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Post by ianlp59 on Feb 13, 2014 17:08:29 GMT
Getting quite excited now. The banjo is in the UK, unfortunately with Parcelfarce with whom I've had a few run ins in the past. Unsurprisingly, it was shipped to the wrong delivery depot (Ipswich) and is now on its way down here (Southampton). Realistically, I shall probably half to wait until next week to get my hands on it as there is duty and VAT to pay...
More later,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Feb 4, 2014 16:09:26 GMT
Many thanks for the kind comments guys. Really looking forward to having this instrument as I think it will be something a bit special. I've been playing a Barry Murphy banjo which I have on loan from a Sheffield-based musician which has really got me started with the whole clawhammer thang but I have a way to go yet. The new banjer will hopefully provide the necessary inspiration and motivation to get better.
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Feb 4, 2014 12:20:39 GMT
Last August I got to 'baby sit' a custom banjo built by Jason and Pharis Romero for a week or so. Inevitably I fell in love with it and promptly placed myself on the build list for one. The lead time is currently around four years and going northwards - so a long wait basically. Every once in a while, Jason comes up with an instrument which is not on the build list as such. When this happens, it is offered to those on the waiting list who are interested. Names are placed in a hat and a draw happens. Well folks, I won the raffle. I've had to forgo my place in the build list but I'm delighted to be getting a stonking instrument without having such a long wait. Details as per Jason's original email below : Hi all, Hope you're all doing well and enjoying the winter so far. This is an email to everyone on our waitlist to let you know that we have a "luthier's choice" banjo for sale this month, and we'd like to offer it first to everyone on the waitlist before putting it up for public sale. This is a pretty exciting banjo. Overall, it's inspired by the early Ashborn-era banjos, with some new takes. Pictures are on our website- www.romerobanjos.com/14355/14355.html The specs are all listed there, but a few particular details that really make this banjo special include: - the neck is figured birdseye maple with figured birdseye overlays - the scoop is a new custom shape, great for clawhammer and fingerpicking - the back of the peghead has our first ever Ashborn-inspired dart (we have totally fallen in love with this detail and can't wait to put it on future banjos) - the rim has a finishing technique Jason learned from his good friend Scott Walker at Scott Walker Guitars. Scott developed the finish for one of his electric guitar models, with the goal to have a finish that looked like the instrument had been found on the bottom of the ocean. Essentially we have coated a rock maple 12" rim with several coats of bronze, and then used some unique finishing techniques, including iron oxide and various other patinas, to give it an aged metal look and feel. It's the kind of finish you'd see on a Tiffany lamp; it's textured to the touch and has a protective lacquer finish as well. - the tone of this banjo is simply amazing. Something happened with the all maple build, the rosewood tonering, and the bronze coating. We're having a hard time letting it go. Sound clips will be up on the site hopefully this week sometime (in between baby feeds and naps). And here is the e-mail I got from Jason after the draw : Hi Ian, I'm happy to say we just had the drawing and we pulled your name out! Aside from everything I mentioned about this banjo in the original email I'd like to mention again I'm really proud of this one...... I know with the overall aesthetic It would appear to be pushing the boundaries but most details are borrowed from 19th century banjos. It is one of the most unique banjos I have created so far..... and though I can make no real claims just yet. The bronze coating on the rim has definitely added something special to the tone! I'll send another email on later today with payment options. If you could please send us a shipping address and current phone number. Best for now, Jason Obviously, I am rather happy... I should have this over here within the next couple of weeks and will post some pics. Cheers, Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Jan 15, 2014 12:40:31 GMT
I use Guitar Pro which I find pretty good as it allows you to enter notes either in tablature or in standard notation. If you complete in standard it writes tab for you as well and vice-versa. It copes with altered tunings as well as capo positioning. The current version is version 6 which costs 60 euros.
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Dec 12, 2013 17:47:28 GMT
For me it's going to be clawhammer banjo. I've borrowed a really nice open back banjo from my good friend Martin Simpson. It's a hand built banjer by the late great Barry Murphy. I've placed an order with Jason and Pharis Romero for a Romero banjo, but that is way down the line and I hope to somewhat more proficient a player by the time it comes along.
