One of my very favorite songs performed by Dave Hum is Mason's Apron. He really out did himself on this song, and a bunch of others too...lol. The Mason’s Apron (a traditional Irish reel) is also known as Braes Of Glenorchy, Lady Carbury, Lowrie Tarrell, Mason Laddie, The Mason’s Apprentice and the Mason’s Cap. Whew! I really enjoy playing this song and am slowly getting better at it. I diligently tried to recreate Dave's backing track, mandolin and all. The song is done in standard tuning, Key of A.
I used a MIDI bass. I'm playing acoustic guitar and I used an MD505 Eastman mandolin. I deliberately kept the mandolin's volume very low, so as to not clutter the track. It just helps carry the song along. They sent me the wrong one though. I wanted the Satin finish, but they sent the gloss, which holds back the sound. So I ordered the MD505CC, which is a Satin finish on a contoured comfort body (i.e., rounded edges without binding). I tried to imitate Dave's mandolin playing, but he is much better than I am. The fun is in learning, which I am enjoying. I love stringed instruments.
As a result of getting rear-ended by a bus in 1992, I suffer in constant agonizing neck pain and burning nerves, which makes everything in my life more difficult to do. It is a heavy burden, but I have no complaints to God, because I have seen a lot of people much worse off than me. Pain medications help some, but it's impossible to get enough from a doctor nowadays. If you are a Christian too, I'd kindly ask for your prayers for my health. I have lived along for 18 years since my wife divorced me in 2006, and I still struggle with loneliness often. I've looked for a woman to remarry, but never had the blessing of meeting someone. So, I'd appreciate your prayers friend. Who knows what the future holds. God is always good.
Okay, back to Mason's Apron. I'm just playing the low notes for the intro on my guitar, using the chords E, D and A. In fact, nearly all of the song uses those three chords, but there is a Bm used a couple times in the chorus. I also added a shaker and a Cajon box audio loop to the song, just like Dave used. There's a crash cymbal at the end.
I have provided 7 different backing track speeds, something for everyone. I am up to the slower speed, which is challenging for me to keep up but a good speed for me to learn. I like to warm up with the slow speed. If you are just learning the song, you should start at the caveman speed until you learn all the parts. Enjoy!
Selfies I Took Today On July 22, 2024 (My 10-year-old grandson gave me that cool shirt)
I revisited my older backing track for “Devil's Dream/Blackberry Blossom” and tried to make some improvements. First, I adjusted the Parametric Equalizer to reduce the low end frequency in the bass to remove distortion. Second, I increased the overall volume of the backing track.
These are two of my favorite songs to play on the banjo. Both songs are of unknown origin dating back to at least the 1800's. They are both popular fiddle songs. This backing track is done in the key of G, but I made a couple tracks in the Key of A also. I used Dave Hum's recordingas a template to make this backing track...
The leather strap worked it's way off my acoustic guitar's end pin when I made this backing track and the instrument fell to the hard floor, cracking the body. Ouch! It was the Devil's dream! Ha Ha!
I Hate When That Happens!
Thankfully I only paid $130 for the guitar in 2022 at a local Guitar Center. It is a Cort brand and I love this guitar. I knew I was going to buy it from the moment I made the first strum. It doesn't have all that shellac coating deadening the sound that some guitars do, it is bare wood and sounds organic. The case cost me more than the guitar! I am thankful that it wasn't a $5,000 Gibson, or a $3,500 Taylor. I once held an $8,000 Martin guitar about 30 years ago at a Guitar Center in Chicago. I hated the thing! The strings were hard to press down and the guitar did nothing to impress me. I hung it back up on the wall very carefully...lol. Go figure that a $130 guitar from Mexico could feel and sound so nice.
