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"The gourd banjo Jeff made for me has just the sound I
want, i.e. a deep resonance that echos evenly from the
bass to the treble. The extra heavy gut strings I
use really project that sound so that it reverberates
pleasantly beyond my camp and attracts questioning
visitors. It's pretty too, with its curly walnut
neck and antique-looking gourd. It's a wonderfully
playable instrument and I'd recommend it to anyone
interested in recreating a sound from America's past
or introducing an archaic voice to Old Time Music of
the present." ~ Christian Wig
(www.chriswig.com)
"The tone of my Jeff Menzies 12" Tackhead is so nice
and fat, and the banjo is so responsive... I'm going to
play it right now". ~ Frank Lee
(www.frankleemusic.com) and (myspace.com/TheFreightHoppers)
"Love playing my Jeff Menzies gourd banjo. Lately, I've
been taking it
with
me to play at concerts and workshops. It draws a
crowd, and everyone
wants
to touch and play it. It has a gutsy tone and sure is
fun to play. Jeff
did a particularly nice job on the fretless mahogany
neck and on the
friction pegs too. They stay in tune and don't stick
either!" ~ Mary Cox
(www.maryzcox.com)
(This banjo is recorded on "Fly Around My Pretty Little
Miss" on Mary's "Banjo Dreamin' Suwannee Nights" CD.)
"This fantastic banjo is a favorite. I asked Jeff to
build it using figured black walnut for the neck and a
single-ply oak rim.. I also requested his exaggerated
Boucher style peghead, an ogee design above the fifth
string peg, and some extra carving on the lower
portion of the neck. I am thrilled with the result.
Jeff has the eye of a sculptor and the touch of a
musician. This banjo looks great and sounds even
better!" ~ John Balch (www.johnbalchmusic.com)
"After having played bluegrass banjo for nearly 30
years, playing a Jeff Menzies fretless tack head banjo
has been a real refresher!
The subtle dignity of the banjo I got from Jeff
harkens back to the roots of all things banjo. I
chose a very simple looking tack-head with very modest
appointments (kinda like #17 in his Gallery on Jeff¹s
website).
This banjo sounds beautifully; a rich full tone with
lots of clarity. It demands a totally different
approach than my bluegrass banjos. It has opened my
ears to a lot of new sounds and possibilities. The
Menzies banjo wants to be played slowly, thoughtfully,
full of feel and blues. I love this banjo!" ~ Chris Quinn ( www.foggyhogtownboys.com)
"I chose Jeff's banjos for museum display because of
their impressive appearance and intriguing design - a
blend of traditional techniques and modern ingenuity -
true to the spirit of pre-industural folk banjo
making. It was an added bonus to find that they
sounded and played great. I was so impressed that I
bought one for myself!" ~ Matt Morelock
A few other artists that play Jeff's banjos:
Ray Alden - www.fieldrecorder.com
Joe Ayers - Musician and owner of Tuckahoe Music
Dave Culgan - www.camptownshakers.com
Kevin Fore - banjo maker/musician
Greg Galbreath - www.buckeyebanjos.com
John Gough - musician/banjo maker
Frank Lee - www.frankleemusic.com
Chris Quinn - www.foggyhogtownboys.com
Mike Seeger - www.mikeseeger.info
Rafe Stefanini - www.rafestefanini.com
Tim Twiss - www.milfordmusic.com |
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