Tag Archives: randy wood

Red Henry

Red Henry

Folks, that might seem like a strange title for a post, but I just wanted to point out how musicians sometimes seem to evaluate instruments on the basis of what they look like, rather than what they sound like.

This really comes into play with banjos, and the musicians are well aware of it. They know that others will evaluate their music partly on the basis of what kind of instrument they play. For example, I recently saw a band photo session where the banjo player hadn't brought her banjo, and she was going to have to hold a banjo brought by one of the other band members. She was a bit alarmed by that, and said, "Is it a crummy banjo? I'm not having my picture taken holding a crummy banjo!" Fortunately, this banjo had 'Gibson' on the peghead and looked even older than the one she'd left at home. So she held it happily in the photo. That was a banjo she didn't mind being seen with.

I was reminded of this another time at a big picking party. A friend of ours owned one of the quite valuable Gibson F-5 mandolins from the early 1920s. He couldn't come to the party, but sent the mandolin there with another friend of ours, who handed it to me to play.

Now, the jam session had been going loud and long at this point. I had no problem with that, since my two mandolins (Randy Wood #1 and #3) will cut through any number of banjo and guitar players, and the pickers certainly weren't giving me any slack. But then I started playing that old F-5, and suddenly everything changed. The whole jam session quieted down to hear that $100,000 Gibson mandolin-- and they needed to. The instrument was not remarkable either for tone or for volume, and it couldn't have been heard otherwise. So the pickers were using their eyes, not their ears, to evaluate that mandolin, and they quieted down to let it be heard. They hadn't done that when I was playing my Randy Wood, which was frankly a much better instrument.

So, next time you're in a group of pickers, really pay attention to what the other people's instruments sound like. Don't listen with your eyes, listen with your EARS!

Red

Red Henry

Red Henry

Last week I told you about a Randy Wood mandolin I'd just bought on eBay. Well, I'm glad to say that the instrument is really turning out well. I've set it up with medium-gauge bright-bronze strings and a maple bridge, and the tone and volume are constantly improving. Here's a photo of the mandolin before I changed the strings:

Randy Wood Mandolin #

Randy Wood Mandolin

When it arrived, the mandolin had a set of light-gauge phosphor bronze strings on it, and they were some of the deadest strings I've played on. Now, dead strings are not always bad, but this set had nothing left to give. I switched them for medium-gauge bright-bronze strings—the kind of bronze that’s yellow in color. Bright bronze seems to last a lot longer for me, and never really goes as dead as those old phosphor bronze strings had done. They turn from reddish to brown as they age, and then seem to lose most of their tone.

The maple bridge made a big difference too. Looking for as much bass response as possible, I put on a soft European-maple "winged" bridge, and the sound really came through with a lot of solid low end. (For a look at some bridge types, see my bridge page at www.murphymethod.com/redbridge.html.)

After changing the strings and bridge I've taken the mandolin out to some picking sessions, and I've had a good time with it. Its sound comes through quite well, even if there are some guitar, banjos, basses, and other loud instruments present. That's what I like! I think that a mandolin really needs to shine through when taking a break, no matter how big the jam session, and thanks to world-class builder Randy Wood, this mandolin does just that.

Y'all pick purty--

Red

Red Henry

Red Henry

Folks, a new Randy Wood mandolin arrived here last Friday, fresh from eBay. I say "new," but it's actually got some age on it, having been made in October of 2000. It’s just old enough for the lacquer finish to have dried out and the sound to come in, and it really sounds good.

Randy Wood, who lives near Savannah, Georgia, really knows how to build a mandolin. After a few adjustments and (naturally) a maple bridge, this instrument sounds great. It's got plenty of clarity and projection, which most quality mandolins do have, but this one also has an unusually good low end with plenty of solid bass. It also plays very easily, having been set up with an ovaled fingerboard, scooped fretboard extension, and medium frets:

Randy Wood Mandolin #

The new(-ish) Randy Wood

Now, you might ask, did I really need another mandolin? Well, the answer is yes and no. I do have a couple of other mandolins, but there are times when, because of the weather and because they’re pretty old and delicate, I'd rather leave them in the house. Now when it's hot or cold and we have to play outside, I've got an excellent standby instrument to use. And it has a Mighty Fine sound!

