Minstrel Banjo

For enthusiasts of early banjo

Went a very long time without snapping the old finger nail off. I always try and use these times to practice with a thimble and I really do not enjoy it haha

I have a few thimbles but I dislike them all. One is a plastic one my teacher gave me for my regular open back. It sounds pretty good on wire strings but is rather terrible sounding on the nylgut strings. I also have a metal one i got from joel hooks which I also can't stand on nylgut, however it does sound pretty good on gut stringed rig.

They all seem so clunky, maybe i have lil hands... and the sound of the thimble hitting the nylgut creates it's own lil high pitch sound when you strike the string ... peeew!

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Chris, I've experimented with many thimbles over the years as well. I've settled on the brass ProPik as my go to pick. Seems to work the best on nylgut to me.

I hope Tim will chime in here because I don't know anything about using thimbles and when playing the banjo, I use my index finger nail.
But I think Tim likes to use neither thimbles or nails. I think he cuts his nail down to a point where he makes contact with the meat between his short-cut nail and the tip of his finger. It does make sense to me and the result is that it gets a mellow tone and never have to worry about nail breakage. I, for one, don't have enough meat at the end of my finger to take advantage of that method.
Tim, respond in case I misrepresented your technique!!

Some photos might help too :) not too much meat on my finger. Sounds a bit muddier with no nail to me, more clear with nail.

@Mark I will pick one up for some testing, thnx

I shave it to the nub. It works for me, Sounds the same each time.....never lose a thimble nor break a nail.

Al Smitley said:

I hope Tim will chime in here because I don't know anything about using thimbles and when playing the banjo, I use my index finger nail.
But I think Tim likes to use neither thimbles or nails. I think he cuts his nail down to a point where he makes contact with the meat between his short-cut nail and the tip of his finger. It does make sense to me and the result is that it gets a mellow tone and never have to worry about nail breakage. I, for one, don't have enough meat at the end of my finger to take advantage of that method.
Tim, respond in case I misrepresented your technique!!

@tim so like no little white line of finger nail at all? do you strike the string with just your finger tip and no nail? or are you still using nail a little?

Would be nice to not have to depend on a nail, although i must say i've had times where the nail flipped up and back down without so much as a crack or a chip, just kinda flopped over and back... gives me the eebie jeebies thinking about it.

It hits the nail...yes, but draws off on a little tip of flesh.

When i play without picks, (usually at home in a relatively quiet setting) I too cut my index nail all the way down to nothing.  What happens is the you are playing sort of on the SIDE corner of that nail, not the fingerTIP, so yes there is that side of the skin where it meets the cut nail edge.  If you play a lot, a hard callused edge builds up there.  Not very visible but it's hard and works great like a leathery pick, and you can get a crisp sound from the callus skin edge, without any nail action at all.  That's what tim is describing.  It's a nice sound, too- clear but textured and organic.

Ahhhh okay. I cut it down pretty low (tingly) so my finger flesh is a lil raw now but I see how once it toughens up it might work. Currently my index is much quieter than thumb tho. I actually got brave and bent my brass thimble so it better fits my small finger and if I slide it a lil over thefiger tip it works as you and tim describe. Nice long weekend to practice so we'll see.

I have recently started making thimbles out of aluminum but have not introduced them to the market yet as I want to build up stock.

I have sent out advance samples to a couple of folks and they like them (including for wire strings).  When I use my personal example, I don't even notice it on my finger as it weighs so little. It is "light as air."

I've not gotten around to adding a page on my website but if you let me know in the item notes that you want them if you order regular thimbles I've got them ready (they will be the same price).

Historically, I have a advertisement from about 1921 advertising them.  I've also examined a couple of originals that are made from aluminum.

Just another option.

AFA nylgut strings, I agree-- they are clacky.  I even hear a "clack" when I press them against the fingerboard.  When I have used them on my fretted banjos they tend to get flat spots where pressed against the frets.

My personal preference is to use guitar nylon strings for early banjo and La Bella no. 17 for later banjos.  There was an interesting article in a early 5-Stringer (American Banjo Fraternity newsletter) on the process of making nylon strings and the difference in material verses fishing line (join the ABF and I'll send you a copy of the article-- or just join anyway to be apart of a group that has a direct link to Frank B. Converse!).  I don't know the process of extruding nylgut.

I've also found nylgut to stretch uneven causing them to sound false-- but not a problem with smooth arm banjos.  

I've been demoing one of Joel's aluminum thimbles for a few weeks now. I like it a lot.


Unfortunately, Miz Diane does not...it makes my playing quite loud; gut, nylgut, nylon, steel...makes no difference...I'm too loud (I think it is a genetic predisposition).


I don't know how Joel did it, but he hit on just the right material for a thimble. It is whisper light, hard as the road to Jordan and slippery as Uncle Sam. The brass thimbles have a bit of 'tooth' to them, esp. on steel strings, but the aluminum thimble feels very 'slippery' on the strings...it took me a few minutes to get used to that.


Noises:


It has been my experience that banjoists go thru stages in their banjo lives. One very frustrating stage is where you hear all the little clicks, squeeks, pops and clatters that happen when interacting with a set of strings. It makes no difference what kind of music you play, everybody goes thru it...kind of like the stage where you hate your (insert banjo-related noun here) 'cause everyone else has a better one.


My advice: suck it up and play. Yup, strings make little noises. Picks make noises when they hit the strings. You hear it because you're listening for it. You should concentrate on something important, like playing in tune, in time or hitting the right string or those arpeggios...or playing louder! ;-)

Hey, now that you took it down, give it a few weeks. Believe in it. It is not the norm, but boy it works.

Chris Prieto said:

Ahhhh okay. I cut it down pretty low (tingly) so my finger flesh is a lil raw now but I see how once it toughens up it might work. Currently my index is much quieter than thumb tho. I actually got brave and bent my brass thimble so it better fits my small finger and if I slide it a lil over thefiger tip it works as you and tim describe. Nice long weekend to practice so we'll see.



Trapdoor2 said:

My advice: suck it up and play. Yup, strings make little noises. Picks make noises when they hit the strings. You hear it because you're listening for it. You should concentrate on something important, like playing in tune, in time or hitting the right string or those arpeggios...or playing louder! ;-)
Love this advice.  And even better yet, whenever possible play with others and play with tambos, bones, fife/recorder, drums, period guitars, concertinas, percussive dancers, and of course fiddlers.  ...whatever instruments you see in old engravings and photos of the time.  You won't be hearing much pick or string noise then...heheh.

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