Gracie…the other 1944 Kay M-1

So earlier this year Penelope (now nick named Penny) the 1944 Kay M-1 packed her bags and relocated to the land down under, Australia.  Now her twin sister Gracie is ready to leave the collection as well.  Gracie is a fine, well preserved war time, 1944 Kay M-1, serial number 11456.  The new owner auditioned her on Saturday; she is destine to make some fine bluegrass music in her future. 

Some bass players like perfection and want all the cosmetics of a bass to be perfect.  Other players are “looking for a tool” to make music, looks are secondary to the sound of the bass.   And then sometimes you get bass players who is looking for very specific things in a bass…it needs to be a Kay, pre-war, no neck breaks, very clean original finish and yeah, it needs to make the windows rattle.  Ohhhh…that specific circle of surviving Kay basses is dwindling every year.

This Kay bass is getting a mini make over to suit the new owner.  Her left volute went missing long before we owned her and we had not replaced it not knowing what the next player would want.  Lonnie did a few minor touch ups to Gracie by adjusting the string height, detailing the bridge to make sure all the strings were at an even height and giving her a replacement volute (volute-ectomy).  Lonnie glued the new stock replacement volute into place.  He detailed and reshaped the profile to better match the original volute on the right side.  A little bit of color, a little bit of distressing and poof!…she looks balanced once again. 

Gracie front

Gracie back

Before the new volute

New stock replacement volute glued in place

The bridge with a slight crown adjustment

First coats of color, distressing yet to come

Pretty good match after some reshaping and sanding

Gracie will soon be packing her bags to relocate in eastern PA where she will make some great bluegrass music…I am guessing there will be lots of fabulous Don Reno style banjo accompaniment in her near future.

She is in very good hands and has a great future a head of her…Go swing it girl!

Next project: 1940 Epiphone B-3, #218 named Frixo

Well it has been raining, and raining, and is still raining this morning.  I think we are over 9” of rain in 3-4 days.  With no outside work because of the excessive rain its time to get busy in the workshop. 

While I thought the next bass restoration was going to be the 1941 Epiphone B-2 with the busted top, there has been a slight detour in our plans.  There is a possible bass repair project coming from Kentucky in the next month or so…so we did not want to get deep into a complex restoration only to put it aside for another bass.  We find if we get too many things going at once we lose the fun factor…so we keep it simple…one bass at a time.

Yesterday Lonnie and I were looking over “the herd” to see if there is a bass that needed a little TLC and not too time consuming.  Well…there has been a special Epiphone that has been pushed to the back of the stack several times.  We got it out, looked it over and said…WOW…I had forgotten how nice this bass was!  This would be a 1940 Epiphone B-3, #218.  A beautiful blonde Epi that has remained in remarkable condition.  We bought this bass about four years ago from a rather eccentric gentleman in Florida.  Seems the bass lived most of it’s live in North Carolina, un-played at his parent’s house and had recently moved to Florida.  Once the bass was in Florida it remained “un-played and in the way”.  We were happy to relieve him of the bass but it was a challenge to pin him down for a courier pick up and payment.  All was fine…after about 20 phone calls and an angry courier…but none the less…it was all worth it in the end.

The day we added Frixo to the collection 3/10/2010

Oooohhh...that beautiful flamed wood

Lonnie said it took real effort to get rid of that masking tape, wonder why it was there?

This is the minor detail that makes it a B-3 Epiphone.  The purfling circles up and into the button on the back

Brass tuners with lots of patina...do not polish that patina!!!  It takes years to make brass age to this lovely shade of tarnish

We knew he was a looker the day he arrived

This bass is a VERY early Epiphone and one of the few original surviving conditions B-3’s.  It is a classic example of an early Epiphone with a HUGE hand carved scroll, beautiful flamed wood, and delicate pre-war F holes.  The bass has no neck break, no repairs, no broken edges; no nothing…it remains in remarkable condition.  The top is thick and in excellent condition, the original rosewood fingerboard and tail piece are in tact as well as the original enamel Epiphone tail badge.  It is clearly stamped #218 which makes it the 118 bass made before WW2.  We named him Frixo as this bass most closely resembles the style of bass Frixo Stathopoulo (Epaminondas “Epi” Anastasios Stathopoulo younger brother) made for his own company “Frixo Bass” in 1949. 

