The Complete story of Buck Trents banjo beginning to now

[electricbanjoma]

This is the story of Buck Trent`s banjo as told to me over the years by my friends Shot Jackson & Buck Trent.
Buck Trent, & the late Shot Jackson & I have been friends for many years, Shot Jackson was my guitar customizing Hero, & Buck Trent is my Banjo & guitar hero, Electric & bluegrass.
Buck started picking his banjo with a pick up on in 1961, It was a Gibson RB250 Bowtie. Buck put a pepper can under the bridge to support it ( make it more solid, he used a Stevens bar for the bridge & a De-armond jazz guitar pick up that he covered with black electrical tape. At this time he had no string benders at all, except his custom D tuners he had made for the second & third strings, And a set of S&K tuners That he got from Earl Scruggs, on the first & fourth strings to bend the first up to a E & the 4th down to a C, He started working for Porter Wagoner in late 61 to early 1962, Porter Loved Buck `s picking style & encouraged him to explore the limits of it. Buck took the banjo to Sho~ Bud Steel guitar builder & custom guitar wizard Shot Jackson. Shot said that the set up needed to be changed, Shot had an 8 string steel guitar called the Maverick. Shot used the same set up on Bucks banjo But with a newer smaller set of fingers, a five pole Sho~Bud pick up, and the steel guitar linkage for moving the fingers to bend the first & second strings. The result was Buck Trents electric 5 string. after picking this Gibson banjo for a year, Buck wanted a better banjo, He commissioned Shot to build a new Buck Trent banjo, It was a 64 VIP VEGA Buck told me that Harry Jackson made that one But when I talked to Harry Jackson he informed that David Jackson built it. It had all the same set up but with the bigger fingers & a big Sho~Bud pick up that looked very much like a P 90 Gibson pick up. However on this banjo, Buck had Sho~Bud add a D tuner to the 4th string only, he used it for about 2 years It`s the banjo that`s on display in the Country Music museum in Nashville along with one of Bucks Wagonmaster suits, Buck recorded the album ( Buckin" The Five) with it.
While on the road The Porter Wagoner bus was broken into & the VEGA was stolen along with Don Warden`s steel & Porter`s Grammer guitar, They later found the instruments in there cases on a trash pile In Iowa, A walking Liberty silver dollar that was given to Buck by Jimmy Dean as a good luck piece, was used as the second string bender button, was hack sawed off & was gone, Shot replaced the stolen dollar button with a plain button. In 1966 Buck Buck saw the Baldwin style( "E" prototype) that would eventually be the known as the Baldwin (style "D" banjo) & had Shot take it & build him a new Buck Trent banjo, Buck had Baldwin make the original D tuners for this banjo. Shot & Buck also made several of the Baldwin electric`s to be sold as a Buck Trent banjo for resale. I know of 3 people who have those banjo`s in their closets, Buck used that banjo the rest of his time with Porter & still uses it today except with (a different neck, bridge & tuners). Porter Wagoner accidentally backed the bus over Buck`s case & broke the Baldwin "E" banjo neck, Shot fixed it once & Buck use it on HEE HAW. One day the back drop fell over & the neck was broke again. Buck order a style C ODE neck to replace it. While playing a show with buck in the 80`s I traded Buck out of the neck giving him the ODE style "D" neck he has on his electric banjo today ! Buck in turn gave me the original Baldwin "E" neck along with a letter telling about it. Buck contacted me about building him a new bridge in 84 I sent him the bridge off my electric & he sent me the bridge off the original electric E Baldwin, I made Buck several sets of his style D tuners ( He calls them Twisters) & he sent me a set of his, He also sent me the Baldwin Banjo case you see him carrying off Porter`s bus at Opryland. I also made a set of twisters for Bucks Son Chaz`s banjo a few years back.
I made Buck a guitar back in the 70`s he used it the last 3 years with Porter Wagoner TV show, That was when Buck found out that I played Electric like him & that I had started picking like him in 1964 after seeing him on TV. I made my first electric banjo when I was 11 years old.
Before Shot Died, I had him build me one of his Buck Trent banjo`s It was the last one Shot ever made & He told me I could build them from now own as he felt I loved them so much, I put the Baldwin neck on it & the bridge & tuners I got from Buck. I`ve built several electric`s since for other pickers So there`s a lot of Buck Trent pickers out there.
Now After finding out back in the 70`s that I played like him, Buck has helped me all he could, there`s never been a nicer Opry Star or man in the busyness Buck treats me like family, And There`s never been a banjo or guitar picker like Buck & never will be. ((Oh & where is the first ever Gibson Electric Buck Trent banjo, It`s still in the hands of it`s inventor Buck Tent, Buck still has the banjo, But now It sports a set of NYLON strings today & lives it`s life a soft sounding classical banjo that he used on an album called Sounds Of Now & Beyond.
The first ever electric head was put into another body sporting a style C ODE neck Why, because back in the mid 90`s Bucks Original TV Baldwin banjo went missing, He used it to do several shows & to record with Norma Jean on her last Country album.
Buck`s lost TV banjo was found on Johnny Cash`s bus by none other than Marty Stewart & given back to Buck That`s the one he still uses today & that`s the one that has my 80`s ODE style "D" neck bridge & tuners on it.

