moldfarm.com

Posted on June 5th, 2008 by admin

Here is my new Mike Ramsey Chanterelle Woody banjo. It’s beautiful!!

I like this funny write up about this banjo:

The Ramsey Woody

In April 2005 the ivory-billed woodpecker, long feared extinct, was rediscovered in the Deep Woods, a remote part of Arkansas, some 60 years after the last confirmed U.S. sighting. This bird learned to be shy of humanity and therefore survived. There is a similar Woody that comes from the hills of Virginia. Its song is dangerously captivating to banjo players. Some have been known to wait months and months just to get their hands on one. Whereas some banjos have been known to create marital discord when their owner’s spouses learn of one more instrument purchase, not the Mike Ramsey Woody. Even banjo spouses can detect that its unique sound creates a value greater than its modest price. We have invented the “Woody Watch” to detail our sightings and anticipations.

The Mike Ramsey Woody Model is designed with a wooden tone ring attached to the wooden rim. The combination of a thicker rim and a wooden tone ring produces a very pleasing tone, with plenty of volume and a sound completely it’s own.

Neck

Three piece maple neck
25.75″ scale length
Bone nut
Two-way adjustable truss rod
Planetary tuners and geared fifth peg
Pearlwork of our design
Ebony fingerboard and peg head overlay
Frailing scoop
Lacquer finish

Rim

11″ or 12″ maple rim
Wooden tone ring
Dowel stick construction
Fiberskin head
No Knot tailpiece

Options

Coordinator rods
Hard shell case
Armrest
Maple, walnut, cherry and figured woods
Fancy inlay
Heel carving
Fretless
Left hand banjo
Maple standard

No Comments »
Filed under: Uncategorized, banjo

The Natural History of the UC Santa Cruz Campus

Posted on May 31st, 2008 by admin

The Natural History of the UC Santa Cruz Campus
Click here for
larger image The Natural History of the UC Santa Cruz Campus
Edited by Tonya M. Haff, Martha T. Brown, W. Breck Tyler
ISBN #061519201
Publisher: Bay Tree Bookstore, UCSC
Second Edition

Now Available

Book Description
With its stunning Monterey Bay views and unmatched scenery, UC Santa Cruz is arguably the most beautiful university campus in the world. This guide to UCSC’s history, geology, plants, fungi and animals offers an in-depth look at an extraordinary landscape. From banana slugs to bobcats, redwood groves to rolling meadows, caves to quarries, you’ll learn about the campus’s wealth of wildlife, geologic features and cultural imprints.

In paperback, this 375-page guide includes more than 125 photos, drawings, diagrams and maps in its detailed chapters on human history, geology, plants, fungi and animals. Also included are helpful species lists of the plants and animals found on campus lands. Truly, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in the rich natural history of the UCSC campus and the southern Santa Cruz Mountains.

Praise for The Natural History of the UC Santa Cruz Campus, Second Edition

“The Natural History of the UC Santa Cruz Campus pulls you right in and is a joy to read. I will go further: this kind of local natural history will be an important part of 21st Century biology. It bristles page after page with phenomena that invite research at all levels.”

–Edward O. Wilson,
University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University

“In an era when human contact with nature is declining, this wonderful book serves as a model for other introductory guides to local natural history. Use it to have more contact with real reality, as opposed to virtual reality. I wish we had a book like this for the Stanford area.”

–Paul R. Ehrlich,
Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University