What's the best box call you ever ran but do not own? Maybe a friend has one or ran at a show etc. don't list calls that you personally own. The best one I ever ran was a yellowheart strawser at NWTF nationals. Go!
Best I've ran that I didn't own is a toss up between a Ipe/mineral poplar and a mora/butternut fiddle box both of which my friends own
Last year at the NE Call Makers Summit I handled a nifty little one sider by Marlin Watkins that I really liked. I do not remember the combination but I could find out as I know somebody else here ended up buying it.
Neil Cost personal Paddle of butternut and cedar, owned by Roland Martin. Every time we got together in the spring and that Cost call played its tune, pure indescribable magic followed. That man and that call taught me tons about gathering turkey beards and feets .
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I have to agree w jrrodc I know exactly the boxes he's referring to but he's got some great ones as well.
I just mailed two to a guy in Arkansas to use in my quarantined absence I hope he will use them as he is a die hard diaphragm user!
No pics but one was all Pinion and one was a base of red cedar, walls of lodgepole pine and a lid of osage. I picked two of the best out of this winter's hobby box full of about 50 or so, engraved them so he can't sell them and just sent them out!
Pinion is a strange wood to work with, as is osage, but I like both. Beetle-killed lodge pole makes a purty cluck I must add.
Can't say I've ever ran one of somebody else call, that sounds any better than the ones i own. Reason why i pick my sound my tone ..
Paboxcall has a Snozz persimmon shorty that's the schizz.
Spent an afternoon BS'ing with Marlin and running calls (that I didn't buy) in his shop.........
Guy I used to hunt with had a hickory over walnut box by an old boy from SC (who I've been after for about 4 years to build ME a few calls) that sounded just about right.
Haven't had a lot of opportunity to run other peoples calls, but met Charlie Parrish a few years back while hunting in Florida and while sitting around and talking about calls and running them he had me run his personal hunting hen box. That was a very fine call.
Scott Witter's Bloodwood over Black Limba, that he entered in Nashville this year.
I've given this some thought and I can't come up with anything. That's probably a good thing.
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Excellent thread, Dawkins short box a friend had
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Had a fiend with an original Turpin, but it had a piece of oak glued into the paddle. Most effective call I have ever seen. A friend found it in a garage back in the 80's and gave it to him. He died three years ago and the call has disappeared.
a Lamar Williams cucumber and walnut paddle box a friend has.
I would say one of Steve Brown's calls at 2019 Unicoi. I bought a maple over butternut and there were a couple more that were equal in sound quality.
The #4 Paddle call Neil Cost ever made Cedar over Black Walnut ! I played it 2019 at Lamar Williams shop after lunch with the owner . He and a friend were hunting near Mr Lamars and we all went to lunch . Made some pics with it and spent the rest of the afternoon playing some of Mr Lamar's creations and some from his Mentor Neil "Gobbler" Cost's old calls . That walnut paddle call was the absolute best Cost call i've ever held or heard run and thats close to 20 of them . To say I was awestruck was an understatement ! BTY Thank you again Mr Jerry .
That Cost Paddle was started May 1989 and finished January 1992 .
Ive been after Mr Lamar to build me one like that for @ 5 yrs or better . Really hate I didn't get to get down there this yr with all this Beer Virus and such ...!
I got to run Ralph Snodgrass's personal paddle call, his "riverboat call"
it is by far the best box call of any type I've ran.
I've played a number of different fiddles, (violins not Marlins calls.)
some felt and sounded like a 2x4, a couple of the best ones had a certain feel or vibration that is hard to describe but besides sounding great you could feel a certain liveliness in it.
The "Riverboat" has that sound and same feel to it.
Quote from: crow on April 21, 2020, 07:32:57 PM
I got to run Ralph Snodgrass's personal paddle call, his "riverboat call"
it is by far the best box call of any type I've ran.
I've played a number of different fiddles, (violins not Marlins calls.)
some felt and sounded like a 2x4, a couple of the best ones had a certain feel or vibration that is hard to describe but besides sounding great you could feel a certain liveliness in it.
The "Riverboat" has that sound and same feel to it.
Ralph knew he had something special with that box so he kept it. Makes you wonder how many calls these guys make before they get that extra special one that sounds just a little better than the rest. And how many that they had to ship away but really wanted to keep it for themselves.
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Quote from: crow on April 21, 2020, 07:32:57 PM
I got to run Ralph Snodgrass's personal paddle call, his "riverboat call"
it is by far the best box call of any type I've ran.
I've played a number of different fiddles, (violins not Marlins calls.)
some felt and sounded like a 2x4, a couple of the best ones had a certain feel or vibration that is hard to describe but besides sounding great you could feel a certain liveliness in it.
The "Riverboat" has that sound and same feel to it.
Quote from: Chris O on April 21, 2020, 11:20:40 PM
Ralph knew he had something special with that box so he kept it. Makes you wonder how many calls these guys make before they get that extra special one that sounds just a little better than the rest. And how many that they had to ship away but really wanted to keep it for themselves.
For very special calls at that level, I believe that there are qualities inherent in particular pieces of wood that the callmaker has little control over. A gift of the wood.
Quote from: crow on April 21, 2020, 07:32:57 PM
I got to run Ralph Snodgrass's personal paddle call, his "riverboat call"
it is by far the best box call of any type I've ran.
I've played a number of different fiddles, (violins not Marlins calls.)
some felt and sounded like a 2x4, a couple of the best ones had a certain feel or vibration that is hard to describe but besides sounding great you could feel a certain liveliness in it.
The "Riverboat" has that sound and same feel to it.
I have the sister. I ran it too amongst a couple others of his personal stash.
Quote from: yelpy on April 22, 2020, 05:59:16 PM
Quote from: crow on April 21, 2020, 07:32:57 PM
I got to run Ralph Snodgrass's personal paddle call, his "riverboat call"
it is by far the best box call of any type I've ran.
I've played a number of different fiddles, (violins not Marlins calls.)
some felt and sounded like a 2x4, a couple of the best ones had a certain feel or vibration that is hard to describe but besides sounding great you could feel a certain liveliness in it.
The "Riverboat" has that sound and same feel to it.
I have the sister. I ran it too amongst a couple others of his personal stash.
I ran that Snozz secret stash too.
My mac ebony over chestnut mini Snozz box was a personal call of his and I talked him out of it after hearing it just once. Any my persimmon box, Ralph offers to buy that one back every time we see each other.
Quote from: paboxcall on April 22, 2020, 07:34:32 PM
Quote from: yelpy on April 22, 2020, 05:59:16 PM
Quote from: crow on April 21, 2020, 07:32:57 PM
I got to run Ralph Snodgrass's personal paddle call, his "riverboat call"
it is by far the best box call of any type I've ran.
I've played a number of different fiddles, (violins not Marlins calls.)
some felt and sounded like a 2x4, a couple of the best ones had a certain feel or vibration that is hard to describe but besides sounding great you could feel a certain liveliness in it.
The "Riverboat" has that sound and same feel to it.
I have the sister. I ran it too amongst a couple others of his personal stash.
I ran that Snozz secret stash too.
My mac ebony over chestnut mini Snozz box was a personal call of his and I talked him out of it after hearing it just once. Any my persimmon box, Ralph offers to buy that one back every time we see each other.
the riverboat, I still think it outshines them all