Chords for Vega Old Time Wonder Banjo with a 12" Rim review by David Holt

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_ _ Hi, I'm David Holt, and I'm here to [Gb] review the new Vega Old Time Wonder with a [Ab] 12-inch pot.
Now, when I get a banjo, I want to look and see how it's [N] made, first of all.
And as with any D-ring banjos, they're just beautifully put together, beautiful satin finish,
_ nice tuners, really nicely shaped neck, comes really well set up so it's easy to play.
I love that.
It's got a bridge closer.
It's a 12-inch head, so the bridge is going to be a little closer to the middle,
which is going to work to make it have a warmer, [G] fatter kind of a sound. _ _
It's got a little scoop out right here, so if you want to play closer up the neck,
_ that also gives you a little bit warmer sound than back here. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ So, you know, I don't expect to get a new banjo and have it be [Ab] just the sound I'm looking for.
I want it to _ _ have enough horsepower that I can direct it to the sound I want it to have,
no matter what it is, no matter if I want to stuff [G] it full of rags back here and make it really dead-sounding
or very bright-sounding.
But there are certain things I'm looking for.
I want it to be bright.
_ I want it to sound wooden.
This does sound wooden because it doesn't have a metal tone ring.
The wood goes right up to the head, but it's still plenty bright.
Listen to me. _
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I want it to [Ab] emphasize the sound of the wood more than the sound of the metal.
If you have a bluegrass banjo, you often want that really _ each note individualized.
Well, I want the notes to ring out too, but I want them to work together,
to work together so they're not in brash, and so they sound good together when you play a chord.
Let's check that out. _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _ To me, that sounds really [C] full.
The chords are [G] working together.
All the notes are working together.
Not one stands out, but you hear them all. _
Now, the one thing I always [A] do when I get a banjo like this is because it's a 12-inch head,
it's got a lot of strings here behind the bridge,
and those bridges are ringing out of tune to the banjo.
So I like to take something like a piece of leather, weave it in and out of the strings.
Or here, I'm just going to take a little piece of [G] foam and put it back here.
And that _ dampens that over-chord sound in the back here.
_ Now it's got a very warm, _ _ pleasing sound.
_ _ _ So let me play a little tune here for you.
This is Cotton Banjo. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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_ _ _ Man, that's got plenty of power.
You could dampen this thing down a good bit if you wanted to, but I like it about like this.
Now, I want the high notes up the neck to be easy to play and clear.
That's something very special because they can be kind of harsh [Bb] and not a good sound.
But on this banjo, listen. _ _ _ _ _ _
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_ _ _ That works beautifully for me.
Now, I want to give it the ethereal test.
So I'm going to tune it to the B note to the C. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ Because I want the banjo to have personality.
I don't want it just to be a bland thing _ like a lot of _ instruments are these days.
This is not.
Listen to this. _
_ That sounds really beautiful.
And if you play a tune like this, _ _ [D] _ that _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ [G] _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _
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[G] _ _ _ passes the ethereal test for me.
That sounds really good.
_ The next thing I want to know is what is the low note going to sound like?
Because I'm going to use this to sing with, and I want [C] that low note to be _ _ strong.
_ _ I'm [F] tuning this fourth string down to a C.
So I'm in the double C tuning now.
[D] And my low note _ _ _ sounds good.
I might even put a heavier gauge string on that low note, [G] but it sounds good the way it is.
_ _ [C] _ _ _
That means I can really whack it, _ _ _ [G] like _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ Uncle Dave Macon, or play it very [A] melodically like some.
[D] _ _ _
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_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ Yeah, that sounds great.
So _ I'm going to close out here with a tune, an old tune called [A] Stagger Lee.
And I've just been reviewing the old time wonder, 12-inch pot.
I think it's really a great banjo.
I [C] like it a lot.
_ Thanks for listening.
I'm David Hope. _ _
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_ _ [Cm] _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
Oh, somewhere in the alley I heard a bulldog [D] bark.
Must have been old Stagger Lee just shooting in the dark.
He's a [G] bad man, oh that [C] cruel Stagger Lee. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [Cm] _
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _