by Bert Daniel | Sep 10, 2025 | Welcome Column
In my endless quest to try and discover the true breadth of traditional music I have decided to learn yet another instrument. I should probably just concentrate on the instruments I know fairly well and get better at them but the temptation is just too compelling. The...
by Bert Daniel | Aug 14, 2025 | Welcome Column
Today was back to school day here in Sonoma county. Kids return to school pretty early here. Where I grew up in South Carolina we had at least a couple of weeks still before the summer was over. Often when we returned to school we had to write the obligatory essay...
by Bert Daniel | Jul 11, 2025 | Welcome Column
Out in this cold world alone Walking around in the street. Asking a penny for bread Begging for something to eat (Carter family) it’s a sign of our times that the humble penny, a symbol of the value for every little thing, is fast becoming obsolete. In less than one...
by Bert Daniel | Jul 10, 2025 | Welcome Column
Some players attempt to coax superior tone by modifying their instruments sometimes in bizarre ways. For example, one (now deceased) incredibly talented player is reputed to have taped a mirror inside his banjo resonator to better reflect the tone outward. Whether...
by Bert Daniel | Jun 28, 2025 | Welcome Column
Most shoppers of authentic prewar Gibson Mastertone Banjos still face a dilemma: “this prewar Gibson is a nice archtop tenorbanjo, but to be useful for modern bluegrass it usually needs a flathead tone ring and always needs a five-string neck, preferably consistent in...
by Bert Daniel | Jun 26, 2025 | Welcome Column
Gibson Mastertone Banjos, the Life, the Lore, the Reality Sean J. Barry June 23, 2025 Foreword: The uninitiated might find parts of the following essay confusing primarily because some of the material is arcane and unfamiliar, but even that group should and will soon...