Anyway, I recorded this guitar after damaging it on Devil's Dream/Blackberry Blossom and it still sounds excellent (so far...lol). I also went on Amazon and ordered some strap locks! (I don't want to accidentally break anything else.) I just bought my Deering Goodtime Special banjo in April, for which same price I could purchase EIGHT more Cort guitars!!! It's an okay banjo, but I recommend saving your money for a professional banjo if you don't have one. I only bought this lighter Goodtime Special because of my neck injury going back to 1992 when I got severely rear-ended by a church bus, and it permanently misaligned my neck. I cannot express in words the horrible arthritis neck pain that I suffer with on a daily basis. It is debilitating to say the least. Albeit, God is good and I have no complaints.
I watched about 30 Dave Hum videos on YouTube and carefully studied his hands, gear, banjos and everything. The guy is amazing! I watched him play Third Man Theme and it blew my mind how skilled he is in his coordination with his right hand. Wow! God only made one Dave Hum! If I could ever play one-third as good as Dave, it would be a great blessing. I have years to go, Lord willing, but I'm having a lot of fun learning, and that's the whole idea. Music makes the world a better place!
Dave's music has brought so much happiness into my life. Surviving with constant neck pain makes Dave's music all that much more meaningful to me, especially knowing that he was dying of Myeloma cancer while recording all of his cheerful videos on YouTube. Dave is one of my heroes! Also, I'm enjoying making and freely sharing backing tracks as much as learning the banjo. I want to help encourage other banjo enthusiasts.
I am learning as I go how to make better backing tracks, so bear with me. My original recordings that I posted here in my blog are not too good. They all lack some form of padding to carry the song along. They're just bass and percussion, which is not good. So, God willing, I will be redoing all of them over time, one by one, and reposting them for everyone.
Also, they are all too fast, so I need to provide some slower ones for people like me...lol.
Plus, I have learned to play bass better in the past 2 years. I wasn't letting the notes sustain long enough. I have a bad habit of playing short beats with my bass, instead of letting the notes sustain for a second or so. It makes a big difference in the end result. Humbly said, I think this backing track came out pretty decent.
I'm also getting better with my timing in MixCraft and learning things from studying Dave's techniques. I'm working on a backing track for The Maid Behind The Bar, and it's almost done. Gaspe Reel is next. These are all Double C tuning songs. If you've never played the Double C tuning, you should really try it, it is simple and beautiful. There are chords online. Today I studied Dave's video and tabbed out The Maid Behind The Bar in Double C tuning, which I will post with the backing track when completed. It is a simple song to learn, but difficult to play correctly because it requires impeccable timing, which is a slowly acquired skill that only comes from spending time in the woodshed playing your banjo. Playing folk songs is a completely different skill than playing Bluegrass rolls. Dave Hum excelled at both techniques. As a banjo player I love both styles.
I used my Gretsch short-scale bass on The Devil's Dream/Blackberry Blossom.
At first I thought I'd have a lot of difficulty making Devil's Dream because of the fast moving guitar chord changes, but it turned out to be quite easier than I thought. It all went quickly. The entire song only uses 6 chords (G, Em, C, Am, D, Bm). All of my future tracks, Lord willing, will have some type of chord padding, like Dave uses. He uses some type of acoustic piano for padding it seems, which I need to work on. I am much more skilled with the guitar than the piano, so that is what I am using for now.
By the way, in case you may be wondering why I say "God willing" or "Lord willing" often, it is because of a teaching in the Holy Bible from James 4:13-17, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” As a Christian since age 13 (wow, that was 44 years ago), I try to honor God by never assuming that tomorrow is mine. Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” One day at a time.
To be honest, one of the reasons why I started a banjo blog was to share the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with others. Life is short, Hell is hot and eternity is a long time! I won't preach to you in all my blogs, but every so often I would like to just invite you to trust Jesus as your personal Savior. Like my backing tracks, eternal life is a free gift from God. But for those who refuse Christ, please know that everyone is very welcome at my blog and I love everyone unconditionally with God's love, no matter who you are. So please feel welcome!
I humbly think the track came out nice. I used a MIDI bass. I also recorded along with my Fender Mustang bass to compare, but I like the MIDI bass better, so I just went with that instead. I spent $850 for the bass and prefer free MIDI. Go figure! Of course, I'm not that great of a bass player. So there's that...lol.
