Finished this commissioned Minstrel banjo earlier in the week, possibly the prettiest Minstrel I've built!


If anyone is looking for a mountain banjo, I'll be finishing a nice Walnut one next week, which will be available to buy, keep an eye out for photos :)


Minstrel banjo
Maple neck
Rosewood fingerboard 27" scale
Rosewood peghead overlay & Walnut rear overlay
Mother of pearl Edelweiss flower
12" 2-ply Oak rim with Walnut cap
Goat skin head
Minstrel gauge nylon strings

Just finished the first of 4 similar banjos I currently have on the go, the other 3 will be finished in the coming weeks. I originally started these to use for a workshop I was asked to do, as this has now been cancelled, all 4 banjos will be available to buy.
This one has a thin, Walnut multi ply 12" rim and 1-piece Maple neck, it is very lightweight, sounds great and is very affordable.
​Full details are on the 'banjos in stock' page.

Fresh from the workshop, this banjo has some pretty cool features, including a deep 3.5" x 12" rim with an integral Rosewood tone ring, giving it a lovely deep tone with plenty of bottom end. The Rosewood top and thin calf skin help add a nice rich flavour, it is also set-up with a neck angle to accommodate a 3/4" high bridge, combined with the frailing scoop, this allows for plenty right hand  'claw' space but still maintaining a nice string height over the fretboard.

​Asking price is £1450 plus shipping. If commissioned, with the additional optional extras (underlined in bold), this would cost around £1650, so a nice £200 saving!

Look out for some fretless banjos coming up in the next few weeks :)

12" 2-Ply Maple rim, deep 3.5"
Rosewood tone ring
Ebony rim cap
Calf skin head
2-piece medium flamed neck, with Ebony pinstripe
Ebony fingerboard 26 3/16" scale length
Ebony peghead overlay
​Curvy frailing scoop
26 Nickel plated hooks, nuts and shoes
Gotoh planetary tuners and geared 5th
Nickel plated, notched tension hoop
'No knot' tailpiece
Bone nut and pip
Mother of pearl fingerboard position markers
White fingerboard edge dots
Ebony capped Cherry bridge
Mother of pearl star inlaid and engraved in peghead
Medium gauge GHS Americana strings

Here's the latest commissioned banjo, a super nice Walnut open back fitted with a 12" 'Whyte Laydie' tone ring.
12" Walnut block rim with Ebony cap
Whyte Laydie tone ring
Goat skin head
Walnut neck
25.5" Ebony fingerboard with brass side dots
Inlaid/engraved 'mother of pearl' moon and shooting star
Medium GHS Americana strings
Cherry bridge

 
Also, take a peek at the bottom three pics, this banjo will be finished next week and up for grabs!

Finished this tenor banjo commission yesterday, strung up and tuned GDAE for Irish tunes.
I haven't played a tenor banjo for well over 10 years, that's my excuse for the sloppy audio file, but you get the idea of the tone.
This was the first tenor I've built, hopefully it won't be the last, as it was a fun project. If you're interested in commissioning one, prices are the same as for my open back banjos.

Just a little reminder, I'll be finishing up some stock banjos over the next couple of months, the first should be listed For Sale in a couple of weeks (a Maple open back).

12" 2-ply Maple rim, capped top and bottom in Walnut
1/4" Brass rod tone ring
Renaissance head
Presto tailpiece
21.5" scale Ebony fingerboard
Black Walnut neck

Here's some photos of the batch I'm currently working on. The top 3 are commissions, so won't be available to purchase, however, the bottom 3 are extra stock. If you fancy cheering yourself up during these apocalyptic times, why not treat yourself to a new banjo!
The bottom left is a 12" Maple rim, with Rosewood tone ring and Ebony cap, the rim is an experimental 3.5" deep, should be mighty powerful in tone. Flamed Maple, 26 3/16" scale neck, it will have nickel hardware.
Bottom middle is an American black Walnut mountain banjo, with an inset sixpence I found in my garden. It will have a goat skin head, Ebony friction pegs and possibly a brass scoop plate.
Bottom right will be an all black Walnut open back, 25.5" scale Ebony fingerboard, 12" block rim, not sure which tone ring it will have yet, it will have brass hardware.
These three banjos will become available over the next few months, let me know if you like the look of any. I also have 4 fretless banjos I'm working on, which were intended to be used for a workshop I was booked to do over Summer, it's looking highly unlikely this will go ahead, so if it doesn't I will be also putting these up for sale at 'giveaway' prices!

Just finished these two tackhead commissions.

11", 3-ply Maple rim with Walnut cap and tone ring
Goat skin
Maple neck, 26" scale
​Heavy 'Minstrel' nylon strings

11", 2-ply stained Ash rim
Goat skin
Ash neck, 26" scale
Heavy 'Minstrel' nylon strings
​Gotoh planetary tuners

A few photos of the current batch of banjos being built.
Top left and right are Thomas and Malcolm's tackheads, one in Maple and one in Ash, should be complete in a few weeks. Stephen's Walnut 12" 'Whyte Laydie', due to be completed around May.
2nd row, left and right are some stock fretless banjos I'm putting together for a workshop I've been asked to do in July. These will be available to purchase later in July, 12" pots (mix of Walnut and Maple), Ash and Maple necks.
3rd row, left is Fabian's Minstrel, 2 Oak slats bent and ready for gluing, Maple neck with Rosewood fingerboard.
Right will be a stock banjo, I don't currently have any banjos in stock so thought I'd try and squeeze some in! 12" 2-ply Maple rim, not sure which tone ring I'll use, 26" scale flamed Maple neck. If you would like to put your name on this one let me know soon, still lots that can be customised :)
Bottom left is the beginnings of John's 4-string Tenor open back banjo, 12" Maple rim, short scale Walnut neck. My banjo playing started 20+ years ago on a 4 string Tenor, I'm looking forward to finishing this one and trying to remember some of the Irish tunes I used to play!
Bottom right will be another stock banjo, I was hoping to have finished this little Walnut mountain banjo last year but time didn't permit.

Finished Michael's Cherry banjo this week, everything came together extremely well, the copper/brass inlays look super sweet with the lovely figured Ebony fingerboard, Cherry wood and Brass hardware.
Really tasty tone too, rich and warm :)

Working on some Tackhead commissions next, follow my Instagram page for slightly more frequent updates!


Specs:
2-piece Cherry neck w/Ebony pinstripe
3-Ply 11" Cherry rim w/Ebony cap, Honduras Mahogany integral tone ring and Dobson tone ring
Ebony 25.5" scale fingerboard
Goat skin head
Cherry bridge
Medium GHS Americana strings

Finished this nice banjo earlier in the week, ready to send over to France on Monday.
Many of the features are inspired by an old 'Weaver' banjo - 12" thin Ash rim, bridge placement, peghead shape, fingerboard dot postions (notice the 3 dots at the 12th, and 1 at the 14th), Ebony tuning pegs.
Although this banjo is primarily designed for 'classic' style playing, I didn't stick rigidly to a traditionalist's preferred 'classic' set-up, so it is also very playable for clawhammer and other styles.
Since I'm atrocious at 'classic' style playing, I've recorded the 1st audio using 2-finger thumb lead style and the 2nd 'classic' piece in clawhammer style, to give an idea of the tonal possibilities!

Full specs:
26 1/4" scale length
Nylon, medium strings
12" Ash rim with brass round rod tone ring
​Cherry rim cap
Cherry neck and dowel stick
Thin calf skin head
Maple bridge