It's great fun to start completely from scratch but also a little frustrating at times too.
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Oct 28, 2013 15:13:43 GMT
A long time ago, whilst at school, I went through a phase of learning and playing blues harmonica. The book that I learned from was "Blues Harp" by Tony "Little Sun" Glover. This book is the real deal. Glover captures the essence of blues harmonica and stresses the importance of listening to the greats of the past - Sonny terry, Sonny Boy Williamson, Jimmy Reed et al. Here's a review quote from the amazon.co.uk website - you can still get this book, it's a must if you want to play blues harmonica .
"As a 16-year-old in the fall of 1974, determined to learn how to play blues harmonica, I stumbled across this book purely by chance in the local mall. I picked it up along with my first Hohner Marine Band harmonica. Now, almost 40 years later, as a pro player and teacher, I'm still in awe of Glover's achievement. He may not get every single lick right--his tab system raised as many questions for me back then as it answered--but he DID get the instrument's great tradition exactly right. In his inimitable hipster's voice, with a cool gruffness that makes him seem like every teen wannabe's knowing, disreputable Kerouackian uncle, he hips you to all the Big Names, tells you why they're important, what they're ABOUT, and makes you feel as though you're setting off on a serious, soulful enterprise. This book will inspire you and comfort you; it'll challenge you, too. Are you paying attention? This is your roadmap. It's an ancient roadmap, but that's okay, because the music is about all that old stuff, too. Blues harmonica is a sorcerer's art; a little attitude, a little improvisational juice, a dash of mumbo jumbo, is just as important as sober rationalism. Thanks to YouTube, young players these days have infinitely more instructional material to choose from, and some of it is very good indeed. But nobody--not Gindick, not Barrett, not Gussow (!)--has captured the feel of the music and its warm, sometimes gruff mentorship process more perfectly, in the form of a written voice, than has Tony Glover in this book. Start here. "
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Oct 10, 2013 10:49:17 GMT
Hi Keith,
Been out of the loop for the last couple of days as we were down in Clifton to witness the end of an epic kayaking charity adventure (google gutless kayaking for details) so have only just caught up with this.
Great rapportage on what looks to have been another cracking weekend for you, hot on the heals of Halifax.
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Oct 4, 2013 10:51:29 GMT
I've been doing a bit of a hunt around the Internet for information on the Martin Simpson model PRS. I found the original review which raised questions for me from the online version of Acoustic Guitar magazine, by Teja Gerken (and by the way, I agree with another poster that one shouldn't take any notice of the brand preferences expressed somewhat vehemently by the folk who get upset if something isn't a Martin, Gibson or Taylor on the AGF). He mentions a buzzing problem with a couple of strings and that this can't be corrected because there isn't a truss rod. Does anyone know if this model of the PRS now has a truss rod? The other surprising thing is the price of the signature models. Originally they were very expensive indeed: I found one on the Dream Guitars site which sold for about $US15,000 when they first came out, the list price is now still over $US10,000, but I found two shops in the US which were offering this model for $US7,800. Are they available in the UK? They look gorgeous, and sound spectacular in every sample I've heard. I still think that for about $8,000 I'd go directly to a small shop luthier. Although it looks like Steve Fischer is already priced out of this category. So many guitars to lust after, so little money ... Kym I believe that PRS private stock acoustics now have a truss rod. World Guitars, a PRS dealer, have a Tony McManus private stock Angelus up for sale at 6995.00 pounds. I would expect a Martin Simpson Angelus to be priced the same. Not sure where you're coming from with Steve Fischer. His base price is currently 5,500.00 dollars which obviously can go north with optional extras. Last year I got Steve to build me a Concerto with African Blackwood, European spruce, snakewood bindings and a custom saddle and nut width. The guitar also has a set of tuners by Keith Robson. I was lucky, Keith wanted me to have a set of his tuners on the guitar. The landed price of the instrument was a little over 6 grand, which is somewhat less than a PRS. It's a great guitar and I'm very happy with it. Cheers, Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Sept 24, 2013 15:23:07 GMT
Hi Phil,
Happens to all of us from time to time that, which you are experiencing, or something similar. I never really stop playing because it's something I've got used to doing on a daily basis. However, it's true to say that some days are better than others when it comes to inspiration. Occasionally, everything just works and you find yourself doing something different and creative, on other occasions you go through the motions.