I also added a MIDI piano for chord padding. I love how you can get chicken sounds out of a banjo in this song. I recorded myself playing a Cajon (pronounced: Cahon) box at the very end, like Dave also does. Thanks for visiting my music blog.
I wanted to make a backing track for something different than from songs that Dave Hum did, simply to carry on Dave's tradition of learning new songs. I heard him say that there are so many songs and so little time. He sure was right about that. I used this YouTube video of “Blue Ridge Cabin Home” as a template. This particular recording was done by Lester Flatt and Mac Wiseman. The song is in the Key of G. Enjoy!
The bass is all MIDI. I also added a MIDI piano. I played acoustic guitar. This was an easy song to make, using only the chords G, C and D. Lord willing, I plan to make backing tracks for many more new songs as I discover good ones to play the banjo on.
This is one of my favorite song mixes by Dave Hum, “Behind The Haystack & The Setting Sun.” They are both fun songs to play, especially The Setting Sun. Dave's family has tablature available for both of these songs and 39 more at their website. They also have this original backing track made and used by Dave. My tracks are inferior to Dave's. He's a constant inspiration for me to do better. I used Dave's recording as a template for my backing track. The song is done in standard tuning in the Kay of A. Use a capo on the second fret, and also on the 7th fret for the 5th string. Enjoy!
The bass is all MIDI (I like the Finger Bass in MixCraft). I also added a MIDI piano like Dave uses. I have an Akai MIDI controller (a small 25-key keyboard) that makes it easy to see what notes to enter. I played along tapping on a Cajon box to carry the rhythm a bit. Lord willing, if I can do better in the future I will revisit these older tracks and redo them. I think these came out pretty good, humbly said.
I must say that I am really impressed with the MIDI bass. After experimenting for the past few weeks, I have concluded that I don't need the MODO emulation plugin. Just a regular picked MIDI bass works fine. I do add some premade effect patterns within MixCraft though, which enhances the sound. For bass I always select the “Smooth & Warm” preset.
I have learned also that to prevent a distorted bass in the finished recording, it is best to keep the lower end of the Parametric Equalizer in MixCraft nice and low (well below the line). The bass notes are still full, but not overwhelming or distorted. This is why you've likely noticed that my backing track volume has been increasing, without a distorted bass. I'm starting to get the hang of this. And remember, Dave's family has tablature available for both of these songs and 39 more at their website.
This is a really great song combination to play. The banjo is a happy and cheerful instrument. Thank you for your continued interest in my music blog. Everything is FREE!
If you've never tried to learn to play the lap steel, I encourage you to give it a try. The sweetest sound this side of Heaven is the steel guitar. Here is one of my favorite heart-gripping Hawaiian steel guitar intros by Jerry Byrd (1920-2005). Wow, Jerry really made that old Bakelite Rickenbacker sound sweet. He's playing through a Fender Twin Reverb amplifier. Jerry played this concert at the Marriott Hotel at Waikiki, where I visited a few times myself. I personally met Jerry Byrd in 1993 in Winchester, Indiana, at their bi-annual Hawaiian Steel Guitar Convention. I had the privilege of shaking his hand and talking with him for a brief time. At the same event that day I also met Bud Tutmarc (1924-2006). Both Jerry and Bud were Christians, like myself, and I miss them dearly.
I bought both the short and long scale models of the Jerry Byrd Frypan steel guitars, similar recreations of Rickenbacker's original 1932 Frypans, which are highly coveted instruments today. The new ones are made in Japan. Jerry helped redesign the new Frypans, making them heavier (8 pounds) to avoid slipping off your lap. I bought the stand with my short-scale and regret that I didn't buy the stand with the long scale (the stand is about $400, but well worth the extra money, so you can stand up while playing). I prefer the short scale because the frets are closer together, making it easier to do bar slants. The longer scale has a sweeter tone, but the short scale sure is sweet too. Many banjo players also play steel guitar, since the two instruments share commonalities (using thumb and finger picks, rolls, pick blocking, trills, slides and harmonic techniques, et cetera).
