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Jim Creech
07-08-2013, 2:12 PM
Having been in the stringed instrument repair (as a side line) business forever I thought I might share some of the lesser known terminology with aspiring luthiers. Saturday I got in a Gibson J-45 that the owner claims that "it don't tone out like my brothers J-45". Translation- It doesn't sound like.
Other frequently heard terms are:

"It notes out on the 2nd string" Translation- Fret buzz. Usually in this case due to excessive fret wear.
"My string holder broke" Translation- Broken or loose nut, saddle or bridge. The nut has also known as "String spacer" or "Top nut".
"One of the string turners(yes Turners) broke. Translation- Broken/ damaged machine head.
"It don't note right" Translation-intonation problem or fret buzz.
My all time favorite "It don't chord right" This can relate to any number of problems but in most cases it usually means too much or not enough neck relief or high action.


Anybody got any others?

george wilson
07-08-2013, 9:11 PM
When I lived in North Carolina in the 60's for 6 years I traded a double bass to this character for a Smith and Wesson .22 pistol worth about $150.00 at the time. Now,the bass was in decent shape,and ANY full size bass is going to bring a good price. He had a daughter who was getting into college and after a few months he complained that "It don't chord right". Well that was just nonsense as the bass had no frets. The truth was,he needed the money he could get for selling the pistol. The fool didn't have any idea that I had given him a great deal pin the bass. I'd taken it as part payment on a guitar I'd made,and really didn't have much in the bass,so I'd let him have it.

So,I gave him the pistol back,and within a week had sold the bass for $500.00 to someone with more sense.

I got so tired of dealing with ignorant people.

A popular misconception down there was that the 3 MILLIONTHS thick gold plating on some Gibson banjos made the tone better!! I was also paid to drill holes beyond the inner ring on Gibson banjos with elevated tone ring(actually just turned out of 1 piece,with about 1/2" wide lowered space between the inner and outer rings. They felt the skin needed to be "aireated(sp?). The tone mostly depended on the tension of the skin,the lightness of the bridge(cut away that extra 3rd. foot to improve tone significantly),strings,etc.

The funny think about all those Scruggs imitators was that Scruggs did not play a banjo with sharp tone at all. BTW,Scruggs's banjos had necks and resonators made by various craftsmen in the old time inlay patterns that Gibson no longer made at the time. He wanted me to make him a neck. I wouldn't do it because it would have been an exact copy of a hearts and flowers Gibson neck-WITH Gibson on the headstock. He got a royalty for playing Gibson banjos,even though only the round body and parts were Gibsons!! Somehow,Grandpa Jones ended up with one of my banjo necks on his Vega banjo. I hadn't inlaid my name on it,and always meant to write and tell him I made the neck,but never got around to it. The neck was very distinct. Made of rosewood with silver inlays rather than pearl,and a distinctive head shape.

But,I digress. Another guy wanted a neck made of Tiger Wood. He only knew "Hit came from acrosst the waters". There is a wood by that name. I don't think it resembled his description(whatever it was).

David Weaver
07-08-2013, 9:36 PM
The people on the banjo board are nuts about the tone rings and all of the little superstitions around them, plating, pot metal this or that, bell brass. I'd imagine earl's sound was sharp and compressed sounding because of the limited range of the recording technology.

Jim Creech
07-09-2013, 8:38 AM
Most of my banjo work has just been routine repairs, set ups and such. The banjo players I work with mostly have good quality instruments and are not interested in modifying them. I generally try to discourage irreversible modifications to higher end instruments. Once the customer realizes that if he does not like the modification he's stuck with it and he will change his mind.
I have heard that same thing about the gold plating. Some folks will believe just about anything.

george wilson
07-10-2013, 11:05 AM
I forgot to mention that Earl Scruggs personally told me he did not like a sharp tone. Funny how imitators will get a notion (that becomes wide spread) about the person they are trying to copy. I think some members in a band just thought banjo players were a nervous bunch. One of them told me "Dadburned banjo pickers!! Can't get them to be quiet long enough to get tuned up!!). :)

I made a VERY sharp toned banjo in the 60's to please the pickers. I made a pattern up and would go to a small foundry and have them cast in aluminum. Then,I took them to a small machine shop and had them turned smooth. The whole body and arched top tone ring were cast in 1 piece. The body was not very thick,about 3/16" at most. The body was turned even thinner where the resonator ring (I'm having a senior moment!!) rested. The tone ring was pretty thick,more massive than any other banjo I ever saw. Plus,it didn't rest on a wood body. Those banjos rang!! I still have a body on hand,though the pattern has gone. Today,I'd be quite able to do my own turnings,but these days it's hard to find a small foundry that will do odd jobs for a person. I think I paid $20.00 to get a body cast. Maybe $20.00 more to get them machined. I'll bet today,these machine shops near here would charge $400.00 just to get rid of you. They only want fat government contracts.

Back then,I was a Gibson factory authorized repairman,and could buy parts wholesale. Bet you can't do that these days!!

Jim Creech
07-12-2013, 11:33 AM
I was a authorized Martin repair shop, along with Takamine, Ovation, Peavey and a few other lesser known brands for a while in the '90s and early 2000's. Parts were supplied at wholesale then and are still available to authorized repair centers now. I still do work for some local retailers that get me parts at dealer costs. I cut their repair costs so they can make a few bucks and in turn I get parts etc at cost for my private customers. Works out well for both of us.