This makes the bass the 118th bass Epiphone made before WW2

The first thing Lonnie did was cut off the old nasty strings.  I do not know what brand they were but definitely of no use.  They were steel wound with a horrible tooth to them.  They looked like instant blister makers to me.  The bass had an old style adjustable end pin that was most likely not the original.  The original end pin would have been a wooden dowel often offered in two lengths.  The old end pin did not fit well and was shimmed with a nice piece of copper that would only be good for making pennies.  Lonnie lightly scraped the rosewood fingerboard; some of the shavings came off lighter then the others.  It was very interesting to see the shavings flow off the board; I have no idea what grain in the rosewood would cause such extremes of light and dark shavings. 

Great condition and all three original badge pins are still in tact...very rare

Non-original end pin with that nice copper sleeve as a shim

New ULSA end pin installed, easy job when you own three size tapered reamers

Working on the original rosewood fingerboard

The rosewood board is producing light and dark shavings...that is a new one?

This bass will get the normal set up features; a new ULSA ebony end pin, a Hi-Tech tail gut, new Thomastik medium Spirocore strings, fingerboard scraped and oiled, and if needed a new bridge, sound post and nut.  There will be very little cosmetic work required…if any. After that the bass should be ready to sing.  I know this one has been sitting for years, maybe decades un-played.  Even though it was playable, I can see why it was not played…a cheap strings and high string height…the enemies of a bass player.

Lovely thick top, nice spruce grain.  This bass has some heft to it!

That big ole scroll...SWEET!

They don't factory hand carve them like this anymore.

Getting ready for the  bridge and strings

 I’ll look forward to the quick completion of this bass and being able to put him into my playing rotation.  The 1941 Epiphone #623 named Ruben has been my “go to” bass since March.  His voice has definitely opened up and the bass now roars with the Golden Spirals strings.  It has been a real joy to play and listen to it come back from years of silence.  

I would say that is one of the most fun things I get to do…play a newly restored bass and listen to it re-mature into a sweet playable bass once again.

IBMA…I Been Mostly Awake! 2013

When I was a kid my Nana, who lived to be 88 years old, would say: “The older you get the faster time goes.”  I think I must be getting older because time is not slowing down.

We have been traveling a good bit lately so the work shop has been pretty quiet.  The Stelling banjo project is completed and Lonnie is very pleased.  So much so he purchased a new blue chip thumb pick to keep permanently in the case.  The banjo is 100% set up and ready to go.  Now he has a choice to play his very bright, treble Stanleytone or the bassier, warm, woody sound of the Stelling.  Choices are good.

We recently returned home from the International Bluegrass Music Association week long convention in Raleigh, NC.  We have wanted to attend this event for many years but could not get enough time off work to make the 13 hour drive to Nashville.  This year the event relocated to Raleigh, NC and provided an easy 6 hour drive that was manageable after a full days work. 

Our travels were exceptional as we had no traffic around Washington, DC which has NEVER happen before.  Driving straight through after work put us at the host Marriott Hotel just after midnight.  We checked into our room with out any problems.  By 2:00 am we were sitting outside enjoying a cold beer and watching folks stroll in from the Bluegrass Ramble.  The Ramble was a new attraction this year.  It was $150 for a five night pass to “ramble around” to six different venues (dive bars) to watch your favorite bluegrass performers in a small setting.  We chose not to buy the pass as we are not much for a bar scene for bluegrass and we are not city savvy.  Rambling around at 2:00 am in a large downtown city was something we did not feel comfortable doing.  After making the “ramble walk” in the day light we were happy with our decision…a city is still a city, not something we necessarily enjoy.

As we were sitting outside enjoying a cold beer in strolls (ramble) our old friend Dave Gooding from the California Bluegrass Association.  Dave is a wonderful person and the owner of our number one child (bass) named Mollykay.  Dave purchased the 1943 Kay M-1 bass from us over 6 years ago and is still sings her praises.  He loves that bass and I am so pleased that she remains in his care today.  Dave plays his Kay bass frequently with his band The Central Valley Boys of California.  After talking with Dave other bluegrass notables began to ramble into the hotel…Bela Fleck, Nomi Pikelny and others.  It was good bluegrass star gazing at this early hour.

Lonnie standing with the iconic IBMA statue of Sir Walter Raleigh...with a banjo.  Note the matching beards. 

The next two days were slow for us as we expected more jamming around the hotel.  By Thursday afternoon the hotel exploded with activity.  The big IBMA awards show was Thursday evening the crowd was beginning to swell in lobby of the hotel.  A jam formed outside the hotel by the Starbucks.  It was a small group with three outstanding younger players.  The young (tween) fiddle player in orange pants was just as cute as a button and I complimented him on his fashion sense.  After a few songs I gave Lonnie the wink to go fetch my bass…I think I can hang with this group.  We played a few unfamiliar songs and pretty much I was NOT able to hang very well but they politely tolerated my bass playing anyway.  As the crowd began to build and the IBMA award show attendees paraded down the sidewalk in their finest attire, who do I see…none other then your 2013 Bass Player of the year Barry Bales…and there I am playing bass.  Kind of a cool moment.  We saw Jason Carter and Ronnie McCoury from the Del McCoury band and many, many others bluegrass performers. 