Hope you can make it up to Halifax and look forward to meeting you next weekend.
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Sept 24, 2013 15:19:01 GMT
PRS do tend to attract a whole lot of negative comments when the discussion is about the company's acoustic line. Some of the posts on the AGF (the other forum) have contained invective of a fairly extreme nature, some of it quite unpleasant.
I think that PRS make very good acoustics, but I'm talking about the private stock models which get extra attention as well as benefitting from more rigorous wood selection. I've had the opportunity to play quite a few and have yet to play a dud one, although, like all instruments there are subtle differences from guitar to guitar. One of the other areas that PRS have really worked on is the pick up system and the live sound in particular. This is obviously much more important to a professional player and even more so for the likes of Simpson and McManus where the guitar playing aspect of their performance is key.
For my last guitar, I went to Steve Fischer, the man responsible for the original designs for the PRS range. I got Steve to build me a guitar because I was convinced he would come up with a killer instrument - I was not disappointed. But it would be silly to make comparisons with say a PRS Angelus, with which my Fischer Concerto shares clear family traits. My Fischer has no pick up system and lacks the expensive bling that PRS likes to adorn its instruments with. For less money I was able to spec out a custom instrument with a nut and saddle width of my choosing, as well as ultimately owning a completely hand built guitar.
Just a few thoughts - actually I'm trying to up my posts as I find my current profile description as "strummer" somewhat unsettling...
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Sept 23, 2013 14:03:51 GMT
Martin Simpson did tell me a fair while back that Martin Carthy had been pretty blown away by MS's Angelus. So I'm not surprised that he's using one. As far as I know he's not an endorsing artist.
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Sept 17, 2013 20:48:19 GMT
Not cheap?....your not kidding Ian! You could buy a decent acoustic guitar for what they are asking, what do they mix with the Tungsten Carbide-Gold? ... cannot understand the price structure, I think I will stick to my ceramic/glass/brass/stainless slides for the time being..... I've been thinking about this a lot, and yes, whilst I realise the slides are incredibly expensive in comparison with other slides, lets put things in perspective. Some players would think nothing of forking out £100-200 or more on a effect pedal that they may only use on a couple of songs. Some players fork out on having their nails done every month. Most of us fork out quite a bit of money over the year on sets of guitar strings. A slide that will last a lifetime (certainly a lot longer than that effect pedal probably) but which has as direct an effect on your tone as a players nails/ fingertips do, to me, represents comparatively good value. Thats if you play with slide a lot of course. I don't so I'm not really in the market for one, but put it this way....if someone offered you the chance to have the ultimate set of right hand nails, that would give you a tone to die for, they would last a lifetime and would not need any maintenance, but, would cost £250, I bet some of us would think that a pretty good price to pay for tone. I do speak from experience of these slides by the way, having played Ian's Wolfram/ Martin Simpson slide, and it is just simply the most wonderful sounding slide I have ever heard. Robbie Robbie makes a very good point and it's all about the perception of the player and what kind of sound you wish to achieve and aspire to. Frankly, an acoustic guitar that costs the same as one of these slides is probably not going to be on my immediate wish list. However, if you're lucky enough to own a seriously decent acoustic guitar, then one of these really sublime slides effectively buys you a new instrument. I paid for mine, totally endorse them and think that Huckleberry has done the slide guitar community an invaluable service. He also happens to be a very nice person... Cheers, Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Sept 17, 2013 10:24:36 GMT
Never heard of Wolfram Slides before now, I play slide, and am always game to try different types, cam anyone tell me where to get them? Simply follow the link in Huckleberry's signature. These slides are unbelievable, simply the best I've ever used. But they are not cheap... Cheers, Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Sept 2, 2013 13:59:32 GMT
Nice one Mark and a great report. Many congrats
Cheers,
Ian
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Post by ianlp59 on Aug 28, 2013 13:59:32 GMT
I've got one of these slides and have to say that they are awesome, nothing else comes remotely close. If you're serious about slide playing, then one of these is a must. Congratulations to David on realising a superb project and all the best with the venture.
Cheers,
Ian
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