Clifton Hicks

"Muskrat" Lesson

The close-up I filmed was so washed out you couldn't see anything, so I didn't splice it in like usual. The song is played entirely on the 2nd fret anyway. Holler at me if you _really_ want a close-up reel.

Vintage Folk Art Banjo - Early Hardware!

f# D F# A D relative. 

This banjo could have been made any time from about 1880 - 1950. It's unusual for several reasons, firstly, both the neck and steam-bent rim are made of pine. Secondly, the thin brass hardware is very similar to McManus' 1879 patent for bottom-mounting banjo brackets. In other words, it could be 1870s hardware, which is rare and considered "early" by historical...

Live Q&A!

This was a great 1 hour + live chat with over 200 people participating and lots of stimulating questions. Good practical info here as well. Thanks!

"Muskrat" Performance

(gCGCD, relative) I first heard this song performed by Josh Hayes in Boone, NC. Around that time I also heard Rick Ward of Watauga County, NC perform the song on one of his hand-carved mountain banjos. Rick learned it from his grandfather, banjoist & luthier Tab Ward.  

Muskrat muskrat what makes your back so red 

Been swimming in the water all my life  

It'...

Unusual Pine Folk Art Banjo

This unusual folk art banjo appears to be made of hard, close-grained pine. The bottom-mounted brass hardware looks like another alternate of R. McManus' 1879 patent. A modern luthier has added the flush-fret rosewood fingerboard, tailpiece, bridge, nut & tuners. This banjo plays nicely but will receive a new head & bridge before I upload video of it.

1890s HC Nelson (Double-Spun Rim)

HC Nelson (Nelsen) was a prolific banjo maker in the Chicago, Illinois area. He seems to have used parts exclusively from the JB Schall catalog. This is a great sounding banjo. Current bridge is a 5/8" one I made; this instrument would prefer a 1/2" bridge. Note the nice old repair to a crack in the neck (appears quite solid).

OLD Pot on a Lousy Neck--What to Do?

Check out the lovely, hand-wrought iron hardware on this 1870s (?) banjo pot! It's 9" across & surprisingly light for a block rim with wrought iron hardware. I can't wait to hear this one 'talk.' 

The neck is old, also, but may have been ruined by modern "hippy" tinkering.

George Gibson's "Last Possum Up the Tree" Now Available on Bandcamp!

Hallelujah!

'Banjo master George R. Gibson was born in 1938 at the confluence of Little Double, Big Double and Buffalo Creeks in Knott County, KY. He learned to play and sing the old songs, in the old tunings, from family and neighbors including his grandfather, George W. and his father, Mallie. In the liner notes for this recording George says, "As far as I know, I am the last person lef...

Banjo # 21 | Show & Tell

aple neck (red oak dowel), maple snare shell, Jamaican goat hide (from Jeff Menzies), rosewood tuners, deer bone nut, submerged cherry tailpiece, antique mahogany bridge, "La Bella No. 17" nylon strings, black walnut stain, flax oil, beeswax.

I've kept each of your letters

Hold them closely to my heart,

But this ring that you gave me darling

From my hand shall...

Banjo # 21 Photos

Here's the best photos I could get of the new build. I haven't had time to film anything lately, but look out for the video here pretty soon.

Maple neck, maple snare rim, rosewood tuners, deer bone nut, goat hide, red gloss paint, antique mahogany bridge (should I replace with thinner maple bridge???), submerged cherry tail piece, black walnut stain, flax oil, beeswax. La Bella No. 17 nyl...

Oettinger Tailpiece by Lyndon Bespoke Banjo Review

In short, nice tail piece. If you are a highly technical player and/or have some extra money to spend, this is worth looking into. As for myself, I actually prefer the $70 Kershner tailpieces. 

The Oettinger Tailpiece Resource: 2019-11-21 21:35:10 +0000 UTC View Post

"East Virginia" Tab

Let me know how this one is & I'll make improvements as we go. This is just a .jpg file that I've also uploaded as an attachment.

So, Y'all REALLY Want Tabs?

Everyone knows that I am not a big believer in tablature; however, for you, I am willing to see the error of my ways.  

Tabs: Yes or No?

George Gibson "East Virginia"

Enough people have asked me about this song that I finally uploaded a recording of George doing it. This is from the 2018 Banjo Gathering concert at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, TN/VA. George's website  http://banjohistory.com  is a great resource.

(gDGCD, relative) 

I am from old ea...

1890s Fairbanks "Curtis Electric" - Rare Banjo

"1890... a design that became known as the Curtis Electric, named after Fairbanks' son (himself a prominent banjoist). Much more elegant and easier to construct than the banjo Fairbanks had patented  five years earlier, the Electric soon was the talk of the banjo world, its tone as brilliant and resonant as its inventor claimed... the Electric possesses 'great VOLUME and sweetest QUALITY o...

Rough-Cutting the Banjo Neck

 Here's how we begin the process of hand-carving a traditional banjo neck. We use hacksaws to make a series of deep cuts which are then clear away with chisels--this creates a rough, three-dimensional profile the neck. The wood being used here is a piece of extremely hard ambrosia maple. I prefer carving walnut, but maple does make for a brighter, snappier-sounding banjo. 

"Old Blue" Lesson

gDGBD, relative (aka "Standard," "Cripple Creek" or "Banjo" tuning).

01:06 Technical instructions.

04:12 Close-Up

05:55 Dink Roberts, "Black Banjo Songsters of North Carolina and Virginia."

"The Cumberland" | Performance

gCGCD (relative) aka "Hook & Line tuning" or "One-Finger C." This song is also known as "The Indian Tribes in Tennessee" or "Cumberland Land." I learned it from a recording of LP Carlock from Overton County, Tennessee (1935).

The day that I parted away from you,

In sorrow, grief, and trouble too,

You gave to me your parting hand,

And wished me safe on the ...

Carving a V-Profile Neck

This video documents our basic process for reducing a block of maple down to a sharp V-profile. The neck will become a "minstrel" style banjo, so the V will begin transitioning to a D-profile once it reaches the thumb peg area.