As the jam ended after a few songs everyone says good bye and we parted ways.  I never found my groove in this jam, lots of good music, but stuff I was not familiar with.   After the jam was over I heard the three young players talking and much to my surprise I had just been playing bass with the Sleepy Man Banjo brothers…who knew!

Sleepy Man banjo player, Jonny 

The Moore Brothers with the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys and others

As the evening progressed we tried to watch the IBMA award show streaming live on our smart phone but kept losing the connection.  We decided listen to the award show on Sirius radio setting in the van, inside the parking garage.  It felt like Saturday night on the Grand Ole Opry as we stared at the radio listening to the award show.  One of the highlights (in addition to Tony Rice speaking) for us was hearing Mike Munford named as the 2013 Banjo player of the years.  We squealed and hollered like two little kids.  One of our home town boys has been recognized after 40 years of banjo playing.  Another moment was Tom Adams won for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year: “Foggy Mountain Rock;” by Tom Adams, DanTyminski, Ron Stewart, Dennis Crouch, Clay Hess and Randy Kohrs.  Marshall Wilborn accepted the award on Tom’s behalf and gave his acceptance speech.  Just a week prior we had talked with Tom and knew that he could not be in attendance for the awards show.  In his words, IBMA was too cost prohibitive…agreed; it is an expensive event to attend.

Thursday evening after the awards show the hotel filled with jams.  There was jamming everywhere…this is what we expected.  This is the IBMA.  One of our bluegrass friends from the northeast found us hanging in a hallway watching some young’ins jam.  (Boy!  How do they get this good, this young.)  When our friend Rick saw us he told me they needed a bass player for the young all star jammers around the corner.  I handed over my bass and watched him walk out of view.  Later we went around the corner and found the Bluegrass All Star kids jam group.  Rick’s son Korey was nominated to participate in this group which got to perform at the awards show.  Huge honor for Korey, Daddy Rick was beyond proud of his son.  Rick played bass and the kids gave him a good work out by hanging in the key of B for several songs.

Kids Bluegrass All Stars, Owen and Samantha Snyder bottom left.  Korey on guitar and Dad Rick on bass.

Hanging in the key of B song after song...nice!

Kids Bluegrass All Stars on Saturday for the BBQ festival cook off.  Dave Gooding's sons on bass and mandolin.  The blond bass belongs to Dave Morris.  It is his beautiful Kay S-9 that we repaired last year right before the IBMA's.  The bass was very popular with  the kids.  Note the two Engelhardt's in the background that did not get played.

By now night has turned into early morning.  We thought we were done jamming for the evening and heading back through the lobby. Who arrives but our three young friends from western North Carolina. I love these kids, three nice young men (all around 18 years old) who are outstanding musician but even nicer young men. Jacob Jones on banjo (Raymond Fairchild protégé), Will Howell on guitar and mandolin and Mike Morgan on guitar. Their band is called Lonesome Sound. 

The guys were just arriving from their 5 hour drive and were primed to jam. They ended up in a hot jam in the business conference center, the bass player told me to jump into the jam, he was done for the evening. By this time it was 1:00 am…Lonnie gave me that look like we need to get some sleep but I begged like a 2 year old that did not want to go to bed. Me and my bass jumped into the jam and OMG…what fun! They just tore it up and played me out. My eyes did not close until 4:00 am. We had players rotate in and out of the jam. At one point the mandolin player for “The Roy's” jumped in for a few songs.

Friday was pretty much a repeat of Thursday with jamming and great music.  We were able to track down the very busy Dave Morris, Bluegrass Today reporter by looking for his neon hi-top sneakers. We had a short visit with him and then on to the expo where “Big Mike” Ramsey picked us out from the crowd. What a delight to meet him in person after so many years. A gentleman in every way. We talked about basses and his multi talented son Aaron Ramsey of Mountain Heart. 

Candy store...Eldery Music had a grand display of fine vintage instruments

I'll take this one...1935 Martin D-18, $45,000.  A vintage bass is a bargain compared to a guitar!