You can learn everything you want to know about steel guitar in the Steel Guitar Forum, where I have been a member since 1997. Jerry Byrd (1920-2005) is my favorite Hawaiian Steel Guitar artist, and Lloyd Green (born 1937) is my favorite Pedal Steel Guitar artist. Lloyd was a highly sought after Nashville studio musician for over 25 years. He played on over 10,000 recordings. Lloyd is now 86 years old and still recording for the music subculture in Nashville who are trying to keep alive the dead Country music of yesteryear. I love the steel guitar!
About 15 years ago I bought a used 1936 Rickenbacher that looks similar to this guitar. I paid $900 for mine from a guy in Nine Mile Falls, Washington. The guitar didn't include a case, it came in Styrofoam. It has a sweet tone. Here is a photo of me playing it on Guam at Ypao Beach about 17 years ago. ...
I also have a 1953 Rickenbacker Bakelite. Both of my Rickenbacher steel guitars have Horse-shoe Pickups. They have a sweet tone that today's steel guitar don't have. I like my 1953 better because it also has a tone control. I originally came with black and white panels (aka, the Panda model). I removed the plates, sanded them, and repainted them silver). Bakelite is the same material used to make bowling balls. Pretty neat.
I am shocked how much prices have skyrocketed on musical instruments over the past 15 years! I recently looked at a reissue of a 1965 black Emmons pedal steel guitar, which costs about $12,000 with tax. That's insane! I paid $2,500 for my new double neck Emmons' LeGrande in 1992. I sold it years later. My favorite pedal steels as far as tone are the old Pro-II Sho-Buds, but mechanically they are limited in what they can do. For someone with a very basic pedal/knee setup that would be fine, but you can forget about lowering strings 5 and 6 a whole tone.
On my S-10 Rittenberry (which I paid $3,000 for about 13 years ago) I lower strings 5 and 6 a whole tone on separate knee levers (which is what Tommy White does). As a general rule you should always buy NEW when getting a pedal steel, to avoid inheriting other people's headaches. Show-Pro is what I would recommend for a new pedal steel.
Also, Jackson Steel Guitars is a great choice, who are building the new Sho-Buds today. “Jackson” is named after Sho-Bud founder Shot Jackson. His family runs the company today. Interestingly, new pedal steels cost about the same as a high end Huber or Deering banjo. A pedal steel is MUCH more complicated and has hundreds of parts. Go figure! Personally, I think U.S. made banjos are WAY overpriced. And I thought milk was getting expensive...lol.
Look how nice this black pedal steel is with gold string rollers and hardware. Sweet! I simply cannot afford that insane price ($8,000 to $11,500, not including extra features, tax and shipping costs). I paid $11,500 for my 2013 Honda FIT in 2021. On Huber's website they have some vintage pre WWII Gibson banjos selling for $80,000 and $140,000. Great Jiminy Crickets, Batman! I'm not sure how much longer I can afford music...lol.
This is a classic Bluegrass song that's been around for ages. I remember hearing it over 30 years ago when I lived in Chicago. I'm in Pensacola now. It's called, “The Moon Saw Me Crying” by The Kentucky Travelers. This particular recording likely was transferred from an old record to digital eventually, because it's not in any particular key. The song is actually pitched somewhere between a G and a G#. I had to adjust the pitch in MixCraft down a few increments to tune it with my guitar in the key of G, so I could record along with it. I did this backing track in the key of G, which is what I think the original song was also done in.
The bass is all MIDI. For this song, I used an Acoustic Bass instead of the usual Finger Bass from the MIDI menu in MixCraft. I think it sounds nice. I used an acoustic bass sine the original song used one. I wanted to try to make it as close to original as I could. I played acoustic guitar also.
I learned a little trick to do with the timing. By setting the tambourine and piano a little LATE (after the middle), it changes the whole rhythm, giving it kind of a “chunka-lunka” sound. I thought I had invented a new word, but the Chunka-Lunka (this particular recording sounds like Route 66) has been around for a long time. I don't claim to know what I am doing musically, I'm just having fun...lol. I hope you enjoy the song. The main banjo part is challenging for me to play, but I have always loved the classic banjo break in this song.
