Vega Martin Stories

Last of a Long Line

November 6, 2021

S.P. says:
Autumn, 2021

I have a Martin Vega Vox I with serial number 1965. Does this place it as the last in the series ending with the Vox V serial number 1969??
This banjo appears to never have been played. Reportedly it had rested in a closet for years ( since 1978??)
Are there valued characteristics in the Vox line ?? Thanks for any information.

 

BRC replies:

S.P.:  My Vega Vox consultant Dr. Ron has been studying the history of your banjo, but we need some photos to clarify its story. Please send me some detailed photos of the instrument inside and out to help determine its features. Thanks from the BRC, Barry

 

Dr. Ron says:

Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you, as I was trying to do some additional research on this subject. I had some conflicting serial number information in my files on the two Vega Vox V’s. The entire serial number range for all Vega banjos built by C. F. Martin in Nazareth and Canada in the year 1979 was: #1946 to #1969. Despite the fact that there were more Vega Vox V shop orders on the list in the post 1977 strike period, the only following Vega Vox-Ultra V models (all plectrums) were completed: #1800; 1946; 1947; 1950; and 1964. Two additional Vega Vox V’s were never completed (#1949 and #1951).The very last of the Martin-Vega banjos (#1969) from Nazareth/Canada was also a Vega Vox (thus ending a 52-year production run of that model).

So, this Vega Vox I is most likely correct and all original as #1965. It looks in great shape other than the peghead blemishes (hopefully, the original tailpiece is intact and not cracked). Even the case was standard Martin issue at the time.

After 1979, Martin-Vega models (Tubaphone #7 replicas, not Voxes) were made in Asia, until Galaxy Trading of S. Korea took over the brand. Galaxy resurrected the Vega Vox I model briefly before going into bankruptcy shortly thereafter, but these are distinctively different in using rounded flange holes, non-standard Vega fingerboard inlays, and a primitive Tubaphone tone ring with 5 or 6 large holes (not the original 30 hole, slotted or dog-bone/barbell design as seen in the top photo).

Hope this helps, and all the best to you, Dr. Ron

 

S.P. replies:

Thank you very much, Barry! More than I had hoped! Please thank Dr. Ron, too. Cheers!

Jamming

Thanks for the Yogurt

October 23, 2021

For years, our so-called Rock Island McPickers band has jammed inside and outside of a yogurt shop on the main thoroughfare of our capital city in the shadow of the Missouri state legislature building. Like all  social gatherings, the global pandemic has sharply curtailed such musical get-togethers for well over a year. This autumn, as the curve of the recent delta surge has been flattening, the Bluegrass pickers elected to reembark on outdoor picking sessions on the shady afternoon sidewalk in front of the popular snack bar.

Passers-by were cheered by the reappearance of our street side singing and picking which offered glimpses of pre covid normalcy, and local townsfolk of all ages danced to the spirited music.  A newspaper photo journalist happened upon the scene, and a picture of the musicians appeared the next morning on the front page of the Jefferson City News Tribune.

Our mandolinist, the jam hostess and co-owner of the yogurt shop, is poised to sell the enterprise, and so will bring an end to this venue of sidewalk entertainment (not to mention free yogurt for the musicians). We thank the proprietors for generously providing a performance platform for many years where faithful and appreciative audiences came to hear Bluegrass music and cell-phone video the festive scene.

P.S. A special thanks to the shop owners for pistachio yogurt- a BRC banjoist favorite.

From the BRC: Be safe, be well, be picking.

Art Shows

High Lonesome Sound

October 11, 2021

In the Show-Me State,  the Gray Wolf (Canis  lupus) is an endangered species that wanders into Missouri from adjacent northern regions. Known as the timber wolf, about 50 of these four-legged creatures may transiently inhabit our woodlands and prairie at any given time, but there are around 200 residing in captivity breeding programs. The Red Wolf (Canis rufus) is extinct in Missouri, as the last one to be identified here was in 1950. As it is estimated that only 20 red wolves remain in the continental back country, the St. Louis Zoo has an ambitious captive breeding program on a wildlife preserve in Franklin County to restore this dwindling species. Some of the animals produced by this program have already been reintroduced into the hinterland of northeast North Carolina.