The best set of music we heard was Friday night at the Red Hat Theater of the Del McCoury set followed by the all star jam of DEL, SAM, BELA, JERRY, TONY, Jason Carter and Mark Schatz. The outdoor venue was very nice, very large and VERY full of patrons.  Raleigh had great participation of music lovers other then the normal bluegrass crowd.

Del singing his heart out.  He sounded awesome!

By Saturday we were getting our fill of music, jamming and sleep deprivation  We skipped the last two sets of music at the Red Hat outdoor theater so we could listen to the jams at the hotel.  Saturday night was definitely the last BIG bang before it was all over.  We found our friends from NC and listen to them jam by the fourth floor elevator until 3:00 am.  It was AWESOME.  I love my bluegrass live, up close, acoustics and with drive.  This jam group was all that and more.  A really great end to a great week of music, friends and good weather.

It’s truly is a marathon...you need to pace yourself. I now fully understand what IBMA means...I Been Mostly Awake. 

 

Sunset from the 16th floor over looking the IBMA convention center...it was a good day!

 

So what’s up in the Bass Monkey Workshop...back to the Stelling Banjo!

When we left off Lonnie was working on his 1976 Stelling banjo…and he is STILL working on his 1976 Stelling banjo (his first banjo).  We have had lots of musical interruptions and distractions but it has been GOOD musical interruptions and distractions.

The Stelling banjo, so far Lonnie has tried the frosted Weather King Head purchased directly from Stelling.  That was okay but he wanted to hear more tone and volume.  So he purchased another lighter weight, thinner frosted banjo head (no name brand).  That experiment did not go well as he pushed the tension too far and fractured the banjo head…It did not blow up the head…but put a slight crack in it at the rim that caused the tone of the banjo to sound like “boing-boing”.  He thought he would try a Five Star banjo head as he really likes the one on his Stanleytone banjo.  While he was waiting for the Five Star head to arrive (idle time is a bad thing, too much time to think) from Stu-Mac he put the new banjo head from Stelling back on to give it another try.  For some unknown reason the second time was a charm.  This time the banjo sounded awesome with the Stelling head AND a new Bart Veerman bridge made it come to life.

The order information that came with the banjo bridge

Installed and ready to go...signed by Bart... just like a piece of artwork

Ready for a test drive

More about the Veerman bridges:  First, Bart Veerman is a wonderful and nice person who is great to communicate and work with.  Lonnie has had great success with his previous purchase of a Veerman Archie red dot bridge for a Stanleytone he set up for a friend.  That Stanleytone #25 banjo loved the Veerman Archie Bridge.   Based on that success Lonnie once again purchased a recommended bridge for his Stelling, the Enigma topped Veerman Bridge.  And once again the bridge arrives and looks like a little piece of artwork.  It is beautifully carved, numbered and signed by Bart.  The new bridge and the new head (installed for the second time) really brought the banjo to life.

Here is a link to the Bart Veerman website:  http://www.banjobridge.com/

Lonnie was working on the Stelling most of the afternoon Saturday, when he got it assembled and new strings installed…WOW!  Right from the very first note he had found the combination.  The banjo is bright, loud and rings clear as a bell.  I think he surprised himself.  We had plans for the evening so the banjo head settled in overnight.  In the morning the head tension was holding at 93 on the drum dial…sweet!

Lonnie says the neck stays true the whole way up the neck, does not go sharp

We had an afternoon jam to attend on Sunday at the Gatchellville Store in New Park, PA.   Since Lonnie was pleased with the tone of the Stelling there was no reason to wait for its re-début.  A couple of quick banjo case changes, a double check for the tuner, picks and capo and out the door we went.  A fresh set up on an old banjo that felt like a new banjo once again. 

Lonnie played his Stelling softly the entire afternoon just to make sure all was okay.  Sure enough the banjo felt and sounded great.  He is very pleased with the tone, the new Bart Veerman Bridge and the over all familiar feel of this old friend, his first banjo.  The neck is true and plays clean the whole way up the neck, no sharp notes.  

As fate would have it…and things just keep coming full circle for us…who shows up at the jam?  None other then Chris Warner the owner of the string shop (closed his shop many years ago) in Hanover, PA where the Stelling Bellflower was first purchased in 1977.  Now Lonnie being the modest person that he is did not say anything to Chris but took great delight in playing his Stelling banjo in Chris’s presence knowing it was another “full circle” moment.  Pretty darn cool.

The jam was great; the Stelling banjo sounded great and has met all Lonnie’s expectations.  And I can now say I have had the opportunity to play bass (my 1941 Epiphone B5 named Ruben) with another great banjo player…Chris Warner.  I tell ya... I have had a run on picking with some great players here of late.  Hope that streak continues.

