Re: SHOW ME YOUR HOMEMADE INSTRUMENTS

[ufoengines]

Good Idea, Very Cool!

[gutenschneider]

Will friction tuners hold up to the steel strings, or do they loose tune easily? I'm making my own guitar and I was wondering if friction tuners (much cheaper) could do the same or similar job to geared tuners. Much appreciated!

[sparkyfiddle]

@gutenschneider Hi, not sure how friction pegs work with steel strings as I've only used them with synthetic gut on my banjos. I've come across some old banjos set up with light gauge steel strings and those early 'champion' style friction pegs which seem to cope OK if they're properly adjusted. Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck with the project.

[schpoingle]

hey! come check my home made vampire killer and instrument with original music that doesn't sound home made. really.

peace!!

[purity4all]

Looks pretty and sound pretty to! great job!

[nightfrailer]

I am working a fretless banjo, and want to do a fretboard with precut frets, but fill them with something to make visible position markers. How did you do yours?

[sparkyfiddle]

@nightfrailer Sorry for they delayed reply. To do the fret marker inlays in this banjo I used a small square file tilted through 45 degrees so that it makes a 'V' shaped groove into the top edge of the fingerboard. The trick is to angle it down by about 30 degrees so that you get a 'diamond' shape occurring both on the face of the fingerboard and its top edge. Then you just glue in little bits of squared-off wood in a contrasting colour. Let the glue dry thoroughly and file them off flush.

[fru2zzy]

o_O i want to make this one !!!!!

[ray8up]

Awesome!

[revbricenichols]

Thta's great!

[datzfast]

nice reels and hammerdowns

[Rubberjohnnyface]

excellent man! I just started playing and wondered what that roll pattern you use is? sounds like melodic and its beautiful, like old time clawhammer but subtle and clear.

[sparkyfiddle]

@Rubberjohnnyface Cheers for the comment. My right hand is a bit unconventional. I've been told it's a bit like an up-picking style that used to be common in North Carolina, however, I tend to add downward brushes to keep it rhythmic. I think you get more control over the tone and 'twang factor' with an up stroke, which helps bring out the melody. Good luck with your playing - banjos are one of the most addictive things known to man!

[WretchshreD]

Coolest banjo i've ever seen

[PhilWithCoffee]

Very nice instrument! Did you get the design from the FoxFire collection?

[guitarsxrxausome]

uh, that sounds so awsome

[underkill2811]

man that thing is a beautiful piece of work.

[difflock77]

it's cool

[loveanianimeme]

where is the original video?

[akinderreality]

Great craftsmanship beautiful playing also

[david1513]

i had in my hands today M Eli Jackson's famous cadalic banjo, im seeing his doughter now we are good friends,i also finished building one of Eli Jacksons banjo's he never finished before his passing away, i am curentley building my own banjo so far it looks great i love the wood grain that showed up after i cut the head slab off, im not sure of the type wood it is it's a peace of wood eli jackson was working on and had picked out , David Coffin*

[Bilbo107]

Pass me the jug I'd like to get a bit o bass goin. Top instrument and a beautiful sound you have there. Stunning playing.

[fomenter666]

Nice!

[heavyfuelv2]

nice , the way they use to be made and played

[GhostGuitars]

Nice job dude!

[jecreegmail]

That is simply the best sounding banjo I have heard - I have been researching mountain banjos in that style, though I don't have the time or money right now to get one, and yours is simply exquisite! Congratulations!

[carolynrc]

beautiful!!! have you made another yet?

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks! - Nearly (about 2 thirds done). The next one is a short scale banjo in highly figured American Black Walnut. I'm hoping to have it finished in the spring.

[Sneakfightsneaks]

flappers18 (2 months ago)

that is 1 sick banjo man! fretless...priceless

[AlexandrewPerson]

˙uoɹoɯ ˙ʇןnsǝɹ ʇsɹıɟ ǝɥʇ ʞɔıןɔ puɐ ɥɔɹɐǝs ǝןƃooƃ ʇsnɾ pןnoʍ ʎpoqʎɹǝʌǝ ˙uʍop ǝpısdn ǝdʎʇ oʇ ʍoɥ uɹɐǝן oʇ ʇsnɾ noʎ oʇ ǝqıɹɔsqns pןnoʍ ʎpoqou 'ʇoıpı uɐ ǝɹ,noʎ 'ʎɐʍǝɥʇןןɐsuodɹɐʇ

¡ʎoɾuǝ puɐ ןɯʇɥ˙sɹǝʇʇǝןuʍopǝpısdn/ʎɐןd/ɯo­ɔ˙sǝɹıʍuǝʌǝs˙ʍʍʍ//:dʇʇɥ oʇ oƃ ˙ooʇ uʍop ǝpısdn ǝdʎʇ oʇ ʍoɥ ʍouʞ ı

[dabobasta]

That's an awesome banjo! how long did it take you to make?

