040 - 150 Years of Banjo Tradition Shattered

Hello and welcome to another week of guitar-centered geekery!

Acoustic Tuesday is coming in for a landing. The runway is clear, and with this jumbo jet of acoustic centered goodness comes a full dose of inspiration to live your best acoustic life.

After checking with the radar tower it seems as though 5 guitar geek items have popped up, but no worries it's all smooth flying from here.

➜All show notes and links: https://acousticlife.tv/at40/

 

-Heartbreaker Guitars-

Finding small bench luthier made guitars to sample is a difficult task. Even in today's day an age, it's still hard to find the rarer makers all under one roof. A single place where you can compare and contrast a multitude of artisan made instruments... That changes now.

Heartbreaker Guitars in Las Vegas, NV is the place where you can go and try out a Lowden, next to a Bourgeois, next to a Santa Cruz, next to a Huss & Dalton. Located roughly 14 miles off the Vegas strip, Heartbreaker Guitars is a boutique shop that has a diverse and inspiring inventory.

The owner, Brendan Smith, curates the inventory with the simple guidance of what he likes... and judging by the pictures and things on their website, he has phenomenal taste.

HBG stocks some unique and one of a kind instruments that would make any guitar geek drool and quite possibly lose sleep. This is one of those stores that will make you weak in the knees and searching for a place to sit down simply because of the breathtaking instruments.

If you happen to be in the Vegas area make sure to check these folks out, call for an appointment and be prepared to be amazed at the selection. If you aren't in the Vegas area, no worries at all, just surf their site and check out hi-res images of every in stock guitar. Oh and if you want to hear those guitars, be sure to visit their youtube channel where they feature reviews of the guitars and even do some fantastic comparisons.

This store no doubt has guitar geeks rejoicing, and you too will rejoice after seeing the guitars that they stock... to say they are drool worthy is an enormous understatement.

 

-Swallow Hill Music Center-

Folk music is a broad term that encompasses so many different styles, instruments, cultures, and people. Folk music even involves more than just music itself... it's almost as if it needs one place where it can all be contained... a place to learn, play, sing, dance, and discuss.

Swallow Hill Music Center in Denver, CO is just the place that folk music can call home. This non-profit establishment is a place where children and adults can take music lessons, it's a place where you can see an inspirational show, it's a place where you can go to attend a workshop, and it's a place where you can go to share your ideas and thoughts on music as well.

I first heard of Swallow Hill Music Center when I worked in Chicago at the Old Town School of Folk Music. What the Old Town School of Folk Music is for the Midwest is exactly what Swallow Hill is for the West. It truly is another folk music epicenter offering all of the education and wonder that goes along with folk music.

The beautiful thing is that their mission is to make sure that people feel the enrichment of music on a daily basis, and they are striving to do just that. They have festivals so folks can enjoy live music, their adult classes hold graduation ceremonies (part of which involves performing), and they even offer financial aid programs for people that wish to get involved but may not have the means to do so.

Swallow Hill is responsible for spreading the goodness that music can bring, and they are a place that as a guitar geek you need to know about. You can of course visit Swallow Hill and see a show if you are in the Denver area, or if you still wish to support their cause you can even donate online.

-Michael Daves-

What can I say about this weeks artist... I should rephrase, what's not to say about the artist featured this week.

His playing makes you feel like you are on the edge of a cliff... uncomfortably close to the edge. His flatpick runs are inventive and unconventional, but are at home, comfortably finding their way into tunes.

Michael Daves is a guitarist and singer that I first heard playing with Chris Thile on an album entitled "Sleep With One Eye Open." His command over the guitar alongside Chris Thile was inspiring, and then, he started singing...

Michael's voice is a serious contender for one of the best modern bluegrass voices around. Singing lead, Michael Daves controls the ebb and flow of the song all the while projecting a raw confidence. Singing harmony, he quickly escalates to the upper echelon of singers in the genre. His high part harmony is an absolute treat to listen to and unmistakable.

