• Roger Siminoff signs off

    Roger Siminoff, noted luthier, historian, acoustics researcher, and author, has announced that he will be retiring this month after 56 years working for the benefit of bluegrass and acoustic musicians. He will be winding down his banjo and mandolin parts

  • Straight Up Strings for guitar

    Over the next few days we will describe some of the new items for bluegrass folks introduced in the Exhibit Hall during the IBMA's World of Bluegrass convention earlier this month, and a few that were new to us. First up

  • Straight Up Strings for banjo

    Straight Up Strings, designed and marketed by Roger Siminoff, is following up the successful introduction of their mandolin strings with three sets for banjo, starting October 1. Like the mandolin strings, Roger designed these sets to create even downward tension from

  • Straight Up Strings from Roger Siminoff

    For the past fifty plus years, Roger Siminoff has been at the forefront of technical analysis for fretted stringed instruments. He has published his research over the years in a number of publications geared towards acoustic musicians, notably Banjo NewsLetter

  • IBMA 2009: Special Awards

    John and I have already had a busy day. We attended the Special Awards Luncheon, interviewed Sam Bush, and were interviewed by Katy Daley. At the Special Awards Luncheon we had the distinct pleasure of sharing a table with Rodney Dillard,

  • Banjo NewsLetter 35th Anniversary issue

    The November issue of Banjo NewsLetter marks the 35th Anniversary of continuous publication for this cherished 5-string monthly. And how appropriate that it follows founder Hub Nitchie's posthumous receipt of an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award in October 2008. This issue contains