Uncle Dave's banjos?

[ken]

Is anything known at all about Uncle Dave's banjos?

[Oldtime1]

My one-time fishing buddy Stringbean (David Akeman) had one of them and was
veryt proud of it. Joe Wilson

[bm...@my-dejanews.com]

In article <01be2ed0$db71dbe0$76403cd1@junebug>,

"ken" <gd...@globaleyes.net> wrote:
> Is anything known at all about Uncle Dave's banjos?
>

I think John McKuen (SP?) played Soldiers Joy on Uncle Dave's banjo on the
"Circle" album by Nitty Gritty, et. al.

I also think there's a photo of him with his banjo in the Earls Scruggs banjo
instruction book, but I don't know if there's any info. about the instrument
in there.

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[Kerry, Sheila, Louise or Mirabelle Blech]

Joe "Oldtime1" Wilson replied:

>My one-time fishing buddy Stringbean (David Akeman) had one of them and was
>veryt proud of it. Joe Wilson

Wasn't that one a Gibson Mastertone?
Kerry

--
***** ****** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******
Kerry, Sheila, Mirabelle Rose & Louise Marie Blech
blec...@wolfenet.com + http://www.wolfenet.com/~blechfam
"The Old Tunes Are the Best Tunes." -- Luther Davis

[Peter Feldmann]

Re. Re: Uncle Dave's banjos?, Oldtime1 wrote:
>My one-time fishing buddy Stringbean (David Akeman) had one of them and was
>veryt proud of it. Joe Wilson

That may be the one that Earl Scruggs owns now. He showed it to me and
asked me to pick an UDM tune. It's an open back Gibson ... perfectly set
up.

It may have been Charles Wolf who commented that UDM always traveled with
three banjos, all in different tunings.

__Peter Feldmann
---------------------------------------------------------------
Blue Dalmatian Productions
http://www.silcom.com/~peterf/
peterf AT silcom DOT com
---------------------------------------------------------------

[ken]

George Gruhn has one of Uncle Dave's banjos. I think he traveled with
three instruments, each with a different color ribbon tied on the peghead.
They were tuned differently as I recall.

Ken

Kerry, Sheila, Louise or Mirabelle Blech <blec...@wolfenet.com> wrote in
article <3682B4...@wolfenet.com>...
> Joe "Oldtime1" Wilson replied:

> >My one-time fishing buddy Stringbean (David Akeman) had one of them and
was
> >veryt proud of it. Joe Wilson
>

[LukeHiNite]

>
>Wasn't that one a Gibson Mastertone?
>Kerry
>

no bro,i don't think so.
UDM had gibson make up an RB-1 for him
that was in fact an open-back version,with simple brass tone ring.this has the
fiddle
headstock shape and "doves" or gullwing
pattern on neck.the resonator versions of these disappeared rapidly into
bluegrass conversion-land after Peter Wernick discovered their joys and thus
passed on his enthusiasm to other hunters.Stringbean wound up with that one for
a time.

Secondly,UDM used a resonator version
of the basic shell,on a simpler & cheaper
stock model designated as the RB-0.this is
the one you see with the typical diamond flange and "mocassin" headstock.

thirdly,although many will argue,the third
"travelling" banjo appears to be a non-mastertone tenor...he is pictured in
both photo studio and recording studio
playing it,or posing with it.it is also interesting to note that the famous
studio shot with Smilin'
Sam,adorned with 2 banjos and two guitars,
shows a Gibson L-3 guitar at UDM's side
and the tenor,while Sam plays his martin.
this roughly coincides with the one studio
date where uncle dave plays guitar on one side with sam(he also is reported to
have
backed Sid Harkreader on his guitar.)

Old Bob Hyland's radio logs showed UDM
as a piano player on some tunes,perhaps a
small studio organ as well,and we know he played guitar.why not tenor banjo as
well,on the radio, at least?

pvc

[Jon A Pankake]

lukeh...@aol.com (LukeHiNite) writes:

>UDM had gibson make up an RB-1 for him
>that was in fact an open-back version,with simple brass tone ring.this has the
>fiddle
>headstock shape and "doves" or gullwing
>pattern on neck.the resonator versions of these disappeared rapidly into
>bluegrass conversion-land after Peter Wernick discovered their joys and thus
>passed on his enthusiasm to other hunters.Stringbean wound up with that one for
>a time.

That was apparently the banjo I played once back in the 1960's. Bean,
in those days before Hee Haw, played some pretty scruffy gigs. One was a
bar in north Minneapolis where we went to see him. We went backstage
between sets to visit him -- a bare storeroom with the classic hanging
lightbulb -- and he seemed pleased for the company and the interest in old
time banjo. When he heard we were fans of Uncle Dave, he took us out a
back door into the alley where his Coupe de Ville was parked, opened the
trunk, took out a case and opened it, and handed us Uncle Dave's Gibson.
I picked a tune on it in that dark alley, and Stringbean's grin has become
a lifetime memory for me.

Jon Pankake

[LukeHiNite]

>I picked a tune on it in that dark alley, and Stringbean's grin has become
>a lifetime memory for me.
>

wow. i say wow.
when i finally shake your hand, i want some
of them UDM molecules.just a couple.
pvc