The smile...priceless!

New Holland Labor Day 2013

You know it’s a really good bluegrass kind of day when

…you fall into that perfect jam. 

Starts at 0:52

Billy Lee Cox – Remington Ryde

Danny & Ryan Paisley – Danny Paisley Band

Mike Munford – Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen

Harold Tipton – Harold Tipton Band

...and me on my 1941 Epiphone B5 bass

Every Labor Day there is a one day Fiddlers picnic in New Holland, PA.  It has been going on for many years.  The jam is well known for its high quality pickers and attracts some very prominent professional musicians.  On this very hot and humid Labor Day under the threat of rain Lonnie and I stumble upon a jam just beginning to form.  It included Billy Lee Cox on banjo from Remington Ryde band.  Mike Munford on banjo from the Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen.  Harold Tipton of the Harold Tipton Band.  When Lonnie and I strolled up and Harold saw my bass he said, “Jump on in here girl!”  Well I did not need much encouragement as I have played with Billy Lee and Harold before in open jams and always have a blast.  Mike Munford, yeah…there is a really great banjo player!  So good that he is nominated for the 2013 IBMA banjo player of the year.  That had my hands and knees a shaking at first.  I have been around Mike at festivals but never played bass for him.  Oh well…go for it, life is short.  If I screw up its not like anybody gets hurt, the jam just won’t last very long if I suck.

So I jumped in, first song; Sled’s Ride, banjo tune…okay, okay…I know this song.  Played it a dozen times.  Yep, I missed a few chords…nobody stopped playing, no dirty looks, WHEW I am safe.  Next song, Remington Ride, another banjo tune…okay got this, play it every Friday night.  Yep…brain freeze.  Played the A part three times…DAH…A part twice, B part twice.  Okay, by the third song if I don’t improve I am going to get fired.  Concentrate, play it like my life depends on it!  Finally I found my groove.  The jam was great and then it got even better.  Strolling in is Danny and Ryan Paisley to add to the circle of music.  By now my jitters were going away and the jam was hitting “the zone”.  And then the rain came pouring down.  Much to my surprise everyone move to the covered pavilion and kept an open space for me and my bass.  The jam continued another two hours and it was awesome.  Song after song, non-stop.  Great singers, great instrumental breaks and everyone hung tight as the crowd of listeners swelled.  It was the hottest jam in the park (or so I have heard other pickers talk about THAT “Super jam” up in the far corner of the park) and I was holding down the low-end grinning like a fool with my 1941 Epiphone B-5 named Ruben.  At one point Billy Lee looked over and said to me “pickers live for a jam like this”…I am lucky girl!

Luck and the right place, at the right time.  This maybe the best jam I get to play in for a very long time.  Being an amateur bass player with no band or stage experience I am very fortunate these folks invited me to play with them.  There were plenty of other, more experienced bass players in the crowd licking their chops just ready to jump in and replace me.  I played so hard in the hot humid weather that I wore a whole in my skin that is just now beginning to heal.  I would not change that moment for anything. 

I am so proud of Lonnie for restoring my old Epiphone bass back to top playing condition.  When I play this bass out among musicians of this caliber and bring joy to folks, it confirms we are doing good work and need to do more of it.

It was a really good day for bluegrass.

More of Miss Penny from Australia…

Greg has a string of gigs and been sending some great pictures.  Looks like they really know how to rock the night away in Australia. Good looking band, Great venue and cool bass…what more does a working musician need.

Greg and the band Midnight Drifters.  He said they get a few hundred dancers that don't leave the floor

Greg looking sharp!  Check out the super cool pinup girl F-hole covers

The F-hole covers are $25.00 a set made in the USA!

Greg playing his other bass...cherry red fireglo Rickenbacker electric

The 1944 Kay M-1 now nicknamed Penny…

Greg has updated us with a picture from his first gig back home in Australia with his bucket list Kay bass.

Here is what Greg had to say… 

Penelope (now nicknamed Penny) has been an enormous hit amongst the guys in the band and others not only for her looks (drooling included), but the live sound I am getting is also outstanding.  Can’t wait for her to open up and give me a fuller sound and even more tone. She has certainly been more than I could wish for from her big beefy tone to the way she is so easy to play.

Greg and Penny with his band The Midnight Drifters 

Attached is a photo of the guys and our first gig together.  We have a solid series of weekend gigs twice a week over the next four weeks so I promise I’ll be gentle with her!

All sounds great with big smiles.  Greg’s trip and exporting Kay bass experience was uneventful made easy with a calm and friendly attitude.  He is ready to come back in a few years so we can do it all again.