 

For the annual 62nd Boone County Art Show sponsored by a local bank, the BRC craftsman fashioned a banjo entitled “The Wolf.” To invoke the wilderness, the installed inlays are made of laser cut wood, mostly birch, instead of the usual mother of pearl materials. On the peg head, a solitary wolf howls at the moon.

 

 

 

 

 

The truss rod cover and fretboard are tracked with paw prints among a wolf pack baying at the night sky. Is this the model for the “High Lonesome Sound” that we  strive for in our Bluegrass music?

 

 

On the heel of the neck, a BRC signature inlay site for the eyes only of the musician, is  laser cut wooden wolf crying at the distant lunar glow.

Visiting the 2021 Boone County Art Show, the BRC grandkids study Grandpa Doc`s 5-stringer and learn about the challenges of this species that struggles to survive in a world of shrinking natural habitat.

 

From the BRC: Be well, be safe, protect the environment.

Jamming

The Delta Blues

September 25, 2021

Got the “Delta Blues” from the pandemic mutant infestation? During the first wave of this global affliction, the G&F band migrated outdoors to jam weekly on the patio behind the BRC workshop where they paused (below) for a dock photo taken one year ago. We navigated the subsequent winter months by retreating indoors and picking in a heated and ventilated garage, and we rejoiced when Springtime finally blossomed and returned us to outside jams.

Our brewpub music for the benefit of the Children’s Hospital was on hiatus for more than a year, and we resumed performing Sunday afternoon gigs for a couple months until the delta variant arrived. We have now migrated back to outdoor jam sessions on the patio behind the BRC domicile as seen in the recent photograph below. The expansive wood porch surmounting the patio brings welcomed shade to the musicians and provides marvelous acoustics for their stringed instruments.

It has been a goofy journey, but all the G&F musicians remain healthy, vaxed, and eager to play Bluegrass music. Our shared fellowship is enjoyed in this safe environment where overhead a young bald eagle frequently patrols the shoreline. Lakeside neighbors text message the BRC spouse their appreciation for the music that floats over the water on Sunday afternoons. We count our blessings whenever one of us kicks-off the “potatoes” intro to signal the tempo of the next tune. As the leaves paint their seasonal changes around the lake perimeter, we wish the very same to you.

From the BRC: Be well, be safe, keep on picking.

BRC Activities, G&F Band

Milestone & Music & Monarchs

September 10, 2021

Since its inception in 1995, the BRC banjoist`s Gainor & Friends band has entertained listeners with Bluegrass music and donated all tips to the local Children`s Hospital. The Broadway Brewery graciously began hosting our Sunday brunch jam sessions in 2009, and we are grateful to this family-friendly brewpub for its generous community spirit. After a music hiatus during the 2020-2021 pandemic months, our performances resumed in the springtime, but we are again on-hold because of delta variant issues. This summer, nonetheless, our total collections for the Children`s Miracle Network surpassed $27K. Almost three-fourths of these monies have been donated by the faithful patrons at the Brewery. We salute them all as partners in achieving this milestone, and we look forward to stepping-up on stage once more sometime soon to entertain them again. For a while, the G&F pickers (below, all vaxed) will be jamming Sunday afternoons on the back patio of the band leader’s lakeside home.

During a Spring visit, the grandkids had occasion to pause with their BRC grandfather on the brewpub stage (below) to welcome the brunch hour guests while their mom Lisa and Grandma looked-on.

The BRC craftsman is especially thankful to his daughter Lisa (pictured above) for upgrading the BRC website last month and giving its format new wings by making the content much more accessible to our faithful readership. With much appreciation, Grandpa Doc.
In the meantime, our historical Thursday night jam of 3 decades duration is currently on hiatus with the pandemic, but the Wednesday afternoon outdoor picking session in a small village nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks remains active. Last month, however, the blistering August sun not infrequently drove the above musicians into the air-conditioned basement of a nearby church.
 
 As the monarch butterflies migrate south to Mexico and autumn draws near, we thank all these musicians for renewing and sustaining Bluegrass music during our shared and strange journey through these unusual and shadowed times. Peace.
From the BRC: Be safe, be well, mask-up.