Michael Daves' voice is one that, in my opinion, will be referenced for years and years to come and not just within the bluegrass genre. The ease with which he adds harmony to a song is a treat to the ear, and his abilities on the guitar need not be overshadowed by his voice... they are both on very strong and equal footing.

One album that features Michael in his element is his duo album with Chris Thile entitled "Sleep With One Eye Open." The other album that showcases his creative side is entitled "Orchids and Violence." This album is more of a concept type album featuring one side of it dedicated to straight ahead bluegrass tunes and the other side taking those same tunes and putting a dark electric guitar-infused spin on them.

Chances are if you have heard any modern bluegrass album recorded in the New York area, you may well have already heard Michael at work, but now it's time to single out his abilities and check out his albums... Your record collection will certainly rejoice at their arrival.

-Nechville Banjos-

In a galaxy far, far away there lived an invention that would forever change the way the banjo was thought about. This invention made the banjo a much more tame beast. This invention made the banjo less complicated. This invention made the banjo... easier to tune.

This invention was brought to fruition by a man by the name of Tom Nechville, founder and owner of Nechville banjos out of Bloomington, MN. Nechville banjos sound like the classic banjos that carved the path of bluegrass music, but these banjos are much much different. They have fewer parts, they are easier to setup, and they are easier to tune... it's true, with Tom's invention, the banjo head of the banjo is way easier to tune/tension.

So what exactly is this invention???

The Heli-Mount design replaces over 70 pieces of hardware found on a traditional banjo, and leaves behind a streamlined look and just about the easiest way to tune a banjo head that I have ever seen. The Heli-Mount system functions much like screwing a lid on a jar... except on a banjo. This system, with the use of a single tool, allows you to tighten or loosen the head of your banjo in mere seconds, and it ensures that there is equal tension around the entire head... meaning your banjo is much more musical and far less frustrating.

Nechville banjos also have more than a handful of modern improvements such as the revered hand cut enterprise bridge, the modern in-line tailpiece, the comfort bevel armrest, and the quick-cam neck connection. All of these improvements together make for a banjo that is easy to setup and tweak, but has that highly sought after vintage tone.

Nechville banjos come in a wide array of styles from very modern all the way to that classic vintage banjo look. If you happen to want something a bit more custom, they are happy to entertain those ideas as well.

If you are looking for a banjo that offers the promise of less time tinkering and more time for music making Nechville banjos should be on your list to check out for certain.

http://www.nechville.com/about.php (slow scroll over the helimount system info)

http://www.nechville.com/allacoustics.php (slow scroll through the model offering)

https://youtu.be/-QALC90tdek

https://youtu.be/z6hDcDVtZ4o

-Wegen Picks-

The guitar pick quest continues, actually it never really ends, and today is proof of that. Today, a pick that comes from the Netherlands offering a dark and gritty tone.

Wegen picks, made by Michel Wegen over in the Netherlands, are a fantastic solution for a guitarist not only looking for differently shaped picks but also some radically varied thicknesses. I opted for the Wegen picks that closely resembled what I'm used to so I tried out the black bluegrass picks that come in a standard thickness of 1.4mm.

There are two things I noticed about this pick upon playing with it for the first time. The first thing that popped right out at me was how these picks interact with the guitar strings. The material is a bit softer than what I am used to so I experienced a bit of "drag" as I used the pick on my guitar. It's as if the strings grab hold of the pick ever so slightly... Which leads me to the next thing that I noticed... the tone.

The second thing that surprised me about this pick was its tone. The tone produced by this pick was darker and grittier than most picks that I have tried recently. The Wegens offered a much different tonal palette. Due to the drag on the strings, I felt I could dig in harder to get a more gritty tone. This is a great feature especially if you want to put an exclamation point on a G run, or something of the like.

Overall the Wegen picks were a breath of fresh air. What I initially thought may have been the pick's downfall was a huge benefit in the tone department. The fun doesn't end there though... I only tried one of the plethoras of picks offered from Wegen. Amongst the offerings Michel has created, some standout picks include gypsy jazz picks, mandolin picks, triangular picks, and even the notorious Fatone. All of these picks have their prescribed uses and I would certainly encourage you to try them out if you happen to be in an adventurous mood.