I finally received my Deering Sierra with a mahogany neck, which I ordered back on May 2nd, 2022. I got it at the end of September, but I hated the Sierra within the first 5 minutes! Man I sure appreciate my Recording King Elite-75 after playing that junk! Forgive me if you play a Deering Sierra, I am just expressing my humble opinion, I hated that thing.
Why didn't I like the Sierra banjo? Well, mainly because the neck feels cheap, like it was made in Mexico (no offensive to Mexican people). Also, the intonation was way off! The 3rd G string was always too high, especially noticeable on frets 1 through 5. The banjo wasn't even playable. I also have some issue on my Recording King with the 3rd G string being too sharp, but I just ordered a Compensator Bridge. Mine is a 5/8" bridge. I ordered a Grover brand from Amazon.com, which works well.
Anyway, I ordered the banjo from Banjo.com. The owner Barry Waldrep has been great so far, willing to take the banjo back no questions asked. Barry gives banjo buyers 30 days to return the instrument. I like having that grace period, a window of security, to decide if the instrument is what you expected. Kindly said, I was misled by Deering's website, because they give the impression in their Sierra video that the Sierra has the same guts as the most expensive Deering banjos, but just lacks the pretty aesthetics. THAT IS NOT TRUE!!! In my humble opinion the neck on the Sierra is crap! After playing an Elite-75 Recording King for the past 5 years, I didn't like the neck on the Sierra from the first 5 minutes I played it. I paid $2,799 for the Sierra.
So I went ahead and did what I should have done in the first place, I spent the extra money and ordered a high-end banjo. Ouch! I ordered the Deering Golden Era for over $5,000. I have learned that you will either feel pain in your wallet upfront, by purchasing a quality instrument, or else you will feel pain in your soul for years to come as you play an inferior instrument. I like being honest with people, no bullcrap, to be helpful. I will let everyone know what I think about the Deering Golden Era, if I think it is really worth over $5,000 for it. I almost bought the Deering Calico, because it is more punchy and in your face, but I decided to go with what most players are getting, to be safe. I figure thousands of Golden Era players can't all be wrong!
I admit that I am not too familiar with the different brands of banjos, since I am a steel guitar player mainly, but thanks be to God, I do have a great ear for music. I know good tone when I hear it, and thin shabby tone too. I love playing Hawaiian steel guitar. Here is a video that I recorded back in 2017 when on lived on the island of Guam (I moved there in 2004 and decided to come back to the United States in 2021. I chose Pensacola, Florida initially. It is okay here. I do miss Guam, but the cost of living is MUCH cheaper in Florida than Guam. I think you will like this video...
Hawaiian Steel Guitar From My Front Door
If anybody is interested in learning to play Hawaiian steel guitar, or pedal steel, I encourage you to do it! There is a steep learning curve at the beginning, but once you surmount the first few months, you'll be home free because it gets a lot easier. It is a fact that many steel guitar players also play the banjo, because there is a common overlap since both instruments require playing with picks and picking patterns. In other words, if you already play the banjo, you've got a big head start on playing steel guitar (and vise versa). If you e-mail me, David (kingjamesbible77 @ gmail DOT com), I will gladly freely share resources and backing tracks for what I have.
Also, check out my SteelC6th.com music website. On my website you'll find a few hundred Hawaiian songs 9help yourself to download and share MP3's), which is the best way to learn any instrument, listen to lots of that particular instrument so you can get the sounds into your head. I love to help, teach and share with others, so please feel at home.
I am a pretty good banjo player and I LOVE Dave Hum's awesome free-spirited style. But I am still learning the actual songs. I bought a Hoffman bass last year so that I could start making Dave Hum style backing tracks. I haven't given up friends, I'm just busy with other stuff. One day at a time. Lord willing, I plan on making more Dave Hum backing tracks, and improving the ones that I have already made. I realized last week that most banjo players are still learning like me, so we cannot play fast at Dave Hum's professional speed. I plan soon to also provide two slower speed backing tracks (a slow and a medium tempo), for newbies to banjo like me. I also bought a Gretsch bass as Guitar Center, because the Hoffman bass wasn't giving me the punch sound that I wanted. I like the Gretsch better, which has a nice Motown kind of punch to it.