story by
Dan Electricbanjoman Surber

If this all sounds confusing read it a few times you get it. LOL

Over the years I`ve done my level best to emulate Buck`s style & add a few licks of my own. Here`s a song where I`m using What I call Bucks old Baldwin banjo, cause I have so many of the old parts on it from Bucks Porter Wagoner Baldwin on it.

I have 4 youtubes. Even one where Buck & I are on stage picking bluegrass banjo`s live
But On this one,I`m Doing a medley of songs Buck recorded in 1965 on an Album called
( Buckin` The Five) I call it (Picking On Buck ~ Trent that is") I hope you like it.

 

[electricbanjoma]

Musicians friend, I noticed they are the sponsor for this page

They have the best stuff at the best prices I love shopping with them, I get all my Pa`s Mic`s & chords from them. I`ll soon be getting all my strings there Thanks Musiciansfriend
Dan Electricbanjoman Surber

 

[J. Hayes]

Hey Dan.............

thanks for posting that! You're becoming one of my heroes along with ol' Buck. I'd love to catch his live show in Branson but the only time I've ever been there, he was out of town. I've tried to do some of his things for years but never quite got them exactly, close but no cigar! I have an Epiphone Les Paul that I use which has a set of Bigsby Palm Pedals on it and six Keith/Scruggs tuners on it. I have the tuners set to lower each string a whole tone except for the third string which I only lower a half. I also have a coil tap and phase switch on the guitar to get some good twangy tones out of it. Here's some shots of my "Buck" Paul.........JH in Va.

 

[e-merlin]

Interesting read. It would benefit from a bit of breaking up in the form of paragraphs, but it's very informative, nevertheless. Thanks.

 

[electricbanjoma]

thanks for posting that! You're becoming one of my heroes along with ol' Buck. I'd love to catch his live show in Branson but the only time I've ever been there, he was out of town. I've tried to do some of his things for years but never quite got them exactly, close but no cigar! I have an Epiphone Les Paul that I use which has a set of Bigsby Palm Pedals on it and six Keith/Scruggs tuners on it. I have the tuners set to lower each string a whole tone except for the third string which I only lower a half. I also have a coil tap and phase switch on the guitar to get some good twangy tones out of it. Here's some shots of my "Buck" Paul.........JH in Va.

Great looking guitar hoss, I haven`t seen a Bigsby like that since the old Porter Show, The guy who took Bucks place used one on a Hollow body Epiphone.
The tuners are very cool, I remember Back When I was playing around up north my banjo fell over & a guy that was with us as a replacement for that show stepped down on the banjo neck & broke it. We were supposed plat at the Speak Easy in DC the next night so I took an old Telecater I called & he told me how to make a fast B string bender for it & put a set of S&K on it, I took off the 6 & 5 strings added a 10 guage stirng at the 5th position & put a screw in the finger board to make the G octive 5th string.
It did alright but I really missed my banjo. With in a week I had another 63 VEGA Martin neck back on that banjo LOL.

