Béla Fleck

Sometimes it starts with me searching around the banjo for cool stuff and sometimes it’s stuff that pops into my head. There’s usually a spark of inspiration and I just run with it and everything happens really fast. There’s also a craft element to composing in which I try to take those inspired ideas and hone, hone, and hone until everything is perfect. But a big chunk of it—a verse or a chorus—has to be there from the beginning. Although most of what I do is instrumental, I do think of the pieces in those verse/chorus songwriting terms. Also, I find that when I haven’t played the banjo all day or for a couple of days, the first thing that comes out is a new tune when I pick it up. I’ve started recording everything I do when I pick up my banjo on an M-Audio multitrack recorder. It stores audio on a memory stick. When I’m done, I dump everything into Pro Tools and edit the material into a core of ideas that are strong enough to build songs from. Ideas can also happen anywhere, like when I’m driving or running. I’ll start humming a melody or singing an improvisation. The good thing about those ideas is that they aren’t necessarily banjo-istic. If I sing them first, they tend to sound more melodic or like a vocal.

The Flecktones website states that Béla uses a Shure U4D wireless unit.

Fleck mixes the pickup sound with an instrument-mounted mini condenser mic, a Shure SM98.

There’s also the Paradise guitar, a Swiss electric guitar that sounds like an acoustic.

Béla's rack holds one of these parametric eq.

For effects, Fleck keeps the banjo paths isolated, each with its own separate signal chain. The acoustic rack contains the Klark Teknik EQ and an Eventide Eclipse.

“In my electric rack, I've been using the Line 6 Pod Pro,” says Fleck. “I use a little bit of delay and not much distortion, but occasionally I want some crunch. Sometimes I like it to crunch when I'm doing single-line stuff. And there's a really nice chorus and some good amp sounds in the Pod. After playing a lot of digital guitar processors, I've found that a lot of them don't play well. They sound good, but you can't play through them. They slow you down. But the Line 6 sounds good and feels really good to play through.”

The guitar signal goes through a unit called a Polysubbass Controller, which processes the hex pickup signals and sends them out to a Roland VG-8 Guitar System. That goes into a Lexicon PCM80 for effects and then straight to the board.

The Flecktones' stage-monitoring system is entirely wireless. All the musicians use Shure PSM 600 in-ear monitors, which drastically reduce the feedback potential created by conventional speakers bleeding into open mics. “The in-ear monitors really help with the banjo, especially the acoustic banjo,” says Fleck, “because the louder we get, the more volatile the situation is with feedback. And the band has naturally been turning up recently, and that would be much more problematic with conventional monitors. We adopted them pretty quick after they came out.”

His other two banjos are electrified: “The black one is a Nechville Meteor, with a small head,” says Fleck. “Some [electric] banjos have no head, but then they have no characteristics, and you might as well play a guitar. The head and the wood bridge have to be in there somewhere. The Nechville sounds like a banjo, and it's in a different tuning, a dropped C, which John Hartford used to do a lot, and which is a sound I just love. I use that tuning on ‘Big Country.''

Other instruments include a Rickenbacker electric banjo and a Vega Vox Deluxe banjo.

Bela Fleck's 1967 Rickenbacker 6000 Bantar electric 5 string banjo...

In addition, I use a Deering Bantar, which is a 6-string guitar banjo.

The main banjo is the same one I’ve played since 1981: a Gibson Style 75 from 1937 that has the original metal ring and wood back. It has a custom arched neck made by John Monteleone. It’s just fabulous. It has a lot of body and you can play it really hard without it ever sounding harsh. I also use another old Gibson Style 18 on the album.

The main banjo is the same one I’ve played since 1981: a Gibson Style 75 from 1937 that has the original metal ring and wood back. It has a custom arched neck made by John Monteleone. It’s just fabulous. It has a lot of body and you can play it really hard without it ever sounding harsh.

You get two full scales on the 24 Fret John Hartford Banjo and the added length of the neck moves the bridge to the center of the head giving a more rounded full bodied tone!

The 24 Fret John Hartford model – a new sound in a full bodied banjo that gives you two full scales up the fingerboard. This Hartford has a big round tone that is full bodied with great bass and sweet highs. With the -06- tone ring and 24 frets it has a more distinct bell like ring to it, with the Grenadillo tone ring it has a more woody ringing tone.

Both choices of tone ring give that distinct round and fruity John Hartford style of sound.

