banjos and nylon strings) would be better.

Buffalo Brothers in Carlsbad looks like they cater to a wide variety of instrument types...and they have a Van Eps banjo in stock! http://www.buffalobrosguitars.com/ Oooh, and they have a Hartel Boucher too...drool. ;-)

Also Tecolote Guitar Works might be another source. http://www.tecoloteguitarworks.com/

[Adam]

Thanks, Marc. That's what I assumed.

I got the banjo from Buffalo Bros so I will likely take it back to them (or their sister store in San Diego, which is only a few blocks from my house).

I mucked about with the Van Eps and considered trading in for it but didn't like it as much as the Thoroughbred. The Van Eps was too much banjo for me at this point in my playing. :)

Thanks again for your info.

Oh, and it's not a HARTEL boucher ... but HART, Allen Hart.

Best,
Adam

[Trapdoor2]

That Van Eps looks like it is in pretty good shape...but it isn't quite "as advertised", it is missing its original tailpiece and I believe it is also missing the aluminum fretboard extension (I'm not sure they all had the extension). Fred himself only used the "hole in the head" head for the first few, it turned out to be a pain and didn't really add anything to the sound. He always replaced them with a "regular" head if he got the chance.

I'd love to have it, but the price would have to come down a bit due to the missing parts.

BTW, they have it titled "Van Epps". Should be "Van Eps" (as Fred would have it). Oddly enough, I found him and his family in the 1930 census listed as "Van Epps" but back then, a census taker probably messed it up. Note that it is signed "Van Eps"...

Hart Boucher...ah, I was wondering about that as when I looked at it I mentally exclaimed, "I didn't know Jim made a double-head Boucher!" Now I know it wasn't Jim Hartel at all...

[Trapdoor2]

Geo. Wunderlich has built a few of them and he had one at AEBG II (If my memory is working today). I played it a bit but other than the oddness of it all (and those wing-nuts digging into my laig), I didn't think it was anything special.

I think it must have been a fad item at the time (1840's). Bob Winans (again, IIRC) has a Boucher that shows evidence of the rear head having been attached by tacks. Perhaps a double-tackhead?