Again your guitar is a work of genious, I know you`re getting some great sounds out of it & even if think you`re not getting every note that Buck hits, Thats ok cause you`ve got your own thing going there !
keep working with it, take some old songs & re do them with that thing, don`t bet too serious just have fun with it.
Dan

 

[electricbanjoma]

Interesting read. It would benefit from a bit of breaking up in the form of paragraphs, but it's very informative, nevertheless. Thanks.

Sorry e Merlin,
I should have went to school more often, I`m no Samuel Clemens.
I spent most of my time learning guitar & banjo, How to pick them fix them, how to build them from a block of wood.
I can`t tell you how many Telecaster body style guitars I`ve made over the years. In my younger days when my eyes were good & I could do a good finish, I made several blue grass banjo`s & several Electric Buck Trent style banjo`s, I`ve made custom guitars for country stars & rockers alike.
However my brain was never meant for writing,
nor is my spelling very good LOL

I know the story about Bucks Banjo cause I know all the people, & I was there for a lot of it. I wanted the real story to be written down somewhere. before it`s totally forgotten, Shot Jackson is dead Harry, David or Shotsycould care less.
Buck `s family doesn`t know the whole story. I`ve had to remind Buck about the first electric banjo that he made cause he had for gotten it.So I hope you can excuse my lack of knowledge of writing.
Dan

 

[e-merlin]

I know the story about Bucks Banjo cause I know all the people, & I was there for a lot of it. I wanted the real story to be written down somewhere. before it`s totally forgotten, Dan

Eh, never mind me, I went to too much school...

We're glad you went to all the trouble.

 

[J. Hayes]

Hey Dan.....

with this Epi LP, I can get the open G and open D tunings so with a capo I can do some "un-reasonable" facsimles of Buck's stuff but only fairly close. A lot of it I have to do a hammer on instead of the benders as mine pull the guitar B and G a whole tone each. When I'm in the G tuning I can raise the first string D to E with the "twister" but only in the open position. Here's some shots of my other Bigsby Palm Pedal guitars. I wish I could afford to outfit 'em all with the tuner pegs but at what they charge for a set of 'em it'd be impossible. I'd need nine more sets to fit the other guitars.....Jerry in Va.

 

[electricbanjoma]

with this Epi LP, I can get the open G and open D tunings so with a capo I can do some "un-reasonable" facsimles of Buck's stuff but only fairly close. A lot of it I have to do a hammer on instead of the benders as mine pull the guitar B and G a whole tone each. When I'm in the G tuning I can raise the first string D to E with the "twister" but only in the open position. Here's some shots of my other Bigsby Palm Pedal guitars. I wish I could afford to outfit 'em all with the tuner pegs but at what they charge for a set of 'em it'd be impossible. I'd need nine more sets to fit the other guitars.....Jerry in Va.

Those tuners are very expensive , It would be almost impossable to buy um all, But Buck used mainly the first , the second, & the third strings, That would give you three for one of the others.
I love the guitars & needles to say I`m an SG fan ! & I love that Tobbacco sunburst & gold. Just beautiful.
Tell me something, Can you pick a 5 string banjo?

 

[J. Hayes]

Hey Dan..........

as far as picking a 5 string banjo, I can get by with some of the basic instrumentals such as "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and maybe "Flint Hill Special" but my renditions are pretty crude. I can't get some of the faster banjo styled middle sections and tend to mostly do the Eddie Adcock, Ralph Stanley style that sounds more like someone flatpicking a banjo. On slower things I can do some fair backup but nothing to write home about. I did start out on mandolin and can get by better on that than I ever could on banjo.

The vast majority of my playing has been in country bands or country rock and occasionally a little "Electra-Grass" being from the west coast and all. I've slowed down a bit lately as I'm 71 now and a shade arthritic but still work 3 to 5 nights a week on lead guitar or pedal steel. I do a couple of banjo tunes on steel but they're in A instead of G because of the tuning of the instrument.

Have you ever heard of Clyde Mattocks in North Carolina. He's a great Dobro, 5 string, lead, and pedal steel player. Ol' Clyde can do some great rip offs of Buck's licks on the pedal steel. I've tried that but it seems to work better for me on six string.