Here is a video I made of me playing my Sho-Bud Double-10 pedal steel guitar...
Me Playing 'Born To Lose' on Pedal Steel Guitar
I have been diligently trying to analyze Dave Hum's backing tracks. At first I thought he just used a bass along with some percussion from the Reason software that he used, but on some recordings he is indeed playing rhythm guitar, mandolin, keyboard and other instruments. I prefer to use MixCraft Pro to make my backing tracks, simply because it is what I am used to. I tried using FL Studio, Ableton and Pro Logic, but they were all difficult to get used to for me. FL Studio is aggravating to me. I am disappointed how complicated and backwards a lot of this Musical Production Software is to use (not user friendly at all). For example: In MixCraft when I right mouse-click on a track, I get a menu, which makes sense and is convenient. But in FL Studio right mouse-clicking on a track deletes it!!! Pardon my ignorance. I am a normal guy, who loves music and have been playing guitar since age 15 (40 years ago). I am age 55 now (where did all those years go...lol).
From what I have learned so far, most Musical Production Software is geared toward piecing together prerecorded sounds for nightclub type dance mixes, which is NOT what I am trying to accomplish. I want quality backing racks with real instruments. Dave Hum played his own musical instruments, making quality backing tracks. The problem with most available backing tracks is that they are CLUTTERED with too many instruments! One of the things that I love about Dave Hum's tracks is that they are simple, just some percussion and bass. But when I go to play along, I have difficulty following along because there's not enough music to follow along (with my limited skills). So I am going to experiment to see what works.
I just bought a 21-key autoharp from the autoharp store for $546. It sells for $642 on Amazon.com without a free gig bag or digital tuner. So it is a great deal at The Autoharp Store. The free gig bag is very nice and padded, and I really like the chromatic digital tuner. After I ordered the autoharp, it arrived in just 3-days. My autoharp is electric, with fine tuners (which I recommend because without them it is difficult to get the tuning accurate). The harp I purchased is something new from Oscar-Schmidt called the "Americana" tuning. This new tuning is especially for Bluegrass and folk players, which is why I bought it to learn and hopefully incorporate it into backing tracks.
I have an old neck injury (stenosis and radiculitis) going back decades, which causes me much bodily pain, burning nerve and discomfort 24/7, so most of the time I just don't feel like making music. But I love music so much that I am compelled to play even while in pain. I thank God that I can play any instrument at all, after having two major neck surgeries (in 2009 and again in 2010). Unfortunately the second surgery really messed me up worse). And to add insult to injury, because of the epidemic of drug overdoses across the United States, my doctor refuses to prescribe more than the minimal amount of Oxycontin (I need 80 mg per day, but am only allowed 40 mg). That is so ridiculous and wrong. I used to take 140 mg per day on Guam, but due to dehydration I requested lowering my dosage. Now I can't even get the 80 mg. per day, so I suffer all the time in unnecessary pain in my neck.
The weight of the banjo doesn't bother me too much for the first hour. I bought a thick padded shoulder strap, which really helps. In feel sharp radiating pain down my right arm at times, which prevents me from playing too fast on the pedal steel guitar. The longer I pick, the more pain I feel down my right arm. So anyway, if you are a praying Christ, I would humbly appreciate that you pray for me when you think of it. THANK YOU in advance!
I honestly don't like the way most people play the autoharp, but after watching Jo Ann Smith play her diatonic tunings, that sparked my interest in learning to play the autoharp. She plays soft and gentle much of the time, whereas most plays aggressively strum the autoharp. I did what Jo Ann recommends for all autoharp enthusiasts, I ordered The Autoharp Owner's Manual (I got mine from Amazon). This helpful book explains how to convert multi-key autoharps into diatonic tunings, and provides the possible chords you might choose from. I think autoharps are way cool! I bought the 21-chord autoharp learn to play it first, and then later on if I am still interested I plan to but a 15-chord autoharp and convert it into a diatonic tuning.
