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Rate This Topic
#648214 - 09/02/08 02:11 PM So I electrified the banjo--now what?
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Wasn't sure where to ask the question(s). If not here, could somebody direct me, please?

I had a luthier I know electrify my banjo over the weekend. I wanted to do that because the heavy-metal band that wants to record my Norwegian Black/Death Metal song, "Evil Dead Fairies in My Mobile Home," when it's finished, wanted me to play electric banjo on it.

I get the impression (which could be mistaken) theat they're thinking about wanting me to perform with them. (Wouldn't be the first time that sort of thing has happened. Last band I was in was a punk-rock band, and I was one of their two lead guitarists, and it did sound okay.) They have said they're interested because no other heavy-metal band has an electric banjo. I 'spect they're waiting to see how the recording goes.

The electrification is okay. He used a small pickup, adhesived to the backside of the tympan (where it'd pick up vibrations best), and it does produce a good bit of volume. Still sounds like a banjo, of course--though banjos as a species sound pretty awful (and especially awful when it's me playing).

I presume for heavy-metal work, I'd need some kind of effects pedal. Yes? What should I be looking for? Has to be cheap. (The banjo was cheap.) Do I dare look for something like this used? Or should I concentrate on getting something new? Abovementioned luthier (plus a local music store) will order for me whatever I ask for--but what should I be asking for?

Thanks in advance for y'all's help and advice.

Joe

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#648219 - 09/02/08 02:32 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Mark Kaufman
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 09/25/07
Posts: 5927
Loc: Minneapolis
Heavy Metal banjo...

You know, maybe effects would be counter-productive. A banjo cuts right through just about any mix of instruments. If you distort it, it will sound godawful. Maybe leave all the distortion and effects to the band...the addition of a banjo in a metal song might be novel enough as it is.
_________________________
http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman

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#648222 - 09/02/08 02:36 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Mark Kaufman]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Mark, I wondered about that. Yes, effects will probably make the banjo sound Godawful. On the other hand, a *lack* of effects will make it sound Godawful, too.

Joe

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#648227 - 09/02/08 02:52 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Mark Kaufman
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 09/25/07
Posts: 5927
Loc: Minneapolis
Distortion will make it sound godawful...I've done it. \:D Blech.

Ah, but who knows? Some Chorus might sound good.
_________________________
http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman

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#648240 - 09/02/08 03:45 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Mark Kaufman]
Kevin Edward Rose
Serious Contributor


Registered: 10/02/06
Posts: 1477
Loc: Richmond, IN U.S.A.
Do you know the definition of "perfect pitch"?

It's when you throw a banjo into a dumpster and it never touches the sides.

Hello.... is this thing on?

(BTW, my banjo is about 5 feet away from me as I type this... which makes it sound lot better than when it is in my hands.)
_________________________
Kevin Edward Rose
Celtic, Americana, whatever the folk.
Hailed by Performing Songwriter magazine as a "valued subscriber".
More music sold than Elvis and the Beatles combined!*
http://www.KevinEdwardRose.com
http://www.youtube.com/KevinEdwardRose

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#648248 - 09/02/08 04:22 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Kevin Edward Rose]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
I heard from a punk-rocker I know in england that over there, the term "banjoing" refers to hitting somebody hard enough with a heavy object to do serious damage. I guess in some cultures, the banjo is considered a weapon (which may indeed be a step above considering it a musical instrument).

Playing with bluegrass musicians a lot, I hear a lot of banjo player jokes. (They're usually told in front of the banjo player, with a reasonable expectation the banjo player will not understand them.) My favorite, until recently, was:

Q. What's the difference between a banjo player and a municipal bond?
A. The bond will evenutally mature and make money.

Joe

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#648258 - 09/02/08 04:57 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
BIG JIM MERRILEES
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Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 8076
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland. UK
The banjo....AH...... one of the most maligned instruments ever.... like the bagpipes it can sound breathtaking if played properly...played badly it sounds like an "animal dying in pain" I could not think of a more polite way of putting the vernacular.

Q. How do you know when a banjo is in tune?
A. You don't

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#648264 - 09/02/08 05:28 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: BIG JIM MERRILEES]
Joe Wrabek
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Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Big Jim, I have never heard a banjo referred to as "breathtaking" unless somebody'd got hit with one in the solar plexus. Our rhythm banjo player in the punk-rock band Screamin' Gulch was always trying to tune his banjo, and we always were reminding him there was no point.

Q. How many banjo players does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A. Only two. The question is how'd they get into the light blub...

Joe

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#648334 - 09/02/08 09:25 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Tom Tracy
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 09/06/02
Posts: 2558
Loc: Lumberport,WV, USA
HOw good are you at working on the picking patterns? If you can get the basic Scruggs-style patterns for picking down, I wouldn't worry about effects - except maybe a plastic thumb pick and two metal finger picks.