I didn't know how to describe the tone I am seeking in a banjo until today. It is called “growl.”
I am so frustrated trying to find the Holy Grail of banjos. It's been one disappointment after another since 2021. I had originally ordered a Deering Sierra with a mahogany neck from Banjo.com. Barry Waldrep said it would be 4 to 6 weeks to receive it, which turned into 5 months! When I got it, the intonation was unfixable and ridiculously way off, just like the Hatfield Arthur sent me a couple weeks ago. What frustrates me is that Banjo.com advertises that they do a professional setup on all their banjos before shipping them to the customers. Well, then why did mine sound like crap with horrible intonation and bad buzz on strings 4 and 5? I returned the Sierra.
From the reading I've done, I don't think I can go wrong with a higher end Deering, a Golden Era (which is Deering's attempt to recreate the Gibson ESS).
Next, Barry talked me into upgrading to the Deering Golden Era, and I agreed. I sent him another $2,100 on top of the $2,799 I had already given him. After 6 months I finally heard something. Barry said the banjo arrived but he couldn't sell it to me because it had a bad buzz on the 5th string, and he blamed me. Oh boy! When they had sent me the Sierra, they installed the railroad spikes half way between strings 4 and 5 (not where they should be). The proper place to install spikes is close (adjacent) to the 5th string.
So, I actually sent screenshots from Banjo "Ben" Clarks YouTube channel to Barry Waldrep. I figure that they couldn't mess up with a picture in front of them, right? Well, Barry blamed me for the bad buzz on the Golden Era. He said that they've never had any problems installing spikes until I asked them to install them by the 5th string. Honestly, you couldn't make this stuff up! I didn't say anything the first time he blamed me, but then he did it twice, and I stood up for myself and told him that I didn't make a strange or bizarre request to have the spikes installed where they are supposed to be, at the string.
Well, then Barry said he was sending the Golden Era out to a Luthier, but said that he is busy. After four more months had passed without hearing a word from anybody at Banjo.com, I finally said enough and asked for my money back. Barry made me wait an additional 3 1/2 months. I first bought a banjo from Banjo.com on May 2, 2022 and didn't get my money back until January of 2024!!! What a big waste of time!!! Still no banjo.
I was so disgusted that I waited a few months before even considering trying to buy another banjo. I bought a Deering Goodtime Special in April, which is the nicest banjo I have right now. I have no regrets purchasing it. It came with the bridge laying sideways on the head. So, I set the bridge position and the intonation in about 10 minutes and it has been excellent since in intonation. But the Goodtime Special doesn't have that "growl" that I desire. Let me show (hear) you what "growl" is if you don't know. Here is a Yates Ron Stewart banjo. You can clearly hear how awesome the banjo sounds. You can hear the growl, the lush resonance of it. This is what I am looking for in a banjo...
Warren Yates Gives Ron Stewart A Banjo Lesson
I've already shared with my blog visitors a week ago my horrible bad experience with Arthur Hatfield, which really surprised me after all the nice things I've read about him and his banjos. Maybe I just caught him at a bad time. He did tell me when I first contacted him how frustrated he was that his wife recently passed away, and now he is overwhelmed with having to answer the phone and emails. It is obvious in hindsight that he didn't even play the banjo that he sent me, he just blew it out the door. He had told me when I bought it that the wait time was 4 months and I agreed. Then he surprised me by saying it was done after only a few weeks, which concerned me a bit, and my concerns were justified. He didn't do a good job!
There is no excuse for being unkind to someone, costing them hundreds of dollars in wasted money for shipping, refusing to work with them to remedy the problem, and causing them unnecessary grief. I paid Arthur $3,000 and he sent me garbage. The banjo was so ridiculously out of intonation that it was unplayable. The tailpiece bolt fell off the first time I picked up the banjo. He didn't even bother to adjust the tailpiece. The case was covered in brownish orange dust. He had marked the head where the bridge should go. He told me to use a tuner to set the banjo, instead of a tape measure.
