Ballard Banjers - What's he building in there?

Ballard Banjers

Electric Box Banjo

12/6/2024

Just finished this fun little 'Box Banjo'! As it turned out so nice, I'll be making some more next year and offering them as an alternative 'standard' model.
Primarily built to be amplified, it doesn't sound too bad unplugged.

Brazilian Mahogany box with tin top
Brazilian Mahogany neck
24.75" scale Pau Ferro fingerboard
Humbucker pick up

Banjos #210 & #211

11/15/2024

Just finished these two beasts, very different in tone, but equally great!
Number 211 was a commission, however, 210 is available to buy, full details will be on the 'in stock' page shortly.

Banjo #210
11" Black Walnut rim
Silver Belle tone ring
Goat skin head
Ebony rim cap
Buckeye tailpiece
25.5" scale Ziricote fingerboard
Medium gauge D'Addario strings

Banjo #211
12" Boire block rim
Little Wonder tone ring
Renaissance head
Palm wood rim cap
Rickard tail piece
Boire neck
25" scale Ebont fingerboard
Light gauge D'Addario strings

Walnut Mountain Banjo

10/27/2024

The latest mountain banjo!

10" Walnut pot
8" goat skin head
Maple tone ring
Walnut neck
Ebony fingerboard
Geared tuners
Nylgut 'Minstrel' strings

6-String Banjo-Guitar (Guitjo, Banjitar)

10/4/2024

Just finished this 6-string banjo-guitar, the first one of these that I've made.
The customer gave me free reigns to build it how I thought best, so I went for a 12" Cherry pot and brass rod tone ring, to give it a rich, deep tone, with plenty of clarity and volume. I'm not much of a guitar player, but it turned out pretty sweet!

12" bent Cherry rim
Brass round rod tone ring
Renaissance head
Cherry neck
14" Radiused Ebony fingerboard

Day of the Dead banjo #207

9/20/2024

Finally finished this cool little banjo earlier this week, ready to ship over to the U.S. very soon!

11" Walnut block rim with integral tone ring
Goat skin head
Walnut neck
25.5" scale Ebony fingerboard
Medium gauge D'Addario strings

Two Fretless Banjos

7/3/2024

Check out the latest fretless banjos, the top one was a commission, but the bottom one is available.

11" Maple rim, flamed outer layer
Goat skin head
Maple neck
Ebony fingerboard
Rickard 'Cyclone' tuners
Heavy gauge nylon strings

12" Multi Birch Ply rim, sprayed black
Ash neck
Ebony friction tuners
Vintage hooks and shoes
Goat skin head
Heavy gauge nylon strings

Ash/Mahogany Fretless

5/31/2024

The latest fretless commission turned out pretty sweet!

12" European Ash, lightly figured 3-ply rim
Brazilian Mahogany rim cap
Calf skin head
Brazilian Mahogany neck
Pau Ferro fingerboard and peghead overlay
'Ballard' Sycamore bridge
Gotoh tuners
Aquila Nylgut 'Minstrel' strings

Walnut Mountain Banjo

5/16/2024

Just finished this flashy little mountain banjo. Haven't made one of these since early last year, so it was fun to build, turned out great too!

American black walnut 10" pot
Ebony rim cap
Walnut/Ash tone ring
6" Goat skin head
Walnut neck
Ebony fingerboard with Brass scoop plate
Ebony peghead overlay with inset 1945 penny farthing
LaBella nylon strings

Walnut Dobson #203

5/10/2024

Finished this one the end of last week, a replacement banjo for #188, which was stolen a few months back.
We decided to make a few changes/improvements to this one, most notably a 12" pot with additional Rosewood tonering, which sounds great, rather than the 11". An extra mother of pearl design was added to the peghead and 12th fret, and a Walnut rear peghead overlay with black pinstripe instead of Ebony.

12" Black walnut block rim
Rosewood/Dobson tone ring combination
Fibreskyn head
Black walnut neck
25.5" scale Ebony fingerboard
Hawktail tailpiece
D'Addario medium gauge strings

6-String Brazilian Mahogany

4/12/2024

The latest banjo #202, currently for sale, check out the 'banjos in stock' page for full specs and price.

12" Brazilian Mahogany block rim
Rolled brass tone ring
Renaissance head
Brazilian Mahogany neck
25.5" scale Ebony fingerboard
D'Addario medium strings, with a .032 Elixir acoustic guitar low G.