If you're not that good at getting the scruggs style rolls down, maybe consider a simple delay pedal. That and the afformentioned chorus would be nice.

I electrified my banjo years ago. Never liked much between it other than a chord to the amp. But then I never played much Norwegian Death Metal either.
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#648335 - 09/02/08 09:26 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Tom Tracy]
Tom Tracy
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Registered: 09/06/02
Posts: 2558
Loc: Lumberport,WV, USA
and as for cheap pedals, check out the danelectro cool cat line.
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Tom Tracy
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#648340 - 09/02/08 10:44 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Tom Tracy]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Tom, thanks for the danelectro tip. I will check them out.

I never learned the Scruggs picking. A few years ago (six, I think--last time I put new strings on the banjo), my guitar had to go into the guitar hospital for two weeks for new tuning pegs, and I had gigs. I had the banjo, but had never learned to play it well enougbh to perform with it.

What I discovered was if I tuned the high D string up one whole step--to an E--what I had was the top 4 strings of the guitar. (Ignoring, of course, that idiot 5th string nobody knows what to do with.) No learning curve. I've been playing the banjo that way ever since. I use a flat pick, just like with the guitar. Not very Scruggsy, but I can do lead guitar licks on the banjo that sound *really* strange.

Joe


Edited by Joe Wrabek (09/02/08 10:45 PM)

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#648404 - 09/03/08 05:26 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Nigel Quin
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Registered: 05/09/01
Posts: 2573
Loc: Birmingham, UK
Originally Posted By: Joe Wrabek
So I electrified the banjo--now what?
You truly are The Devil's child

Being serious for a mo, the banjo has the sort of timbre that it doesn't matter too much what you do with it, it will still sound like a banjo.

Q. What's the definition of perfect pitch?
A. You get the banjo right in the middle of the lake
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#648410 - 09/03/08 06:46 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Nigel Quin]
BIG JIM MERRILEES
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Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 8076
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland. UK
The baby ukelele said to his dad "Dad when I grow up I want to be a banjo" His dad said "OH come on son have you no ambition"
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#648416 - 09/03/08 07:17 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: BIG JIM MERRILEES]
Joe Wrabek
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Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
And you heard about the guy who made the mistake of leaving his banjo locked up in his car? He returned to find the car had been broken into--and there were *two* banjos.

joe

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#648417 - 09/03/08 07:19 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Nigel Quin
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Registered: 05/09/01
Posts: 2573
Loc: Birmingham, UK
What's the definition of a gentleman?
Someone who can play the banjo but doesn't
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#648483 - 09/03/08 10:51 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Nigel Quin]
Joe Wrabek
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Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
KID: I wanna grow up and be a banjo player.
DAD: Son, you can't do both.

joe

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#648503 - 09/03/08 11:51 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Tom Tracy
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Registered: 09/06/02
Posts: 2558
Loc: Lumberport,WV, USA
Go ahead. Keep makin' fun of us. We're watching.
Go enjoy your canoe trip.

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#648510 - 09/03/08 12:28 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Tom Tracy]
BIG JIM MERRILEES
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Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 8076
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland. UK
He might be ugly due to inbreeding but the kid can play............. does he use all twelve fingers?
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#648511 - 09/03/08 12:30 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Tom Tracy]
Nigel Quin
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#648646 - 09/03/08 09:25 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Nigel Quin]
Joe Wrabek
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Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
I do think "Deliverance" did a disservice. Banjo players are not evil, and a canoe ride is not the fastest way to Hell (used to be the best way to get a girl to Gitchee-goomee). You may still want to run when you hear a banjo playing, but not for *that* reason.

War story of sorts. I got to go to a barbecue last weekend, with the music supplied by a couple of bluegrass bands, and I bet the guy I was sitting with I could spot the banjo player before the band ever got on stage. How? The deer-in-the-headlights look. I was right...

Joe

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#648912 - 09/04/08 05:20 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Jack Swain
Top 200 Poster


Registered: 08/31/06
Posts: 1545
Loc: Berwyn, IL, US
So, now that you have electrified your banjo, do you have a spotlight attached so that you can use it to light up your garage, or what?
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#648936 - 09/04/08 06:45 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Jack Swain]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Nah. The lights are a good idea, though. I think I'll do that with the Strat I want to build out of a toilet seat. I can put one of those li'l things that lights up and says "Occupied."

Joe

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#649069 - 09/05/08 08:35 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Jack Swain
Top 200 Poster


Registered: 08/31/06
Posts: 1545
Loc: Berwyn, IL, US
Yeah, there is nothing like a toilet seat guitar to say to the world "rock & roll can never die, it just needs a good flushing from time to time."

