You can order it in maple (sounds similar to Earl Scrugg’s prewar Gibson) or mahogany (sounds similar to J.D. Crowe’s prewar Gibson). Ben prefered the mahogany sound, so that’s what he ordered. Ron Stewart models come standard with Keith tuners or you can upgrade to Keith D tuners if you like. Ben had Warren outfit Smokey with his Grandpa’s old Keith/Scruggs tuners.

Smokey’s neck is a speed neck; meaning it’s unfinished, slightly smaller towards the peg head and with a very slight v-shape. Ben says it keeps the neck from getting sticky when your hands are sweaty. If you can’t play fast before, you’ll surely be able to with a speed neck.

The fingerboard is made of rosewood. Many banjos are made out of ebony, but not this one.

The inlay pattern on the fingerboard is similar what you might see on a prewar banjo. I like to pretend I’m in the shrinks office and telling the doc what I see. It’s a game I play. The first one reminds me of a flying squirrel, like Rocky and Bullwinkle. The second one reminds me of the Dali Lama…

Moving on.

The pot (back round thingy) on the mahogany model is a little deeper than on the maple. Warren wants it to sound like it’s three foot across. Believe me, it does.

Warrren distresses the banjos to make them look old. Ben was a little nervous about this at the beginning. He requested only slightly distressed when he ordered. (Slightly distressed reminds me of my toe polish right now.)

 Anyway, Warren worked his magic and it looks like a well cared for 70 year-old banjo. “You don’t have to worry about wiping finger prints off of it…” is how Warren puts it.

This is Warren Yates, the builder works out of a small back yard workshop at his home in Hickory, North Carolina. (Ben wants to move in next door. So if you’re selling your house in Hickory shoot us an email.)

After Warren got Smokey built, Ron Stewart played it and put his final tweaks and signature on it. Warren even took a picture of Ron playing Smokey and emailed it to us, terrific customer service. Now Ben wants a pair of those shorts, too.

Along with the picture and multiple emails, Warren sent a wav file with Ron playing smoke and talking adjectives. Ben just about fainted. I’m telling you it’s like some crazy foreplay for banjo nerds. 

It took about eight weeks for Warren and Ron to mark it with their scent. Ben was on his ear the whole time. I loved teasing him and asked if he wanted to call Warren and have him talk banjo adjectives to him. Like what size of G strings he uses, how tight he likes his tail piece, at what pitch he tap tunes the head, etc… Note: This wasn’t as funny to Ben as it was to me. He threatened me with tap tuning my head if I didn’t zip it! Hey, a girl has to have a little fun.

Original 5-string prewar Gibson’s run well over $100 grand. Not many folks have that much to spend on a banjo. So if you’re looking for a high-end banjo, with that coveted prewar sound, at a reasonable cost, you may want to look into getting a new Yates banjo for a fraction of the price.

Keep Pickn’!

Sis

P.S. If you stuck with me this long, God bless ya! You must be a banjo nerd, a great friend, or just darn bored. If you want to learn more about these banjos, don’t  pass go or collect 200 doggies just click on this link to YATES BANJOS! A great big thanks to Warren Yates, said builder. Ben is so happy with Smokey. It won’t surprise me, if he adopted another in maple to add to his collection.

Only Ben forgot to negotiate.

Well, kinda.

He had been talking about the need to add to our herd off and on for a while now. We even took some get aways together to, uh, reconnect and discuss this further. Which we did. We decided to adopt.

I never had a problem conceiving, so I wasn’t totally sold on this adoption idea. I was shocked and felt almost violated with all the telephone calls, emails, video clips and questions that followed. I felt like he had another woman again. Then one day the email came telling us, we could expect our third child to show up that day. (Yes, our baby had a tracking number, like some generic brown package.)

Ironically, delivery was to take place the same day the kids had to get their eye’s checked. A day that I didn’t need another “Oh dear, God, he’s making me out to be a bad mother again…” story. You can read about Barney reenacting the ‘possum trappin’ to the eye doctor, here.) In short, Ben couldn’t go help me pick out the kid’s glasses, which he’s great at.  He sincerely apologized and said, “Maybe they could just leave him in the garage…”

I said, “Uh…don’t think so. You have to sign for something so valuable.” (Obviously God made him a guy, he is already lacking crazy innate need to nurse and coddle. He stayed home to welcome Smokey into our lives.

Who names their kid Smokey? Again, I didn’t get to put my two cents in here. So we have W, the good American, Barney the Deputy and now Smokey. With a name like that you would think he was fuzzy like a bear. Alas, my friends, he’s not.

This is Smokey. A brand new, special order, Ron Stewart model, Yates banjo.

What else can I say, except…he is already sleeping through the night and soon Ben promises he will be sleeping in his case and not between us.

Simply,

Sis

PS ~ If you are a banjo freak stick around. I’ll be posting adjectives about our baby soon. Banjo players love adjectives. If you’re not a banjo freak…Oh Lord, I do apologize.

Ben chases smoke. Not just any smoke, mind you, when your grass is BLUE…the smoke you chase can’t be inhaled. However, it’s fair to say it’s as addicting as other smoke. This banjo player chases the ‘prewar sound’ type smoke. For all you non-banjo players, that would be the ‘sound’ that a 1933 Gibson banjo makes.

I know what you’re thinking. Oh, yeah, THAT sound. Yeah, right. I wish it were THAT easy.

The problem with sound is, it sounds different to each ear. And God gave us two. Each. Damn it. Is it any wonder T calls it smoke.

We chased this ‘smoke’ from Kansas, to Georgia, through South Carolina to Warren Yate’s banjo shop somewhere in North Carolina, (near Hickory), to Merlefest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina and back. Whew!

This is Ben Smoke, as he is called now, pick purse in hand, riding in a 37 foot RV, bound for Warren Yate’s banjo shop.

These are our good friends, T (the tour guide) and Ann (a model wife, mother, friend). Good people, who graciously invited us on this smoke chasing tour.

If you need one of them real good times, fly across country, climb in an RV with some good people and chase whatever kind of smoke is your smoke…There is no telling what will happen.

When we got to Warren’s house we discovered his driveway was 35 foot. If you ever lay awake at night wondering how a 37 foot RV would fit into a 35 foot driveway…

The answer is, pretty good. However, you may have to replace some divots, as Ben called them, and direct traffic when you pull out, but if you hold your mouth right, it fits.

Warren Yates, the maker of the Yates banjo, was quite a host. He loves to talk banjos, play banjos, smell banjos, feel banjo, croon on banjos, well, anything you can do with a banjo, this guy loves. It’s fun to watch people waller around in their passion, and Warren does it well.

Like a pusher with the goods… here he is tuning up smokey.

 He had a couple of new banjos to show us, both were Ron Stewart models, and distressed (made to look like 1933 banjos look now) with differences in sound smoke. He used a bunch of adjectives describing the difference. (Banjo players love adjectives.) My eye just glossed over at this point. So, I just smiled, nodded and took a few pictures of Ben chasin’ smoke.

We chased and picked and picked and chased. After a little while we figured out how Warren gets them banjo’s to look distressed.

That’s simple. I like simple.

Warren makes other instruments too, the guitar and washtub bass were also crafted by him.

 Like a hound dog on a trail…

 Ben smelled smoke, and was fixing on inhaling deeply.

It gives a new meaning to HIGH lonesome sound, doesn’t it?

His other woman is even feeling the strain.

Believe it or not, we call this vacation.

Welcome to my world.

Sandhill Sis