God willing, I want to purchase a dobro within a year. I cannot afford to pay $5,000 for a dobro. If you want a truly professional instrument, you're going to need to dig deep to pay for it! A basic Northshore mandolin costs at least $3,500. Their F5 model sells for $8,000. Great fluffy biscuits in the morning!!! I wanted a truly professional banjo, so I spent $5,000 for a Deering Golden Era. Deering is backordered, so I have to wait the next production schedule. It will be a few months wait I'm sure. Barry Waldrep said he is still waiting to hear from Deering.
For now I am playing my Recording King Elite-75, which I paid $1975 for in 2018. I bought it from Ross Nickerson. The Elite-75 (it has a maple neck; the Elite-85 has a mahogany neck). My neck is maple, which is brighter. The Elite series have a 27 3/8" neck, which is longer than the standard neck length of 26 1/4". Personally, I like the longer length neck, because it gives the banjo more depth of tone. The aesthetics are amazing on the Elite-75, pretty curly maple. But the Recording King lacks that much sought after Gibson tone. A truly professional banjo should have a quality "boing boing" sound to it, not just sound like a thin tin can with strings on it. TONE IS EVERYTHING!!!
I also enjoy playing the ukulele. I like my electric tenor sized Oscar-Schmidt ukulele from Indonesia. I recorded these 8 songs in 2015 on Guam. Music makes the world a better place!
Faith Is The Only Righteous Thing That I Can Do
I just wanted to share these things with you dear reader. No doubt you love music like I do, which is why we gravitate toward musical instruments. I think the steel guitar is the most beautiful music this side of Heaven, but the banjo is the happiest of all instruments in my humble opinion. It's hard to play a sad song on a banjo, even in minor chords. I THANK GOD FOR DAVE HUM!!! I pray for his family regularly (Mel, River and Perri). Perri is 16 years old this year in 2022. My heart goes out to her, not having her Dad as a teenager; but she has a very rich heritage to be proud of, from her Dad's profound influence upon so many tens of thousands of people around the world. I am amazed that Dave Hum, while dying, found the strength and ability to record so many precious videos for everyone to enjoy. Dave videos to me are worth more than gold, and I mean that!
Thankfully to God, I became a born-again Christian at age 13, in 1980. Dear friend, I want you to have the same unspeakable joy of knowing that you name is written in Heaven. My favorite book written by a man is titled: "I Never Knew You" by Michael P. Bowen. I encourage you to please take the time to read this free book (in .pdf format), which will clearly show you how to KNOW 100% for certain that you're going to Heaven someday. The book is written from a gentlemanly perspective, comparing the plan of salvation of 15 big name preachers, to what the Word of God teaches about salvation.
I never get tired of re-reading this helpful book by Michael Bowen. It is my humble desire that you too can KNOW your name is written in Heaven (Luke 10:20). I am an independent fundamental Baptist by religious affiliation, but that won't get me to Heaven. It is only by what Jesus Christ did for me through Calvary's cross, shedding His precious blood and dying for my sins, and resurrecting from the dead three days later, that anyone can be made righteousness through faith alone in Christ. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” Simply take God at His Word oh needy sinner, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full-payment for your sins; believing that Jesus was buried but is risen, and you will be immediately, irrevocably and forever saved (I Corinthians 15:1-4).
Remember, we cannot get into Heaven based upon OUR merit. We are sinners by nature and by choice. The only way that anyone can enter into God's Kingdom is that we must seek to enter God's Kingdom based upon the merit of JESUS CHRIST. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU. Jesus Christ is my only righteousness!
THANK YOU for your continued interest in my BanjoHeaven blog.