I know you build instruments and such and some years ago I saw Eddie Adcock on TNN with David Allan Coe. Eddie had a double neck guitar that had two Telecaster necks on it but the bottom one was an electric 5 string banjo but sounded pretty "acoustic"..... Did you ever see that or know who might have built the thing?......Jerry in Va (formerly SoCal)

 

[electricbanjoma]

I`m almost 60 none arther yet for me than the Lord.
I haven`t seen that guitar banjo combo, But it sounds like a trick for sure.
I know that Fred Newell has a steel with a five string neck on it that he had set up like Bucks banjo, I`m not a big fan of Fred, although Chas Trent really lkes him, He`s spent years trying to copy Buck on the guitar, The Steel sounds a bit closer to it but It`s not the same either, But since you play steel You might be able to trick out a lap steel, & put some lges on it.
But I still think as long as you`ve been playing the guitar You have a few licks of your own that are just as good.
You know Buck got a few of his licks from Ralph Moody, And some from Shot Jackson, Some of Bucks licks are Dobro licks, most of them are steel licks. some are 50`s rock piano licks like the ( Bop rebop, bop bop rebop) The 4th string down & the second & first up are just a C chord bend, It was an accident that turned into a lick for buck, But he rarely used it, I use it more than he does at least on stage I use it probably 10 12 times a night in different songs. After thinking about it, it seams to me all you realy need is to add some type of first sting bender to your guitar. Do you remember Pinkard & Bowden? Shot made a string bender for them & put it on an electric, & even on a flattop. they are on you tube check um out.
Dan

 

[J. Hayes]

Hey Dan..........

I remember Richard Bowden of P & B from his days with Linda Ronstadt. He followed a couple of B-Bender players into Ronstadt's band and made his own bender so he could cop some of the licks that people like Bob Warford and others played for her. I remember seeing Pinkard & Bowden on Nashville Now one night and Richard was playing an acoustic guitar with a B-Bender on it which I thought was pretty cool. I have a couple of Epiphone EZ benders that Richard invented. They're made to go on a Les Paul, 335, or any other stud tailpiece guitar. If you haven't seen one, you just remove your B (or any other) string, clamp the device right over the stud tailpiece, tighten it down with the two Allen screws and put on a new string and you're ready to go. It pushes down just like a palm pedal. I have one on an old Memphis Les Paul copy that I use for slide. The guitar is tuned in open E and the EZ Bender just raises the 2nd string B to C#. I'll try to post a shot of it in case you haven't seen them. I thought it was pretty ingenious but Epiphone quit selling them about 10 years ago but you can still find one from time to time............Here's a shot of it.....JH in Va.

 

[electricbanjoma]

Yeah thats the thing, But back about 25 years or moer I was at a place where they were playing, Somebody asked him about the bender, they called it " That bar thingy on your gyitar" He said it was one of thos Sho~Bud things. He may have meant it was the type thing Shot was famous for.

In any event, thats what you need on the first string, since the Bigsby bends the 2nd & 3rd, I took an SG & put a secoind string bar & linkage inside of it & used a Gibson tunamatic bridge to acomplish that, But you have to rout a lot of wood.
But It may be possable to take a tunable tail & make a lever system that would mount on top by a couple screws would cover the 2nd & 1st strings, like maybe two small bars with a pins going forward out of it & fitting under the tuner fingesr of the bridge, so that when you push down one of the handles the pin would force down one of the tuner fingers, the tuner finger being adjustable with a screw from the top as made by the factory would give you a rang of bend.
I`ll try to post a pic of the SG I put the bebder in, I use to have a second bender for the third string but I didn`t use it that much so I took it out.
Dan

 

[electricbanjoma]

Jerry my facebook is http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1284734136

 

[electricbanjoma]

Jerry the only thing I can see that would make the tuners & benders work better is a roller bridge, I have a roller bridge on all my guitars with benders. Hope you are well
Dan

 

[jimmydeheno]

Hey there. Shot Jakson Pedal Banjo

I had Shot build me me one of his pedal bonjos in the early 80's I still have it. I am new to this forum. Am I posting on the right place?

