topOfPage

columnHeader1
columnHeader2 I just finished reading Jimmy McCown’s excellent review of the Gold Tone CEB-6 (OT-6) in the October BNL, and I want to give you my impressions of that banjo, and also the CEB-5. I’ve had both long enough now to draw some initial conclusions so here goes. First the CEB- 5. Love it! If you play the 5-string banjo, you’ll be able to play this banjo right out of the box. Fun, fun fun. It can be frailed like regular 5-string or it can be played like a bass and I’m sure it can even be played like a cello banjo is supposed to be played (however that is). Since parting with “old Tor” (my Gold Tone bass banjo) a few months ago, I’ve missed playing bass in the jam, especially on the too-fast-for-me tunes, so now I’m back to enjoying those tunes (and the jam). This is a great banjo for waltzes, slow tunes, and the like. As many folks have noted, the sustain(?) makes the CEB-5 a little muddy if you frail it too fast, although I recently discovered Cathy Moore on YouTube playing closer to the bridge. I had been, as usual, playing the bridge—I compromised and am now playing half-way between, most of the time. Really cleans up the sound. All in all, this one’s a keeper.

hughPhotoNow for a word or two about the CEB-6 (OT-6 in their on-line catalog). Many times over the past two months I’ve picked it up for a short spell and have put it away, saying to myself that all 5-string banjos should be 6-strings! (Sweeney was headed in the right direction, he just stopped to soon.) Playing a 6-string banjo is an exciting experience. But, it’s almost like playing a totally new and different instrument, at least for me. My first clue should have been the ‘stare-down’ Donald Zepp was giving the fingerboard in his early demonstration of the CEB-6 on YouTube; this compared to an occasional glance with the CEB-5. I don’t remember Zepp ever staring down the fingerboard before, other than a glance now and then for positioning up the neck. Folks, I have a difficult time just trying to play just the ‘original’ five strings, forget the 6th, without giving the fingerboard the staredown, and even then I often miss what I’m looking for. But, once again, I think I’ll learn to love this banjo too. I just need to forget playing any others (except maybe the CEB-5) in the process of adapting to it. I did play it exclusively for about a week and was feeling comfortable with it, so I decided to take it to the Tuesday night Cajun Kitchen jam. Big mistake. This banjo may end up being a solo instrument, or at least reserved only for certain tunes at the jam. It seems the 6-string only comes into effective play on some tunes, so for the moment I’ll leave it at that. Now again, you don’t have to use the new string all the time, but I’d rather reserve this banjo for tunes that make effective use of the 6th string. (Two days later: After lots of play on the 6-string, I find I now have a bit of a problem on a 5-string.)

All-in-all, these are fine banjos; fit and...

A Tuning: aEAC#E, (G tuning, capo 2), Tab by Hugh Strawn, 95-100 bpm.

tabTitle
   A Part
tab

continued