I would get one of those clear plastic ones with sea horses or something like that embedded in it. Pure class, you know what I mean?
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#649081 - 09/05/08 09:05 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Jack Swain]
Tom Tracy
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Registered: 09/06/02
Posts: 2558
Loc: Lumberport,WV, USA
don't forget to use the pink flamingo mike stand with it. It's sort of a "matching set."
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#649103 - 09/05/08 10:48 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Tom Tracy]
Patrick Bryant Moderator
Serious Contributor


Registered: 04/21/01
Posts: 927
Loc: Glendale, CA, USA
What are words you will never hear?

"Somebody ran into the banjo player's BMW."

Thank you. I'll be here all week. Be sure to tip your waitresses.

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#649112 - 09/05/08 11:10 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Patrick Bryant]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Ooo, a pink flamingo mike stand would be *perfect*! I ought to have a matching Pottycaster, though. I bet they got pink toilet seats at the Wal-Mart.

Old one:

Q.: What do you call a banjo player who's broken up with his girlfriend?
A.: Homeless.

Joe

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#649172 - 09/05/08 03:10 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
ben willis
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 04/10/06
Posts: 4841
Loc: Ft. Myers, FL. USA
I think Alan Munde used effects with the banjo in the 80's. Don't know if the banjo was electric or miked. Sounded good to me. Ben
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#649181 - 09/05/08 03:41 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: ben willis]
Joe Wrabek
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Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Ben, I have run into one (easy to count to one--even a banjo player can do it) banjo player who had amplified his banjo, and he complained it didn't work very well. He had a little piezo mike attached to his bridge, but the glue kept coming loose under hot stage lights.

I wanted a more permanent solution, and didn't really care if it meant cutting into the wood, because my banjo, albeit well-made, is cheap. As it was, it didn't: the wood sounding board attached with screws, and it was easy to mount the pickup on the underside of the tympan, and room to run the wire out without drilling any holes, which was real nice.

I don't think it *deliberately* distorts--banjos just sound distorted anyway. At high volume, it is impressive. I don't know if I'll need an effects pedal, though I did try some effects on it when I recorded Beth Williams' song, "Cast Away." A lot of the "metal" effects on the Tascam didn't add much, though--it still sounded pretty much like a loud banjo--which it is.

Q.: How do you get a banjo player off your porch?
A.: Pay him for the pizza.

Joe

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#649184 - 09/05/08 03:43 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: ben willis]
ben willis
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 04/10/06
Posts: 4841
Loc: Ft. Myers, FL. USA
I remember now. It was "Elinore Rigby" by "Country Gazette". Sort of a bluegrass version and the banjo effect was great. Ben
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#649186 - 09/05/08 03:49 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: ben willis]
ben willis
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 04/10/06
Posts: 4841
Loc: Ft. Myers, FL. USA
I don't know much about electric instruments. But can you still "Mike" a banjo with a pedal hooked up to the Mike for effects?
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#649192 - 09/05/08 04:16 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: ben willis]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
I don't think so. Or maybe you can and it just doesn't work as well as when you have a direct line in.

Joe

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#649197 - 09/05/08 04:48 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
ben willis
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 04/10/06
Posts: 4841
Loc: Ft. Myers, FL. USA
Munde did it in the studio, so there must be a way.
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#649248 - 09/05/08 08:30 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Kevin Emmrich Moderator
Top 20 Poster


Registered: 02/24/07
Posts: 8628
Loc: Crozet, VA
I was looking for distorted banjo sols on YouTube and I ran into this -- sorry not really distorted, but it is an electric banjo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXHOyqHzupk And it does have the incomparable Victor Wooten on bass.

Kevin
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#649284 - 09/05/08 10:18 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Kevin Emmrich]
Tom Tracy
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 09/06/02
Posts: 2558
Loc: Lumberport,WV, USA
There's always this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N8GEZFZfPw&feature=related
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#649362 - 09/06/08 08:34 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Tom Tracy]
Kevin Emmrich Moderator
Top 20 Poster


Registered: 02/24/07
Posts: 8628
Loc: Crozet, VA
Tom: I saw that video -- it just scared me too much!

Kevin
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Kevin at Soundclick and ... more Soundclick
skype: Kevin.Emmrich

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#649372 - 09/06/08 09:04 AM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Kevin Emmrich]
Tom Tracy
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 09/06/02
Posts: 2558
Loc: Lumberport,WV, USA
I think it's the same dude as in the photo above. He just wears makeup now to look less scary and more like a clown.
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#649933 - 09/07/08 05:15 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Tom Tracy]
Rick Heenan
Top 200 Poster


Registered: 09/07/04
Posts: 1355
Loc: Lockport NY, usa
I played banjo back in the seventies in a country rock band. Try a Wah pedal through a 60 watt Ampeg head into 4 12" speakers cab.

