Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Soldiers Joy (clawhammer)

Had some fun messing around in CGCGCD tuning the other day while changing my strings.
Hope y’all enjoy it!

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That was really cool! Great job clawhammering on a guitar, & in an alternate tuning, just wow! :grin::+1:

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Nice Gunnar!!! Wait…you changed your strings :laughing:

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Thanks @Simone!
@Lone_Wolf yeah, I changed them all in preparation for camp. Thanks!

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Cool idea! That was fun to watch and hear :smiley:
(Just changed my banjo strings last night.)

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Its probably alot more involved than what you could write but what are your four fingers doing? Picking individual notes or just raking them and getting the notes more out of your right hand? I love the warm sound of clawhammer, never would have thought of it on guitar, sounds great!

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That B part is smooth!

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That clawhammer guitar has a neat sound. Great job. And congrats on changing your strings. I changed mine twice this past week. They’re about due to change again. :slight_smile:

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Wow. Someone must be practicing more than i am.

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I’m not sure about that, they die in 5 minutes :rofl: I just have to have them bright and new!

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Hey!!! I didn’t know Ben carried Martin strings, but he does! I was going to suggest trying a set of Monels (MTR13). It is a different tone, but I like it. It is not zippy like Phosphor Bronze, but it has a vintage tone I and many others find appealing. Think Tony’s tone on “Skaggs and Rice.” They also have a slightly softer feel. BUT my reason for suggesting them is that they maintain their tone for a super long time. I really like these. I still use PB on certain instruments, but the Monels are awesome to my ear on something like a D18. I am such a fan that I would give you a set if you lived nearby. If you didn’t like them, then I wouldn’t feel bad for suggesting them.

If (unlike me) you don’t like the Monel tone, I also am a fan of the coated Martin PB. They used to be MSP7200 (7100 for lights). I bought a bunch boxes a while back and am just about out of my stock. I am not sure what they are called now… searching… My reason for liking these is that the coating is more like a chemical treatment instead of some type of polymer (like many other coated strings). I find that polymer coating wears off. These play like normal strings, but they just retain their tone for about 3 times as long. The “new model” coated PB looks to be a MA550T. I don’t see them at Ben’s store, but I suspect he could order them. I’d give Jake/Adam/etc a call and see if they could get a set for you to try.

This thread hijack has come to an end. Back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

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Clawhammer guitar. Didn’t know if even existed until now. (Or did you just invent something here?0

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I think it’s been popularized by Molly Tuttle.

Great job Gunnar!

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Thanks y’all!

I’m striking down with my middle fingernail only, and then a strum (same fingernail) and then a pluck with my thumb. If that didn’t answer your question lmk and I’ll clarify lol

Thanks!

Thanks! I changed them for camp

Nah, it’s an old, old, style of guitar, but it has almost been lost. Very few still use it, but Molly Tuttle is a noted proponent of the style.

Thanks!

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I think I get it, thanks, my brother in law showed some flamenco guitar right hand techniques it sounds familiar to that almost, is it harder than three finger?

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I’d say it’s a bit easier functionally, but everyone is different. But I only use the one finger, rather than all of them like flamenco.

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Ok, I want to learn at least one clawhammer song someday

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Coming soon to banjobenclark.com

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Dave Dillard taught the clawhammer section of the recent banjo only camp at Ben’s place. And he’s lined up to start instruction through Ben’s site sometime in the fall I believe. Real nice guy and super talented at clawhammer. It will be for banjo, but it could transfer to guitar pretty easily (I believe)–what say you Gunnar (@Dragonslayer)?

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Well, considering you just described exactly what I did, I’d say yeah. I’m a clawhammer banjoist who detuned a guitar and played it like I knew how

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