This is the story of Buck Trent`s banjo as told to me over the years by my friends Shot Jackson & Buck Trent.
Buck Trent, & the late Shot Jackson & I have been friends for many years, Shot Jackson was my guitar customizing Hero, & Buck Trent is my Banjo & guitar hero, Electric & bluegrass.
Buck started picking his banjo with a pick up on in 1961, It was a Gibson RB250 Bowtie. Buck put a pepper can under the bridge to support it ( make it more solid, he used a Stevens bar for the bridge & a De-armond jazz guitar pick up that he covered with black electrical tape. At this time he had no string benders at all, except his custom D tuners he had made for the second & third strings, And a set of S&K tuners That he got from Earl Scruggs, on the first & fourth strings to bend the first up to a E & the 4th down to a C, He started working for Porter Wagoner in late 61 to early 1962, Porter Loved Buck `s picking style & encouraged him to explore the limits of it. Buck took the banjo to Sho~ Bud Steel guitar builder & custom guitar wizard Shot Jackson. Shot said that the set up needed to be changed, Shot had an 8 string steel guitar called the Maverick. Shot used the same set up on Bucks banjo But with a newer smaller set of fingers, a five pole Sho~Bud pick up, and the steel guitar linkage for moving the fingers to bend the first & second strings. The result was Buck Trents electric 5 string. after picking this Gibson banjo for a year, Buck wanted a better banjo, He commissioned Shot to build a new Buck Trent banjo, It was a 64 VIP VEGA Buck told me that Harry Jackson made that one But when I talked to Harry Jackson he informed that David Jackson built it. It had all the same set up but with the bigger fingers & a big Sho~Bud pick up that looked very much like a P 90 Gibson pick up. However on this banjo, Buck had Sho~Bud add a D tuner to the 4th string only, he used it for about 2 years It`s the banjo that`s on display in the Country Music museum in Nashville along with one of Bucks Wagonmaster suits, Buck recorded the album ( Buckin" The Five) with it.
While on the road The Porter Wagoner bus was broken into & the VEGA was stolen along with Don Warden`s steel & Porter`s Grammer guitar, They later found the instruments in there cases on a trash pile In Iowa, A walking Liberty silver dollar that was given to Buck by Jimmy Dean as a good luck piece, was used as the second string bender button, was hack sawed off & was gone, Shot replaced the stolen dollar button with a plain button. In 1966 Buck Buck saw the Baldwin style( "E" prototype) that would eventually be the known as the Baldwin (style "D" banjo) & had Shot take it & build him a new Buck Trent banjo, Buck had Baldwin make the original D tuners for this banjo. Shot & Buck also made several of the Baldwin electric`s to be sold as a Buck Trent banjo for resale. I know of 3 people who have those banjo`s in their closets, Buck used that banjo the rest of his time with Porter & still uses it today except with (a different neck, bridge & tuners). Porter Wagoner accidentally backed the bus over Buck`s case & broke the Baldwin "E" banjo neck, Shot fixed it once & Buck use it on HEE HAW. One day the back drop fell over & the neck was broke again. Buck order a style C ODE neck to replace it. While playing a show with buck in the 80`s I traded Buck out of the neck giving him the ODE style "D" neck he has on his electric banjo today ! Buck in turn gave me the original Baldwin "E" neck along with a letter telling about it. Buck contacted me about building him a new bridge in 84 I sent him the bridge off my electric & he sent me the bridge off the original electric E Baldwin, I made Buck several sets of his style D tuners ( He calls them Twisters) & he sent me a set of his, He also sent me the Baldwin Banjo case you see him carrying off Porter`s bus at Opryland. I also made a set of twisters for Bucks Son Chaz`s banjo a few years back.
I made Buck a guitar back in the 70`s he used it the last 3 years with Porter Wagoner TV show, That was when Buck found out that I played Electric like him & that I had started picking like him in 1964 after seeing him on TV. I made my first electric banjo when I was 11 years old.
Before Shot Died, I had him build me one of his Buck Trent banjo`s It was the last one Shot ever made & He told me I could build them from now own as he felt I loved them so much, I put the Baldwin neck on it & the bridge & tuners I got from Buck. I`ve built several electric`s since for other pickers So there`s a lot of Buck Trent pickers out there.
Now After finding out back in the 70`s that I played like him, Buck has helped me all he could, there`s never been a nicer Opry Star or man in the busyness Buck treats me like family, And There`s never been a banjo or guitar picker like Buck & never will be. ((Oh & where is the first ever Gibson Electric Buck Trent banjo, It`s still in the hands of it`s inventor Buck Tent, Buck still has the banjo, But now It sports a set of NYLON strings today & lives it`s life a soft sounding classical banjo that he used on an album called Sounds Of Now & Beyond.
The first ever electric head was put into another body sporting a style C ODE neck Why, because back in the mid 90`s Bucks Original TV Baldwin banjo went missing, He used it to do several shows & to record with Norma Jean on her last Country album.
Buck`s lost TV banjo was found on Johnny Cash`s bus by none other than Marty Stewart & given back to Buck That`s the one he still uses today & that`s the one that has my 80`s ODE style "D" neck bridge & tuners on it.