Well, I did that and it wouldn't work. The intonation was way off. Unfortunately for me, Arthur didn't want to fix it or send me a different banjo (I offered him another $800), he only wanted to refund my money, so I returned his banjo and he did refund my money. It was another big disappointment trying to obtain a nice banjo. The sound was great on the Hatfield, as it was on the Deering Sierra, but the intonation was way off. Like I said, I adjusted the intonation on my Deering Goodtime Special, and also my Elite 85 Recording King, and they have accurate intonation. Accurate intonation is critically important if you want to play in tune. It saddens me that Banjo.com and Arthur Hatfield both sent me banjos with horrible intonation (I mean 30 to 40 degrees too high on the G string, 4th fret). That sounds like a trainwreck!
Yesterday, I contacted Banjo "Ben" Clarks store and kindly asked for their help to find a nice banjo, but Jake replied and said they cannot help me, I have to play them myself. So, I'm not getting anywhere fast...lol. I sent them the same video I just showed you guys (of the Ron Stewart Yates banjo), and told them this is what I want, growl. They said they cannot help me. I don't get it. Perhaps I am missing something, but it is so obvious that either a banjo has growl or it doesn't. I want one that does. I'll look for a used Yates banjo too.
I am reluctant to buy from an individual person sight unseen across the country, because you don't know what you are getting, and have no recourse if you get screwed. It's a lot of money to trust a total stranger. Money is getting harder to come by these days. I must say that I am bewildered with Recording King, why their banjos lack the resonance and growl of other coveted banjos, like Gibson. I mean, it's all the same parts, right? So what makes a Gibson growl so beautifully, and my Recording King doesn't? It's not the setup. I did my best to set up my Recording King, and I think I did a good job.
But just to make sure, I recently paid $65 for Blue Angel Music in Pensacola to set it up for me. They changed the strings, but other than that I didn't notice any difference. So, I must have done a pretty good job myself setting it up. Jim Pankey, Banjo Ben and others have helpful videos teaching how to set up a banjo. My Elite 85 Recording King just does not have "that sound." I keep hearing that sound is subjective, and that is true to an extent, but let's face it—a great sounding banjo is a great sounding banjo, and any player is going to “feel” that right away in their hands.
I think the most accurate statement I have read thus far is: Some banjos have it and some don't. My Deering Goodtime Special sounds better than my Elite 85 Recording King, but neither comes close to the Hatfield's tone that I had ordered. Sadly, to my loss, the Hatfield had shitty intonation, and Arthur had a shitty attitude. I poked my finger and was bleeding, because he didn't trim the strings close to the tuning pegs. He left 1/2" sticking out. When I received the banjo the truss rod was too tight and it had a bad buzz on the 4th string. When I went to adjust the truss rod my 1/4" socket got stuck on the truss rod adjustment bolt and I cut myself when I tried to loosen the socket.
I'm looking for a Gibson ESS, like Dave Hum played, but I've read that Gibson banjos didn't have a consistent build quality, and some are lemons. Without playing it firsthand I wouldn't know. I need to do a bunch more reading online to see what other banjo pickers are using and saying. That's the great thing about the BanjoHangout.
Having said all that, I love my Deering Goodtime Special. It is durable, made of the finest violin grade maple wood, which will age well over time. I don't care for the guitar style tuners (which are parallel to the headstock). I like the Gotoh tuners on more expensive banjos (which are perpendicular to the headstock). If the Goodtime Special had the sound I am craving, I'd stick with that. As a musician tone means EVERYTHING TO ME!!!
By the way, I don't write blogs like this to complain or bad mouth anybody, sincerely. I write them to share my own musical journey, frustrations and things I have learned to help others. I am really new to the world of banjos. I lived on the island of Guam for 17 years, totally isolated from the world. So, now I am starting to learn. The banjo is a fascinating tool to craft music. Thanks for reading.