It was a lot of fun but way to much stuff to move. You got to wear funny hats though.

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#649946 - 09/07/08 06:11 PM Re: So I electrified the banjo--now what? [Re: Rick Heenan]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Thanks, Rick. I'll try that (the Wah pedal, that is--I am too old and decrepit to be hauling heavy amps and speakers around).

Joe

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#650050 - 09/07/08 11:02 PM Electric banjo [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Oh, and:

Q.: What do you say to a banjo player in a 3-piece suit?
A.: Will the defendant please rise...

Joe


Edited by Joe Wrabek (09/08/08 12:28 AM)

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#650185 - 09/08/08 10:15 AM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Joe Wrabek]
BIG JIM MERRILEES
Top 20 Poster


Registered: 11/27/06
Posts: 8076
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland. UK
Just a thought but would a normal guitar fx unit not provide the fx you want. You just plug the output from your banjo in.
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#650199 - 09/08/08 10:54 AM Re: Electric banjo [Re: BIG JIM MERRILEES]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Best advice I've received on the subject came from a professional lead guitarist who plays with our Friday Night Group. He told me to go to the local music store with the banjo, ask what FX pedals they had on sale (they apparently always have some), and try 'em out.

He's with most of you guys in maintaining banjos sound pretty awful to begin with, so it may not take much.

Joe

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#650296 - 09/08/08 04:15 PM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
This just in...

Q.: What's the difference between a banjo player and a 15-inch pizza?
A.: The pizza can feed a family of four.

Joe

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#650669 - 09/09/08 04:48 PM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Joe Wrabek
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 11/28/03
Posts: 6178
Loc: Garibaldi, OR USA
Q.: How can you tell if the stage is level?
A.: The banjo player is drooling out of both sides of his mouth.

Joe

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#651281 - 09/11/08 03:53 PM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Derek Hines
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 08/14/07
Posts: 4809
Loc: United States Oregon
Q.: How do you tune a banjo?
A.: Bang it over the bassist's head a couple of times ;\)


Edited by Derek Hines (09/11/08 03:54 PM)
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#651558 - 09/12/08 08:53 AM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Derek Hines]
Nigel Quin
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Registered: 05/09/01
Posts: 2573
Loc: Birmingham, UK
Derek, now you are being bassist-ist!! – I just hope for your sake Mr Dunbar doesn’t get to see this or you will be in big T. Now where did I put his number? ;\)
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#651573 - 09/12/08 09:28 AM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Nigel Quin]
Derek Hines
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Registered: 08/14/07
Posts: 4809
Loc: United States Oregon
Hey Nigel

I apologize.. it's only because Banjo players and Bass players both get joked about so much... I figured I'd try and combine the two,,, to ill effect apperently... oh please don't tell Mike D \:o he might put a hit out on me
Derek
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#651575 - 09/12/08 09:33 AM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Derek Hines]
Kevin Edward Rose
Serious Contributor


Registered: 10/02/06
Posts: 1477
Loc: Richmond, IN U.S.A.
Those were jokes? I just thought we had drifted into banjo trivia.
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Celtic, Americana, whatever the folk.
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#651578 - 09/12/08 09:40 AM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Joe Wrabek]
Derek Hines
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 08/14/07
Posts: 4809
Loc: United States Oregon
Originally Posted By: Joe Wrabek
This just in...

Q.: What's the difference between a banjo player and a 15-inch pizza?
A.: The pizza can feed a family of four.


That's not fair Joe... in certain parts of the country a banjo player could feed a family of four! though he might be a little stringy ;\)
Derek
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http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pageartist.cfm?bandID=740346

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#651580 - 09/12/08 09:42 AM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Kevin Edward Rose]
Derek Hines
Top 100 Poster


Registered: 08/14/07
Posts: 4809
Loc: United States Oregon
Today on Banjo trivia

q. what was the name of the little boy in movie "deliverance"?
Derek
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#651583 - 09/12/08 09:54 AM Re: Electric banjo [Re: Kevin Edward Rose]
Tom Tracy
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Registered: 09/06/02
Posts: 2558
Loc: Lumberport,WV, USA
Seems like the appropriate place to post this. This is the head of my banjo. I drew it freehand with magic markers back around 1976 (based on an image in a bluegrass songbook). A lot of the colors have faded. I used the markers since the ink wouldn't have any affect on the tone.
I put my name on it too, I guess so it would be easier to tell the difference between my banjo and everyone elses.
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