NW Bluegrass News Mag online July 99:

Grass Cuttings - News in Brief

A great resource spin-off from CoMando is the CoMando FAQ file, available at http://www.hk.super.net/~jong/comandofaq.html

A great mass of answers to common queries about all aspects of mandolin playing, for beginners and experienced players alike, e.g. strings, picks, help on tremolo, etc., etc. Info culled from CoMando correspondence by Jon Glusman (to whom credit, kudos, respect, etc. - a great work, 15 pages of printout!)

Steve Kaufman has filled the vacancy in his Summer Camp instructional staff, caused by the passing of Charles Sawtelle, by recruiting Norman Blake.
Frets Old & New now stock Steve Huber’s Vintage Flathead Tone Ring. It’s the buzz of the banjo world, but it doesn’t make you play any better.
Eddie Adcock has finished his long-awaited instructional video for Homespun Tapes.
If the finish on the back of the neck gets a little sticky from sweaty hands or hot weather use fiddler Jimmy “Vip” Vipperman’s tip:- Put a little corn starch or talcum powder in the palm of your noting hand (not the finger tips).
Did you know that one of the safest things to use in cleaning nitro-cellulose lacquer (Gibson Mastertones, Martin guitars, etc.). It is the liquid used in old-style cigarette lighters and will safely remove years of crud in seconds.
“For those who play a lot of banjo tunes using D-tuners and experience a high rate of string breakage on the B string with a light gauge string (11) but don’t want to move up to a 12, GHS’ Almost Medium set of strings is a happy medium: the 11½ size string. This is easier to choke than a 12 and lasts much longer than an 11.” suggests Rex Jones (Tokyo) Write to Rex
Rex Jones also suggests “Most airlines now do not allow instruments such as banjos to be carried on as hand luggage. Anyone flying with a valued instrument should insist on paying for the Excess Value Insurance that most airlines have (but they don’t advertise this fact). The fee is nominal and usuallyseems to cover up to $2,500. Regular flight insurance is expensive and will usually only pay $800 or so per item.”
Scott Zimmerman (Desert Rose Musical Instruments, Tokyo) reports “In Japan, Stelling banjos are surprisingly not very popular. The Japanese really respect the quality, but the tone is not what they look for so much. I have seen about 4 Stellings in Japan with Fyberskin heads. This helps to filter out the harshness of the Stelling without losing power and tone. Food for thought.”
Someone suggested that the tin can a blueberry pie comes in makes a good resonator for a Goodtime banjo, but someone else suggests “I think an actual blueberry pie works well - install the pie so the metal faces out and the pie faces the head, when the pie gets stale and hard, the banjo gets heavier, and the tone gets better. With age the banjo will be heavy - it will weigh so much and you’ll think you got a Gibson.”
Tom Travis (Chairman, BBMA) reports on a Bluegrass Fish & Chip Shop in the High Street, Coningsby, Lincolnshire. It is owned by Basil Lyons, BBMA member and Bluegrass vet. of 25 years.
‘Buzzing is a not uncommon condition of brand new Presto-style tailpieces. Here are a couple of solutions to the problem:

1. Get a pair of the pliers with wide expanding jaws or a vice. Pad well either the side of the tailpiece or pliers jaws. Gently but firmly press the opposite sides of the tailpiece cover where the two hinge pins are located. It won’t take much pressure to firm things up and the buzz should disappear.

2. Stick a lump of ‘Blue Tack’ (‘Silly Putty’) under it...

A mod to stop snagging your thumb pick:

1. Heat the ends of a pair of needle nose pliers over a gas burner for maybe 8-10 seconds.

2. With the pliers, grab the end of the curled part of the pick.

3. Rotate about 1/8” at the end of the curl a little inward while the pick is still flexible from the heat of the pliers.

Done! The end of the curl will now grip into your thumb slightly, with no chance of being able to snag anything. Also, the pick will not rotate or slip on your thumb. If you like the method, it’s easy to do a whole handful of thumbpicks in a few minutes.

From John Lawless (AcuTab Transcriptions)
P.O. Box 21061 Roanoke, VA 24018-0108
540-776-6827 (FAX)
| response@acutab.com | http://www.acutab.com|

I finally got a copy of Bluegrass '99 mid April... Wow - Scott Vestal plays some gorgeous Scruggs stuff here. Lonesome Road Blues, Little Darlin’ Pal Of Mine and a brilliant version of Foggy Mountain Breakdown (!!) There are also two more ‘outside’ Vestal originals and some great picking overall from Benson, Autry, Ickes, Simpkins and Anglin. Another keeper, to be sure. Bluegrass ‘99 (Pinecastle 1089)
I also had a chance recently to be a fly on the wall while IIIrd Tyme Out tried to finish mixing their next release, John And Mary. Steve’s banjo sounds terrific and the material is probably their strongest to date. Be on the lookout for this one as well, hopefully in October.
Right now I’m listening to the Sugar Hill reissue of Quicksilver’s Once And For Always and The News Is Out, a double CD reissue with Baucom on one album and Vestal on the other. Not a bad duo. Great stuff.
It can be a good cost/benefit trade-off to buy a lesser quality instrument and put in a better ring, but keep in mind that you won’t get the full benefit since the other components are also of lesser quality. Just be careful of “acute upgraditis.” You put in a better ring and realise that you really have a crummy multi-ply rim. You go get a nice three-ply rim and notice that your flange is just white metal. You install a decent flange and the tension hoop starts to look cheap. The new tension hoop makes you feel a little better but the inlay work in the neck starts to bug you. After the new neck is on, the finish on the resonator seems substandard. Then, you get a new resonator and realise that all you have left from your Epiphone is the co-ordinator rods and the bracket hardware!
Perhaps readers will be interested to know that Steve Huber plays an original 1939 RB-75 flathead. It has an RB-7 neck and came from Gibson that way. A great many true aficionados of pre war Mastertones have mentioned Steve’s as one of the finest they have seen. I’m no expert but I can attest that this banjo is a killer!
I just called J.D. to get some last minute details for the seminar straight. When he answered, I heard banjos picking and J.D. mentioned that he had company. A few minutes into the conversation he said: “You won’t believe who is sitting here picking the banjo with me. Tony and Bela are here and we are just picking around.” Man.... would I like to be a fly on the wall *there*!!
The free Transcriber software was mentioned in "Cuttings” in the May '99 NWBN - I still use Transkriber for all the transcriptions that go in the AcuTab banjo books. Great piece of software.

1st July 1999