Banjos and Mandolin! 

There used to be a joke here about how I only have one banjo, so what's the big deal.  Guess that day is gone!

Sullivan ~ Greenbrier  (2008)

The story behind this is detailed below on this page under the listing of the Sullivan Festival Deluxe banjo.  This instrument is one of Sullivan's best, and is upgraded with their historic "Old Factory Floor" rim.  Briefly, rim material is typically the hardest rock maple usually from the Canadian border of New England.  However, when Bill Sullivan heard of an old  New England factory building built circa 1830 that was to be razed, he requested the salvage rights to the maple flooring material that it contained.  This wood harvested at that time had grown for the two hundred or more years prior, meaning it was wood from the "mini-ice age" which is renowned for having extremely tight growth rings, making it very hard.  You can watch a video of it here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOfikgl8XsU    

There is another video that Sullivan has posted that takes you through the building of one of their banjos (a Festival, though the resonator they show is for one of the new Terry Baucomb models).  It's interesting to watch, and features Murrell Thixton, one of the super FQMS guys, playing the banjo at the beginning and  end:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vs_EoGazks&feature=related  

Gibson Mastertone ~ RB-250  (2004)

This is the third banjo I've owned.  The first was a Japanese one of a forgotten brand that was a long-neck version.  It was not very memorable, and was replaced by a "Kasuga" banjo, also from Japan (while I was there in the USAF).  Don 'Doc' Simmons got me started playing.  He played Grandpa Jones style - he actually looked like Grandpa Jones, and played a lot of his frailing banjo style.  He encouraged me to learn the Scruggs style that I liked to hear so much.  I started with the Pete Seeger book, and then moved to the Earl Scruggs book (I still have both books).  I would play an occasional set with one of the Airman's club (or NCO club) bands in Japan, and usually did Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Hot Corn, Cold Corn, and the Ballad of Jed Clampett (maybe Cripple Creek as well).  After leaving the service I had little chance to play with anyone, so the banjo playing fell by the wayside. After getting this new one, I found that some of those old pieces were still there in my memory, but in a very rusty version!  As of November, '07, I've been taking lessons from Eddie Collins here in Austin - he's a very good teacher, and I'm trying to be a good student.  Since I added the Sullivan banjo, the Gibson hasn't seen as much use, but I still like it's tone a lot, and is a nice contrast to the Sullivan.

Eastman 815 Mandolin

In July of 2007 I felt a yearning to return to playing the mandolin.  I found an inexpensive "Morgan Monroe" mandolin on Ebay and played it for a few months.  Just long enough to know that (1) I wanted to pursue this some more, and (2) the MM, even professionally set up, wasn't going to work for me for very long.  I did some research, because mandolins, like banjos, can get very expensive very quickly.  I found a reasonably priced Eastman on Ebay.  Eastman instruments are made in China, but, unlike some of the other brands being brought into the USA with mediocre quality, it has a reputation of high quality.  Their violins are very recommended, and mandolins are obtaining the same kind of reputation.  This one is unique in that it's in a "blonde" or natural finish.  It has wonderful tone, full chops, and can really sing out.  It is hand carved and very nicely finished.

The headstock face and back are laminated with ebony, and the hand carved back, sides and neck are all flamed maple. 

~ Other Instruments of Note ~

Sullivan "Festival" Banjo (2007)

Driving back from Cincinnati to Nashville takes me right by First Quality Music Supply (FQMS) in Louisville, KY.  It's a wonderful dealership, and also happens to be where the Sullivan banjo is made.  (Bill Sullivan started FQMS supplying banjo parts to many of the major banjo makers in the USA).  I asked to play one of their demos, and, as luck would have it, they only had the "Festival", their entry level model.  I must have played it for 20 minutes, and loved it!  If they had had one in stock, I would have bought it on the spot, but they didn't.  When I got home, I checked the BanjoHangout and found this one, a used early-2007 model.  It is significantly different from the Gibson in tone, and is easier to play with normal frets instead of the tall ones on the Gibson (which makes slides more difficult).  I liked this banjo so much that I decided to order one of Sullivan's better banjos, the Greenbrier - the one listed up higher on this page.  This banjo was sold to a young Kentucky native who wanted a piece of KY with him to play in his current North Carolina home.  Enjoy it, Carter, it's a honey!