The First Quality Music Blog

Our friend Tyler Mullins stopped by and picked up his new mahogany Sullivan Vintage 35 banjo today. Tyler got his start as the banjo player for the now famous Kentucky Sassafras. He’s now working as a member of the Lonesome Ramblers picking the five for Bluegrass legend Larry Sparks. We are proud to welcome Tyler into the Sullivan banjo family!

JENS & UWE KRUGER’S BANJO & GUITAR WORKSHOP – Lake Worth, Florida April 9-10th  2010

Time is fast approaching for what will be a wonderful banjo and guitar event in Southeast Florida.  Jens and Uwe Kruger, in conjunction with Fretmentor.com are conducting there first of what may become an annual “Jens & Uwe Banjo & Guitar Workshop”.

David Jakubiak, an instructor, writer for Banjo Newsletter, and the founder of Fretmentor.com is coordinating this weekend event.  You can see the details by going directly to his website and viewing the online form and registration process.

As if banjo and guitar instruction by Jens and Uwe were not enough, David has secured many exceptional sponsors who have donated items to be raffled.  We at First Quality Music have donated a Sullivan Bluegrass Jam banjo. This will be the grand prize for one lucky attendee.

The Jens & Uwe Kruger Banjo & Guitar Workshop will be held on April 9-10 in Lake Worth, Florida.  On Sunday April 11th, the Kruger Brothers will be performing a concert in Palm Beach.  Fretmentor.com has reserved a block of tickets for those who desire to attend the Sunday concert.  Tickets for the concert are only $10 each.

We look forward to seeing our friend and customers at this wonderful event.  Good luck to the attendee who wins our grand prize.

Aaron Thomas was in the showroom this week from Washington, IN and was kind enough to try out one of the new Sullivan Historic Vintage-35 Banjo Prototypes. We debuted this Banjo at IBMA and will have more information on it in the coming weeks – for now, the sound speaks for itself! He’s a great picker and in the video below performs a wonderful and unique version of “What a friend we have in Jesus”. Thanks for stopping by, Aaron!

First Quality Music and Paige Capos are proud to announce that the wait is over – the Clik Capo will be available at First Quality Music this Wednesday, October 7th. We’ll have models for Acoustic and Electric guitar immediately, with Banjo and Mandolin capos in the following weeks. The Clik is a great addition to the Paige line, favorite among many artists. Just push the center button until it touches the neck and give it a quick twist – you’re ready to play! To release, just push the center button again and you’re good to go.

We’ll be offering the Paige Clik for $19.99, but to celebrate it’s launch we’ll be offering it at a very special price as our DEALIA of the week! We can’t publish the special price beforehand, but check out http://bit.ly/dealia next Wednesday, October 7th to get our special offer!

Our friend local bluegrass and old time picker Harry Bickel stopped by for a brief visit and we couldn’t resist having him pick a tune for us.  Harry, a former Kentucky State Clawhammer Champion, is not only well known throughout the Louisville old time and bluegrass community but all around the country.  Folks around Louisville remember Harry from his days as a member of the 70’s bluegrass group Whole Wheat, to his Grammy nominated old time band The Buzzard Rock String Band.  You can catch Harry out pickin’ with his latest group the River City Ramblers at one of the local night spots. Be sure and check out their MySpace page for an upcoming date.  Here Harry is picking the Mississippi Sawyer on one of our latest in the Sullivan family of banjos the Clawhammer Jam. 

Dear friend David Jakubiak had been a long time customer of First Quality Music. David is based in Jupiter, FL and is a full time Teaching Instructor.  Fretmentor.com was launched several months back and I have watched it grow in content and popularity.  David caters to musicians and students that play banjo, mandolin and guitar. Below is an overview of his website that might just be very helpful as a Bluegrass resource. David is also currently writing articles for Banjo Newletter.

David Jakubiak, creator of Fretmentor.com

Fretmentor offers a unique instructional program for the guitar, mandolin, and banjo.  Whether your are a new student or a more experienced player who is seeking additional training, FretMentor offers you a comprehensive approach to learning your guitar, banjo or mandolin instrument.

Our instruction includes music theory concepts, chord structure and improvisational techniques for musicians playing individually or performing with others. Fretmentor is an interactive site that will teach you not only how to play the instrument but will inform you about the instrument, its origin and its history.

Nathan Livers stopped by today and checked out our Gibson Old Growth Mandolin prototype. We’ve been working closely with Dave Harvey at Gibson Original Bluegrass to put this mandolin together out of the same factory floor wood that has been so successful in our Sullivan Banjo wood rim and bridges.  The mandolin  just got back from being test driven by Herschel Sizemore, a great mandolin player and a good friend of ours. Rumor has it that our prototype may be featured on a cut or two from his upcoming album. Stay tuned for more information to follow about the exciting mandolin project.

Nathan drop by to get some picks today and roped him in to playing a couple tunes with Murrell Thixton our resident Bluegrass Specialist. Nathan formerly played with James Monroe , Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers and Charlie Lawson & Oak Hill.  He is currently forming a group with Murrell (more on that later!). If you like what you hear, Nathan will be teaching here at First Quality Music in the near future.  Call us at 502-995-5651 ext. 7124 for more information!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Corey and I will be traveling to MerleFest again this year. Our booth in the Sponsor’s tent will be open during all show hours on Thursday April 23rd through Saturday April 25th.  As in years past, we’ll be working with some great folks from Martin Guitars, Gibson Acoustic Guitars, D’Addario Strings, Fishman Acoustic Amplification, TKL/Cedar Creek Cases, GHS Strings, and Eastman Mandolins.  We’ll have incredible deals you won’t want to miss!

At the show, we are unveiling a new line of affordable, Kentucky-made Sullivan banjos that you will definitely want to check out.  Our one-of-a-kind “Old Growth” Gibson mandolin will also be in the booth and available for your inspection.

Stop by and get a First Quality catalog, pick a tune or two or just say Hello!

When I was walking through the shop this morning, I saw something new laid out on the workbench. It was an open back banjo with ‘Sullivan’ in the peghead. This got me curious so I set out to find Allen (our Shop Manager) to find out about it.

Turns out it’s a prototype for a new model that Allen and Eric are working on. It will be an open back banjo with a 1/4″ brass ring (very affordable!) that is upgradeable at a later date to include a tone ring, flange and resonator (very adaptable!). What a cool concept!

There are a few minor tweaks that need to be made, but it should be in full production in a week or so. Each one will come standard with a Sullivan Old Growth Bridge. And, are you ready for the best part? The price is going to be less than $750!

Our intent at First Quality has always been to make everyone feel like part of the family and it’s important that families stay in touch. Since everyone can’t come to Louisville to visit with us, this blog will bring the news and happenings from the shop and showroom to you.

You never know what the day around here will bring – maybe something brand new in the Sullivan Banjo line (Hint! Hint!), a hot new Gibson Les Paul or Fender Stratocaster, or a drop-in from one of our more famous family members!

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