Next time you need a good mandolin, just call Randy and see what he has in stock. He usually has on hand two or three of the mandolins he's made, and they're all for sale. They do cost something, but a Randy Wood mandolin is a lifetime instrument. Look Randy up at randywoodguitars.com .

Y'all pick purty--

Red

Red Henry

Red Henry

Folks, I thought I should talk a little about the man who made both of my mandolins: Randy Wood, who lives near Savannah, Georgia. Randy's been making instruments for a really long time, and he's amazingly good at it. Back in 1967 he made his first mandolin. I bought it from the original owner four years later, and have played it ever since. It's got a terrific bluegrass tone and as much volume as anybody ever needed:

(Photos by master bluegrass photographer Dan Loftin)

Randy Wood's very first mandolin.

Randy Wood's very first mandolin.

I also have the honor to own another of Randy's early mandolins. This one is Randy Wood #3, which Randy finished in 1969 and sold to Bill Monroe. Murphy bought it out of Bill's estate sale in 2001 and gave it to me! This mandolin has a powerful, projecting tone which will cut through even the biggest jam or the most difficult jam on-state settings, and it's the one I usually take out to play:

Randy Wood mandolin #3

Randy Wood mandolin #3

These are two amazing mandolins, and they show that when he first started making mandolins, Randy already knew how to make the best. Visit his webpage at randywoodguitars.com and admire some of his current offerings! (There's a mighty good "custom prototype" mandolin listed right there on his front page!)

Red HenryFolks, there's one show I try to perform at every year. It’s the Florida Folk Festival, held each year for three days at the Stephen Foster State Park at White Springs, Florida. I haven't found anyplace else in the country where it's more fun to perform. And why is that? Partly, it's because the crowds are so responsive and glad to be there, and so much fun to play for. And it's also because of the picking.

At White Springs, the performers-- and there are hundreds of them-- mostly stay in one campground, and there's music all over the place. There's folk music of all kinds, old-time fiddle and banjo playing, bluegrass, and completely non-classifiable music going on for almost 24 hours. You'll hear instruments ranging from Mastertone banjos and F-5 mandolins all the way to jazz guitars and washtub basses. Once there was an Australian didgeridoo in a jam session, and another time we had a troupe of Masai dancers. Whatever kind of picking (or listening) you like, it's there! So each year, I go perform at White Springs.

Chris and I timed our trip south to arrive at Randy Wood's shop, near Savannah, soon after he opened up on Thursday. We had a special reason for dropping by: Randy's very first mandolin, which I've owned for 38 years, had been in the shop for several months for major work, and the good news was that Randy had it ready to pick up! Naturally, I was eagerly anticipating seeing (and hearing) that mandolin. What would it play and sound like? After major repairs, would it have its old, amazing bluegrass tone and response? How many weeks or months of "playing in" would it take before it sounded like it did in the old days?

Randy Wood Mandolin #1Well, when we walked in the shop, Randy had the mandolin lying on his workbench with the strings ready to tighten up. He quickly dressed the frets, tuned it up, and handed it to me. I played an open G note. Wow. I played a G chord. Oh, mercy! The sound filled the room, rich and full. I played some G stuff and some C stuff and some D stuff. I tried it up the neck. The chords were full and clear even up to the 15th fret. The mandolin was a-mazing! Far from needing any "playing in", it sounded as great as ever. I about fell all over myself thanking Randy for the repair job. I think he was pretty pleased, too.

So we had the mandolin, and it really sounded terrific, and now it was time for lunch. And what should offer itself but bar-b-que? Randy recently built a restaurant, attached to the front of his shop. And his bar-b-que cook had recently quit, so... who should be making the bar-b-que now, but Randy himself! Chris and I had Mighty Fine jumbo Randy Wood pulled-pork sandwiches with trimmings (greens, potato salad, brunswick stew, and more) and talked with Randy while we ate. What an experience--- to have Randy's first mandolin all ready to play, to eat Randy's bar-be-que, and to have some table conversation with him, reminiscing about old times picking in Georgia!

