The verdict is still out
Well we’ve had another week of visitors staying with us and these were the self sufficient type. They used public transit to get around Portland and pretty much saw everything, so I still got a lot of work done. But, and there always seems to be a but, I didn’t get time to record or really play the banjo I’ve been waiting to finish. I finished it, took pictures and it was quickly picked up and taken to it’s home in WA. The banjo was an 11” 3 3/8” deep silverspun with a Bacon tonering on a regular 2ply maple rim. After #170 blew my mind, the same banjo made with a thin rim, I really wanted to get a good comparison of the two. But, no I will have to wait until I finish another.
My initial reaction when I strung this banjo up, was that I see why the folks that own these change them to nylon strings. It was tight and bright, feeling like the bass needed to open up a bit. Which isn’t surprising, Bacon rings need to break in a bit like Whyte Laydies do, so I see a quick fix by putting on nylon strings. The thin rim silverspun hit the gates running and the now owner of it agrees;
“I am *really* loving #170. It’s got great tone, and great depth of tone, as well as volume and presence—the best of both worlds with a “popping” attack and throaty bass. I will definitely want to experiment a little with the 1/4” tone ring once it gets here, but I think the current configuration is unbeatable. (#168 sounds great too, but in a different way, and is truly as beautiful as a banjo can be).”
Yes, they can be convertible if I throw in an extra 1/4” tonering for you to tinker with.
So, the verdict is still out, but I’m making myself the thin rim version asap. (no I don’t own one of my own banjos, I usually sell my personal banjos to shop visitors. It’s a bad habit that pays the bills) I also started the first 12” version which will come without the Bacon ring, since they only come in 11”. One other note is that once a banjo is broken in it just sounds better and better. Here is recording of the 2ply version with nylon strings;
http://brooksbanjos.com/index.php/sounds/sound/elzicks_farewell/
Enjoy