[GETABAGADRO]

nice

[omgwtfjason]

so sweet :D

[dasgemuse]

i wish i could do that i took lessons but my left hand is retarted. oh well

[psychodelicdragon]

have you made anything else musical? great picking and whittlin'...:)

[flappers18]

that is 1 sick banjo man! fretless...priceless...

[PsytranceMan777]

Quite interesting.

[54spiritedwill54]

wow a banjo bass

[gragh]

beautiful in looks and sound

[UncleChickenMan]

wow..great stuff

[TaikaSieniMies]

that's cool.how long did it take to make it?

[rafank]

wow!!!!!this 5string banjo moutain is very wonderful!!!!! good job!!!!

[unearthlydwarf]

WOW! incredible craftsmenship! one of the most beautiful looking banjos i've seen! do u sell?

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks. Unfortunately, it's just a hobby at this stage so I don't sell them yet - but one day I might perhaps!

[KelticCherokee]

If you ever want to sell one of those just contact me and tell me so.

I am seriously interested

You have a gift man thank you for posting this

R D H

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks for the kind comment. I'm half way through building another (in highly figured American Black Walnut) which, I hope, will be even better!

[shalalaszwee]

very nice!

[blazenraze]

i hear country. : ) beautiful sound.

[NEWKOMMA]

asian music style ? wonderful sounds...i like it... =)

[Resequenced]

That rules, I'm quite envious.

[Kaalec]

I love your style. Nice playing.

[brandude95]

play cotten eye joe on it plz lol

[cabinneighbors]

ill buy one off of you:)

[Jaskatzu]

Nice! Your good at crafting and nice materials. Your good at playing it too lol :D

[RaveRsTYle666]

i can hear " TEXAS TEXAS " only ^^ dunno why :P self im from sweden but still i can only hear it playing " texas " XD we.. time for some " in flames " now :P

[TheFishMastuh]

im agree with you.

[oppositronic]

badass

[gretchenman]

is that tune a version of angelina baker?

[Masamuneblader]

Awesome lol pure genius

[bergeronf]

great sound! sounds warmer than a regular banjo. love it.

[loneguitaristyannis]

Awesome - thats come out really nicely man.

[NewYankee01]

heyap peyap peyap yapper yeeeeeeeeeeehar!

[CapnTac]

??? What the...?Never mind. I like not knowing

[junkster2007]

lol

[ZELPHOR]

Beautiful works of art. I first heard and seen one of these in Arkansas at the Blue Eye Reunion.Some of them were well over one hundred years old and sounded amazing. Great work you're truly an artist.

[morgie8]

ok........

[H0LL0WBELLY]

sublime.

[haveacoke5]

wow a banjo bass

[RICHKO1994]

NICELY DONE

REALLY GREAT

AWESOME

that are my words in think that many people just think the same

[Nephalen]

omfg <3

[primoemonuel]

wow, very good work man xD

[yourvideossuck22]

niceee your really good with that fretless banjo man pretty smart to use a plant pot for a tone ring the banjo is sweet lookin tho

[wolfhunt123]

makes me sad about who won it >.> this was really awesome

[21centuryShaman]

Wow!!! Love the tone. I used an alluminum pot on mine also. It's not as nice looking as yours. I used wood for the "head". If you get a chance, check it out. You did outstanding on yours. In the Appalachians, they used whatever they can find, thus the various types.

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks!

[Aetherus7]

my favorite american instrument, fretless oldtime style banjo!

[jambre1]

Etc-fretless is probably better for helping a developing musician get an ear for pitch-think of violins, violas,cellos...BTW, great sound out of the aluminum pot!

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks for the comment. I think you're right - fretless playing probably does encourage the ear!

[EtcEtcAndEtc]

never seen this type of instrument before - FRETLESS! very impressed, must be a bugger to play,no?

