Early Gourd Banjo #18 by Clifton Hicks
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- Опубликовано: 28 фев 2019
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Bandcamp: cliftonhicks.bandcamp.com
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Oldtime banjo close ups and demonstrations of overhand, clawhammer, two finger, thumb lead, 2 finger, frailing and stroke styles plus traditional southern Appalachian mountain hoedown and early minstrel show techniques. History, anthropology, folklore, research and musicology including breakdowns, blues, waltz pieces, tin pan alley, some Afro-Caribbean and West African history, occasional Cajun and zydeco references, also Métis, Creole, Melungeon and indigenous North American music traditions. Mountain music, southern culture. George Gibson, Ernie Williams, Cousin Emmy, Dock Boggs, Rufus Crisp, Virgil Anderson, Lily May Ledford, Roscoe Holcomb, Tab Ward, Frank Proffitt, Tommy Jarrell, Kyle Creed, Lee Sexton, Morgan Sexton, Lead Belly, Pete Steele, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, JD Crowe, Clarence Ashley, Fred Cockerham, Dwight Diller, Gaither Carlton, John Snipes, Dink Roberts, Clifford Essex, Joe Sweeney, Archibald Ferguson, Dan Emmett, John Hartford, Picayune Butler, Gus Cannon, Art Rosenbaum, Grandpa Jones, Snuffy Jenkins, Buell Kazee, Bascam Lamar Lunsford, Uncle Dave Macon, Tommy Makem, Luke Kelly, Charlie Poole, Ola Belle Reed, BF Shelton, Hobart Smith, Samantha Bumgarner, Peggy Seeger, Mike Seeger, Jean Ritchie, Ralph Stanley, Odell Thompson, Wade Ward, Hedy West, Fred McDowell, Uncle Homer Walker, Mississippi John Hurt old time, folk, trad roots pickers songsters. #banjo #oldtimemusic #history Riley Baugus, Dirk Powell, Gillian Welch, Maybelle Carter Family. Morgan Sexton, Black Banjo Songsters, Lee Sexton, Clyde Troxell, Blanche Coldiron, Banjo Bill Cornett.
If you're interested in the banjo and its history consider supporting this project at Patreon.com/CliftonHicks
What a lovely sounding instrument. You know it's a proper gourd banjo when you can feel the essence of the gourd. It's just got that feeling.
The sound of that banjo is really interesting, very cool. It sounds almost like you’ve put a compressor on it and recorded with a completely different mic than the one I hear you talking on.
Dude !! You rock, you cease to amaze me..
That does sound nice. I do love the sound of those gourd banjos.
I have been watching your videos in hopes of building a gourd banjo and I have an Apple gourd the wood and most of the tools
Awesome. So is that gourd banjo.
It's got such a gentle sound. I love it.
I'm never gonna get a thing done if can't stop sitting around and listening to you. 😁 ❤❤ You could cut a banjo out of a roll of roilet paper and a water hose. So cool
That's a beautiful looking banjo, and it sounds great also !...
Awesome sound like the whole message too.🇦🇺
I just love all of your videos man
God Bless you and the work that you are putting into this project, Clif... Be well.
Man, that sounds great! Wish you lived next door-would love to sit and jam!
If you didn't sell this banjo, look up "The Townsends" on RUclips. He focuses on 17th Century living. He might be interested in it.
Thanks for keeping it alive great job an nice Sounds 👍
Sounds and looks great!!!👍👍
Love the history that comes with your videos , great looking hand made piece of history . Many thanks Clifton ...
Your work has progressed quite nicely
Nice! You've earned a Free pass to Heaven ✨Thank you!
Thanks for the history!
now that is amazing 10/10. much respect Maestro
Damn that sound is good.
Nice work! That is sweet! I have some gourds set aside to make some banjos with, haven't gotten around to building yet... We moved to a new farm in November, no shop space at the moment. Plan on growing a patch of gourds this year in the garden. Thanks for posting what you do!!
Much better tone on this gourd banjo than#1. In fact the older type with the thinner pots of gourd or wood have much better tone than the modern types with a massive thick pot and am those metal brackets.To me, they usually sound twangy, instead of mellow. My opinion.
Sounds great and looks super cool!!
I am amazed by your banjos and your skill at playing them, but honestly I am an even bigger fan of your singing. I rewind your videos at least twice to hear you singing in the beginning of them. You sound simply amazing. I would definitely not change the radio station if I heard you on it.
Thanks a lot. I sometimes worry that my singing is sub-par but I have to sing out all the same.
@@CliftonHicksbanjo Your singing is most definitely not sub-par. Remember, we are often our own worst critics. If you want to hear some sub-par singing check out my channel lol.
I am loving these interments
I am building a contrabass canjo as my first experimental musical instrument. I hope to learn cigar box build guitars and gourd banjos.
