A Thanksgiving melody…
November 22, 2009
Steve in Ohio writes:
Hiya Patrick,
I’ve revived my love for the sounds of accordion and banjo in harmony in a recording, today, with a little 6-sting thrown in for bass:
MP3: http://fabricari.com/music/thanksgiving.mp3
I tried to record a video a while back (last Spring?) with banjo and accordion in harmony. I’m not sure I shared that yet. The accordion has buttons laid out in 5ths just like the autoharp – a great folk instrument, I think!
And I also, have a question: I’ve found myself “jamming” with a local band that plays more of the rock electric, playing my banjo. They’re looking to folk it up a bit. If we record separate tracks, the mix is outstanding, but playing live in impossible what with two guitars and two drummers, even. What are your thoughts on mics, electric banjos, transdenser/condenser mics, etc?
-Steve
November 23, 2009 at 12:50 am
I use a peizo pickup. I made it for about $5 with parts from radio shack. I learned this trick from building cigar box guitars.
Here’s a link on how to build one.
http://cigarboxguitars.com/workshops/Piezo_Transducer.php
I tape the ceramic part to the inside of the banjo head right under the bridge. This will dampen the natural sound slightly so if you’re gonna play “unplugged” again, you’ll have to take it off. Also be sure to wrap your cable around the rods in your banjo before plugging it into the jack. This will help take the pressure off the wires.
I run my banjo through a pedal for fun. It sounds great.
November 23, 2009 at 1:28 am
Not sure if this posting format allows links or not, but here is a link to the guitar soundhole mic that I use with my banjo, Steve.
http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/A133.htm
I haven’t used it extensively yet. But I have used it a couple of times with an acoustic guitar with a pickup and with a electric bass and it worked well with them.
I have the whole thing attached to the 2 rods that run through the back of my open back banjo with some velcro straps.
Cheers and good luck,
Roger
November 23, 2009 at 1:30 am
2 drummers? Now, that is unusual. They must be playing different kinds of drums.
November 23, 2009 at 11:32 am
I also use a homemade piezo pick-up. However, I built mine using two transducers and placed them above and below the strings in front of bridge. I found this gives me a better overall range and improves the tonality of the pick-up. Also I places a thin layer of cotton gauze (from a 1st aid kit) between the pick-up and the head to reduce unwanted buzzing from the pick-up. The transducers are just held in place with scotch tape and I’ve used cable ties to keep the cable from rattling around inside the banjo. The whole thing just lives in the banjo and I play unplugged when I can and plug in when I have to. Hope this helps
November 25, 2009 at 11:14 am
Can you get a pic of this set up? I got everything but the above the strings. How do you have that rigged?
November 23, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Thanks for the tips gang! I picked up a super-cheap transducer today and it’s enough to make the house shake. I can use a regular mic for finer recordings, but this should do the trick for jamming. It’s a rowdy bunch of musicians, and with me that makes 8 people. The second drummer plays more “percussion” which really sounds pretty cool live. They keep it fun.
November 24, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Steve, would love it if you can capture some audio of a jam. Sounds like fun.
November 25, 2009 at 11:13 am
I love to hear your band too!
November 25, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Hey Steve,
I’ve dealt with the same problems. I play with an 8 piece indie rock band. I use the Fishman banjo pickup and when we play live I go direct through a DI box. I’ve had success with this method. If you are interested you can hear some banjo here ****Shameless Plug Warning****
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/eaod2
click the following samples to hear a bit…
“a form to accomodate the mess”
“Featherbeds in a Bomb Shelter”
“Beehive”
Goodluck with the band!!! -Andy