Crisp Maple with a brilliant full bodied tone, deep bass, brilliant highs, The Saratoga Star is one of the most elegantly beautiful modern banjos to enter the musical arena of classic instruments. Greg Deering personally designed the inlays with an Art Nouveau style in mind. Reminiscent of the Victorian Era, this high grade maple banjo stands out as a top of the line professional instrument, at home on the concert stages throughout the world. It is played by world renowned banjoists like Bela Fleck, 2007 IBMA Banjo Player of the Year - Tony Trischka, Joe Bonsal of the Oak Ridge Boys, and Ned Luberecki.

From Bluegrass to Country, Rock to Classical, this is one of the ultimate banjos made today. Crafted with the precision of every Tenbrooks banjo out of highly figured violin grade maple for the ultimate tonal power and sparkle. It is so alive with sound that you can feel the vibrations through the back of the banjo as you play. The sound carries clearly greater distances than other banjos. This banjo is for the dedicated musician who appreciates versatility in communicating with the audience through music.

Béla's electric banjo is a Deering Crossfire. He has modified it by changing to EMG pick-ups and pre-amp. It is currently outfitted with a Yamaha midi pick-up.

This black beauty Crossfire electric banjo is a stage performer's dream come true and will play as loud as an electric guitar without feedback. It can be used with electronic effects, pedals, etc. With tone a volume controls on the banjo itself and an actual working banjo head stretched over a brass tone ring, this banjo has the convenience of an electric guitar but with a banjo sound.

This Crossfire has two powerful, active, magnetic pick-ups under the head; one in the neck position and the other by the bridge and both powered by a single 9 volt battery.. By a flick of the toggle switch, you can play the bridge pick-up or the near-the-neck pickup or both at the same time.

You can plug this Crossfire into any keyboard amp, acoustic amp, guitar amp or run it directly into your PA system. While it will sound different in these systems, your versatile Crossfire can play through many systems. You can play almost silently if you play it un-plugged which can extend your practice hours at home or in a hotel.

Whether high volume on stage, or un-plugged on the couch when the kids are sleeping, this Crossfire will work with you in every environment.

The XV-2020 64-Voice Expandable Synthesizer Module puts Roland’s flagship XV sounds in a convenient half-rack design complete with USB. Expandable via two SRX-Series Wave Expansion Boards, it’s like a powerful “plug-in” synth with up to 192MB of sounds, three independent effects processors and intuitive editing software.

Both the acoustic and electric banjos are monitored on stage with a Trace Elliot TA 2000S amplifier. Synths and guitar are heard through this amp and Bela's 'In the Ear' monitors.

The AcH 104 is the original quality pre-amp designed with the acoustic musician in mind. Ideally, the best way to duplicate the acoustic sound of your instrument is to use a microphone. Considering the volume levels of todays concerts and club dates, it is increasingly more difficult to get the sound of an acoustic instrument to match those levels with just a microphone. Having only a microphone also creates problems with monitors because feedback runs rampant when you try to turn up the instrument in the monitors. Obviously a transducer or pick-up is the next step. Most musicians are not pleased with the sound the get out of the pick-up. However, the pick-up allows for greater volume level with a consistent level, and more flexibility in stage monitors. So what is the solution? Use both! Neither is adequate on its own, but the two together produce wonderful results.

I know, maybe you've been doing this for years. The many batteries, patch cords and floor boxes involved might not be worth the trouble. The AcH 104 solves these problems. It is a 110v single rack mount unit that accepts a stereo cord from your instrument. Within your instrument is a pick-up of your choice and a miniature condenser microphone. The unit powers the mic via the stereo cord. The pick-up is tip and the mic is sleeve, which allows the unit to be used with a standard cord and pick-up only if desired. Many of today's mini condenser microphones can be adapted to be used with this system. This type of set up is adaptable with almost any acoustic instrument. To give an example, an upright bass has a number of pick-ups available. Use one with a mic mounted on or in the bass and the AcH 104 provides a working combination.

The unit is basically a two channel mixer with a few added extras. The signals from the instrument are sent to a MIC and PICKUP INPUT control. The mic signal is sent through an EQ section with hi/low shelving and boost/cut controls. The pick-up signal goes through an EQ section with hi/low shelving and two points of selectable parametric EQ, all with boost/cut control. Each signal, MIC and PICKUP, has an output control as well. The key to this unit is that the signals can be sent directly out of the unit to the mix board or to your amp as separate signals. The signals can also be mixed with the aid of headphones and sent via the COMBINED OUTPUT as one signal to your amp and/or to the mix board. There is a balanced and unbalanced output for all three signals, MIC, PICKUP and COMBINED. Signals are converted to balanced by Jensen transformers within the unit. All six outputs can be used at once or in any combination desired. The three Jensen ground isolated transformers eliminate the need for external direct boxes. This allows you to leave another battery and patch cord behind.