Gorgeous banjo, Clifton. Very sorry I missed this vid earlier. This is too cool, I love the primitive look.
I am a VERY POOR LADY. I can't afford to join and subscribe....and I really do enjoy your fiddle pickin. Guess I am lucky to be able to listen all.
Awesome!!!!
Really neat.
Really nice. I would love to own one like that, although the high action does seem pretty daunting, My next instrument will definitely be a gourd fretless. Can't wait. Great work on your part. Keen to see how the wooden pegs work out instead of tacks on the next one.
Here's one of Ross' using the wooden pegs instead of tacks: www.banjopete.com/old-plantation-banjo.html
I've only seen one really old one, and the hide was laced on with rawhide lace. Might try that some time.
Man - getting some major Guthrie vibes from that song and your voice. Good stuff!
Just ordered some "bushel" gourd seeds for some gourd instrument projects, but I'm curious what variety you used for that banjo? Thanks again!
That was gourd seed from a neighbor. They were some kind of hardshell crookneck. Now I like to use "Martin" gourds, which are a very old type. This year we're growing "African Drum " gourds.
Looks surprisingly similar to a baglama or setar or the like. Which is funny because that's on the other end of the afroasiatic connection
Even my wife, who is not a banjo fan thinks this has great tone. She was once the road manager for a professional jazz band and she was noted for having an uncanny ear for pitch perfect tuning.You have a winner there ,Clif.
O yeah, that was a crazy-sounding banjo for some reason. All the gourds, really, when made right sound amazing. My first gourd banjo didn't sound like much, but as I make more the sounds are turning out beautifully.
I love what you came up with from your project. I especially like that th peghead is flat and level with the fingerboard. This makes the neck part of the job so much simpler. This is the reason however why the action up the neck is so high. But guessing the early people did not play higher than the 5th position. The sound of the instrument is lovely. It has an antique look. What kind of gourd is it? Looks pretty small.
Like the swamp frog sound, up the neck.
You’ve got pretty high string height, even as far up as the 5th fret. I know you’ve built offset neck heels to raise up the heel end of fretboard and get a more moderate neck angle, so I’m assuming this choice was also a matter of authenticity? Perhaps an 18th century, rural, perhaps enslaved banjo builder may not have had the tools to engineer a particular neck height, and may have just gone with the geometry the gourd shape offered him?
All of the early gourd banjos that still survive have actions that would be considered "unplayable" by a modern luthier. VERY high action.
Absolutely beautiful! Love the antique finish (that in itself is as much an art as actually playing the instrument). I've watched your video on attaching the hide, but am curious on these gourd banjos if you glue blocks/strips around the cut out to nail into when affixing the hide or is the hide simply tacked into the gourd only? And do you do anything to "harden" the gourd? Thanks and do keep bringing us these awesome instruments!
J, I have seen other builders glue hardwood binding strips inside the gourd to strengthen the opening where the hide sits, but I have not done that. To "strengthen" the gourd one might try coating it inside-and-out with shellac (as was often done historically on gourd canteens &c.) but I didn't do this either. The convex walls of a good mature hardshell gourd are surprisingly strong on their own. All I did here (after staining with black walnut dye) was thoroughly coat all surfaces of gourd and neck with the same mixture of hemp oil and beeswax that I use on all my projects.
Do you fiberglass inside your gourds? Like bondo for wood to strengthen toured pot?
I don't. The most I've ever done is shellac the outside a few times and also shelac inside around the sound hole neck hole where moisture might come in &c.
I'm really curious now about Pete's research in regard to significance of the gourd orientation, could you point me in the right direction to find his ponderings? Thank ye!
Have you made a cigar box 5 string banjo. If so, what would be the price?
I never have!
Hey cliff whats the tuneing ?
That is fCFAC (Standard gDGBD tuned low).
I tried emailing you on Bandcamp, but it never worked. So I'll ask my question here. I've built 4 tack head banjos and am about to start on my first gourd banjo. My first banjo I used twig tuning pegs from my live oak tree and couldn't get the g string to stay put so I in desperation put a tiny bolt through it. I see that your peg G string tuner is just like the rest. What are the dimensions of your neck at that peg? I use red oak for my necks to and often stain with raw black walnut hulls just rubbed on the wood. Thanks, Bart
What is the neck length?
25" from bridge to nut. From edge of the gourd to the end of the peg head is 27"
Nice aging. The gourd really looks old. The high action on the neck really scares me though it sounds great when you play it...
It certainly takes some getting used to.
@@CliftonHicksbanjo the one cedric watson plays on his version of darlin corey has this primitive frailing scoop that solves the action issue, but that's not historically accurate is it?
Your gourd pot? Sorry my computer likes to finish my thoughts.