After lunch we regretfully hit the road, since it would be about another three hours to White Springs. Driving in and out of rain, we arrived there in the mid-afternoon, checked in, and parked in the campground. Some friends were waiting for us, and we started picking. For the time being, the rain held off and we just picked and picked.

This year I was fortunate enough to have a really fine band at the festival. My uncle John Hedgecoth, who got me into playing bluegrass music to begin with, was playing banjo. Our son Chris, who's a mighty fine picker, singer, and songwriter, was playing guitar. Our Florida friend Barbara Johnson was playing bass for us, and as a special treat, for the first time we'd have a fiddle in the band: Chris's friend Jenny Leigh Obert was coming down from Nashville. So it was going to be a really fine musical weekend.

We were still picking after dark when Jenny Leigh arrived, and with her fiddle playing to energize the music, we kept on going until a late hour. I think we picked until about 2:30 in the morning, and I finally quit and sacked out in my van. What a good day--- and the festival hadn't even started yet!

Next time-- Day 2-- Friday!

Red HenryA photo just turned up which I'd like to share, since it was from a memorable occasion. This picture was taken at a party in Nashville in early 2002, and it features some remarkable mandolins.

I've blogged about this event before, but I hadn't found this photo at the time. At left are (1) Randy Wood's very first mandolin, and (2) Randy Wood #3, the mandolin which Bill Monroe once owned. At the right is Randy Wood #1281, the mandolin Christopher plays.

And the other mandolin, the one second from the right, is? --- Count those strings! That mandolin is no less than a very special, custom 5-string mandolin which Randy had just made for Vassar Clements. I played it some-- it was a very jazzy instrument with a cool sound.

Randy Wood Mandolins

Most mandolins are double-strung, with two each of the E, A, D, and G strings, but the single-stringing on this mandolin made it sound like someone was flatpicking a fiddle-- which, if you saw Vassar play, you may remember that he liked to do. The added 5th string was the lowest one, a low C note, so that the mandolin was tuned just like a 5-string fiddle. And it definitely sounded cool.

So not you know, even if you didn't know before, that there are not only 5-string banjos and 5-string basses and 5-string dobros and 5-string fiddles in the world, but also 5-string jazz mandolins!

Red HenryToday I'm going to do something a little different and talk about a party in Nashville a few years ago, where we had not only a lot of good pickers but also a lot of good mandolins. Some people there took some good pictures.

There are a lot of really excellent mandolin builders active today, and Randy Wood is my favorite. I was fortunate enough to acquire Randy's first mandolin back in 1971, and have owned it ever since. It's a great instrument, and it really taught me to play. Then in December of 2001, Randy's #3 mandolin came up in the Bill Monroe estate auction, and Murphy secretly bought it for me and gave it to me for Christmas. It, also, is a terrific mandolin, and it's the one I now usually take out of the house now for picking and performing.

At this party in Nashville I had Randy's #1 and #3 mandolins with me, and Christopher was there with the mandolin he plays, which is Randy Wood #1281 (made in February, 1981). Also there was Roland White, who acquired Randy's #2 mandolin new (in 1969) and had played it ever since. Roland also brought along his late brother Clarence's mandolin, a very nice Randy Wood 2-point, a real showcase with elaborate inlay and carving as well as a great sound. We lined all these mandolins up on the couch, and got a picture:

Randy Wood Mandolins

From left to right: Randy Wood #1; RW#2; RW#3; Clarence White's RW 2-point; and RW#1281

It was a pretty historic occasion, I think, to have all these mandolins in one place. And to top it all off, who should walk in but Randy himself, who was in town for the weekend! So we had, on one place, not only all these great mandolins but also the man who made them. Such a gathering could not happen again, since Roland has since sold RW#2, but it's a lot of fun to remember.