story by
Dan Electricbanjoman Surber

If this all sounds confusing read it a few times you get it. LOL

Over the years I`ve done my level best to emulate Buck`s style & add a few licks of my own. Here`s a song where I`m using What I call Bucks old Baldwin banjo, cause I have so many of the old parts on it from Bucks Porter Wagoner Baldwin on it.

I have 4 youtubes. Even one where Buck & I are on stage picking bluegrass banjo`s live
But On this one,I`m Doing a medley of songs Buck recorded in 1965 on an Album called
( Buckin` The Five) I call it (Picking On Buck ~ Trent that is") I hope you like it.

 

[jimmydeheno]

Hey there. I had Shot build me one of his pedal banjos in the early 80's. It was just as he was closing his shop down town, he had some equipment moved out already but was still there working so actually mine might be the last one he ever built. Like to talk to some of you guys about this if you'er interested. Jimmy DeHeno in Michigan

 

[electricbanjoma]

Shot was a good friend of mine & his Wife Donna & I became friends after Shots stroke, I talked to her a few times after Shot died about parts he had for some lap steel`s & a couple 7 string Sho~bro`s he had made for him self.

Shot ran his shop until his stroke in late 83 he had just finished my banjo before his stroke. After the stroke his sons Harry & David were left to close down the shop. Shot & Donna told Buck Trent, Fred Newell, & me that mine was the last Sho~ Bud electric he ever made, in fact Fred Newell was there & watched him make my parts, . Shot actually made my bridge, Aluminum buttons, linkage & Tortoise shell pick up to be a twin to Bucks original.
There were a few of the electric heads on Sho~Bud body`s there that shot tried to get me to take but i couldn`t afford them. Those had a hole plug that was Chrome & soldered onto a grommet for a bender button. I know that one of them was put in a VEGA Vip body & sent to an artist author friend of mine Brian in California. He still has it, I know this cause Brian had me make him one of my style Electric banjo`s later on as well. one other was sent to a man in Franklin TN. & I think Fred Newell got one of them.
Dan

 

[Daniel-David]

Hi.Dan. Dan here..I don't know if I'm to post at the top of your post or bottom. So here goes.
I've searched the World over..and can not find..(true love..no) pictures or diagrams to guts if you will to Bucks Sho-Bud. I'm mostly interested in seeing the bridge and how the strings are attached, in otherwords the whole metal pieces on the face of the drum skin. How is it all held in place? It doesn't go back to the rim drum ring..etc. Or is it all patented?

 

[Daniel-David]

Jim..I've made a post here for a request.. I've looked all over the net to see pictures-video's of the Sho-Bud banjo. I would like to see pictures of the whole drum apparatus. I'm not really interested in the sting bender system but the drum head and bridge set up. Where and how are the strings fixed into ..what. Can you take pictures of yours and send them to me..I'd appreciate it.

1danthewighman@gmail.com

Hey there. I had Shot build me one of his pedal banjos in the early 80's. It was just as he was closing his shop down town, he had some equipment moved out already but was still there working so actually mine might be the last one he ever built. Like to talk to some of you guys about this if you'er interested. Jimmy DeHeno in Michigan