For instrument enthusiasts

John Monteleone at work (photo: Vincent Ricardel)

The US magazine Fretboard Journal, a boon to all lovers of stringed-instrument artistry, features the legendary luthier Johm Monteleone with a link to The chisels are calling, a documentary film on his work. He is best known for his striking archtop guitars (see here, for instance), but bluegrass mandolinists such as David Grisman and Mike Marshall have also been his customers.

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Nechville Musical Products, producers of very-high-quality and innovatively-engineered banjos, announce a three-step instalment plan for buying instruments through the Shop Pay system, offering a choice between four interest-free payments and monthly instalments. In either case, the purchaser receives reminders when payments are due.

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A week ago the Deering Banjo Company announced sale prices for their Goodtime ($499) and Goodtime Two ($729) banjos - the Two comes with a resonator. Since then, the prices for these models have appeared as $579 and $839. At present, the BIB doesn't know whether these prices apply to overseas dealers; in any case, the company's location map of dealers throughout the world shows no Deering agent in Ireland.

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The Bluegrass Situation online magazine launches its Fiddles in February series with an excerpt from Mark O'Connor's memoir Crossing bridges, a mixtape of fiddlers admired by Kyle Nix, five videos, and much more.

© Richard Hawkins