All of the testimonials I have gotten concerning the Tone Bell ™ system are important to me. Once in a while, though, there is a special one. This comes from a man whose livelihood depends on his instrument, Buddy Woodward of The Ghost Rockets. Buddy and I corresponded for several weeks before he took the plunge and had the modification done to his vintage bowtie RB-250. His e-mail follows.

Date: Sat, 29 May 1999 19:55:39 -0400
From: Budrocket
To: bill@billpalmer.com

Hey there, Bill,

Just wanted to let you know I finally got my ol' 250 bowtie banjo back from Janet Davis, where they installed a Huber (couldn't quite afford the triple-gold, went with the standard nickel) & Tonebelled the rim, & all I can say is...WOW. It has that "compressed" pop to it now, not to mention sustain that I didn't think I could get from one of these infernal things.

Count me in as a believer in the Tonebell system! This thing kicks booty...I may now have in my possession one of the best sounding banjers in the area. Of course, the rest is up to me...practice practice practice. Not having her for a month & a half...well, what do jazz musicians say? Miss practice one day, you can tell; miss two days & other musicians can tell; miss three & the audience can tell...got my work cut out for me this weekend before Monday's Alphabet City Opry performance & the session I'm doing on Tuesday...yipe!

So...thanks *so much* for all your help & encouragement a couple months back.

Best to you, sir,
bw.

PS - you're right, it does remind one of the Columbia Studios 'verb they put on Earl's banjo...sustains & "echoes" but the overtones aren't overpowering or harsh at all. Turned this baby from a mediocre banjo to a really nice one...hotcha!

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Buddy Woodward - budrocket@cwix.com
THE GHOST ROCKETS - "Maximum Rhythm & Bluegrass"
http://www.hudsonet.com/~undertow/ghostrockets
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(the postscript is from a second e-mail)

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