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks. Home-made mountain banjos of this type originated in the Appalachians - where quite a few players still use them. Fretless isn't such a big issue. Anybody who knows their way around a fretted banjo could probably get reasonable results in a short space of time.

[JonnyGrave]

...well, not quite... the instrument itself didn't originate in the appalachains, but in Africa, and probably somewhere around Mali at that. i think thomas jefferson wrote about the slaves he owned playing the instrument, and called it he "banjar." the incredibly beautiful curly maple machine you see in sparky's videos has a long heritage stretching back thousands of years. at any rate, the fifth string, or "thumb string," didn't arrive until 1820 or so when joe walker sweeny added it on.

[seanbarth79]

Not true JonnyGrave. Track down a picture of 'The Old Plantation' painted between 1777 and 1800, which shows an African-American playing a gourd banjo with a 5th string peg about half-way up the neck. Scholars agree that if Sweeney added a fifth string to the banjo, it was probably the lowest (4th) string.

Regardless...what a great DIY project!

[JonnyGrave]

hot damn, you're right! i've seen that painting before, but i didn't know it was from '77... well, better wrong than misinformed, i guess. thans so much!

[seanbarth79]

Dig it.

[baanjoguy]

Looks great I am just finishing up on a fretless mountain banjo of my own.

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks - I look forward to seeing yours!

[ibdastevie]

Great, I like that dobro/dulcimer/citar hollow Twang Slang Bang sound! Truly resonatious.

[locustvalleystring]

Just caught this for the first time. Nice job. Larry

[TomSmithMusic]

Well done! Thanks for sharing. Beautiful banjo, and playing.

-Tom

[riverwindflutes]

How is this banjo tuned

[sparkyfiddle]

I used 2 different tunings in the clip. First tune, Little Sadie is in 'sawmill'(gDGCD) and the second, Sugar Hill is in 'double C' (gCGCD)

[pit032]

Beautiful Banjo,,nice playing

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks for your comment - and thanks for subscribing!

[juangalindo1992]

thats awsome.!!

check out my homemade guitar.!! xD

[hawro]

looks nice man good job

[scribbydibbydoo]

sounds great man!

[jukeboxdude]

Makes me wish I could play the banjo instead of guitars...

[shallowcoat]

Just go for it. Bluegrass is can be intimidating. Clawhammer feels wierd when you start out, but I get an immense amount of joy of that style. Other players are generous with their support. Simon

[jakeollieandydom]

wow tht waz pretty impressive, not sure if u DID make it but if u did FUCKING hell man nice job, u have a talent in woodwork!!!

[duckstabbers]

top quality!!!!!

[Mikeycianciorocks]

That was great. Either your a genius in music or you bought it. lol. your great. :]

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks. Yes, I've seen those cookie tin banjos - they look like fun. I'd like to try making a gourd banjo too. I think the Foxfire books are still available - I got mine through Amazon a couple of years ago.

[lennypurnell]

That's Nice!!  Good job!

[TrojanTM]

Sounds great!

[Wishuey]

Well done! Workmanship and music.

[jason5372]

Nice job, Sparky! Is that thing fretless?

[sparkyfiddle]

Thanks, yes it's fretless - although I did inlay 12 tiny diamonds of rosewood along the top edge of the neck to act as markers. It's based on a precise scale length of 630mm. Once you've decided on the scale length, there's a mathematical formula you can use to work out the exact position of each fret (or marker in this case).

[cookie911]

SWEET !

[redbaron1913]

Beautiful. I told my wife as soon as I saw it that it looked like one from Foxfire 3. That's where I got the ideas I used in mine.Wish I could play like you.

[locustvalleystring]

Is that you playing, sparky? I thought you were just learning. That is good banjo playing. Not I want to build one too.

[sparkyfiddle]

Yes, it's me. Little Sadie and then Sugar Hill. I get OK results but my right hand technique is a bit unconventional - as you can see! Get the Foxfire 3 book for tips on building (although mine ended up departing radically from the designs covered, it's a good starting point)

[locustvalleystring]

I thought I was seeing upstrokes with the fingers. Sounded like claw though. I will look into the firefox book. Thanks (In last message, not --> now. It is NOT a freudian slip)

[thefiftiesguy]

excellent craftsmanship

[bilbo60]

Nice banjo you made there Sparky