There are a number of other features. Patch points on each post signal allows you to add effects to each signal. For example, more EQ on the MIC, a delay unit on the PICKUP, and a volume pedal on the COMBINED. There is also an adjustable output for a tuner. Headphone jack and volume control allow you to listen to the tones and effects of each signal and the mix of the PICKUP and MIC. Finally, a mute switch turns off all output signals except to the tuner and headphones. This allows for silent tuning while on stage and presetting the mix to be sent through the COMBINED output.

So what are the advantages of the AcH 104?

First of all, this system gives the musician a greater degree of control over the sound of the acoustic instrument through the amplification of your choice. Here are a few situations, there are many! In a small club situation, all you may have to work with is the amp you bring with you. You may choose to send just the COMBINED output to your amp. You and the audience will hear the same sound. A good mix of the MIC and PICKUP will surely improve the sound of your performance. Or you may choose to plug directly to the house PA system without the use of your amp and send the COMBINED through the mains. Listen to the mix of the MIC and PICKUP through the headphones, then listen through the house speakers and make your final adjustments.

If you are in a larger stage situation with stage monitors and a house mix, the combinations are many. An example may be that the house engineer is unfamiliar with the sound you are looking for. So again, you put on the headphones, dial a great mix of the MIC and PICKUP and send the mix out to the house board through the COMBINED output. But the stage volume is great enough that the COMBINED mix you sent to the house is causing feedback when it is turned up in the monitors. Simply send the PICKUP output to the house board as well. This will assure you that the audience is hearing what you desire and the monitor feedback problem has been solved by using only the PICKUP in the monitors. Make sure the engineer understands that he should not use the PICKUP signal in the house mix or the COMBINED signal in the monitor mix. If there is a separate monitor board and monitors are being controlled through the stage board, send the COMBINED to the house console and PICKUP to the stage monitor board. When working with a familiar audio engineer, you both would probably agree that the flexibility of using the PICKUP and the MIC separately will produce quality results. This allows your house engineer to fine tune the mix of the two, considering house conditions. If you are in the studio, the engineer may want to record your pickup sound as well as using a studio quality microphone to get your sound. You would have the ability to send the engineer a more pleasing COMBINED sound for your pickup instead of just the pickup sound.

The next advantage is that the system uses a ôstereoö cord which carries the MIC and PICKUP signal from your instrument to the unit. Simply have a stereo end pin jack (TRS phono type) mounted in your instrument. There are many ways to mount the jack in fiddles, upright basses, banjos, etc.. In a guitar, it is your end pin strap holder. All you need is a three conductor cable, two leads and a shield, I make great cables if you need one. The third advantage is this system also powers the high impedance mic in your instrument. So there are no more batteries or on/off switches to deal with. The freedom that comes from not having to stand in front of a mic while having the consistency of a mic sound that is worth the effort. It makes your stage presentation look a whole lot better.

Finally, the AcH 104 is a professional rack mount unit. By using it, you will no longer have to contend with toy boxes and their batteries and patch cords. If you mount the AcH 104 in a rack, your effects units can be always connected, allowing for quick and simple set up. Just plug your instrument cord in the front and send the outputs where desired.

"I've been loving the Felix. I feel that the pure tone of my banjo is now coming through, and that nothing is degrading the sound along the way. I would highly recommend it to those that can hear the difference!"

From the wireless the signal goes to a t c electronics G-System.

Béla's rack holds one G-Force.

My main electric banjo is a custom Deering Crossfire. It has EMG pickups and an EMG preamp. I’ll also use it to trigger synthesizers with a Yamaha MIDI pickup connected to a Roland VG-8 guitar synth and a Roland GI-10 MIDI interface.

My main electric banjo is a custom Deering Crossfire. It has EMG pickups and an EMG preamp. I’ll also use it to trigger synthesizers with a Yamaha MIDI pickup connected to a Roland VG-8 guitar synth and a Roland GI-10 MIDI interface.

“I have a lot of systems onstage: an acoustic banjo, an electric, a synth system for an electric, a guitar, a wireless system, preamps, and EQs,” he explains. “It's a lot of stuff, so I just use the onboard sounds. Live, the Roland GR-33 works just fine.”