049 – Spunover Slothead Banjo
This slothead banjo features a brass and Walnut half spun over rim with a Walnut neck. The unique slotted fifth string tuner is located on the 7th fret, a detail often found on some original Dobson banjos. Because of the extra mass of the slotted fifth string tuner area this gives the player plenty of room below it for more comfortable playing. The rim features a deep brass clad exterior topped with a Bubinga tone ring. The unique design of this banjo gives it a eye catching look and has an incredibly well rounded sound to match.
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 11″ Walnut and Brass clad rim
- Bubinga tone ring
- Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard
- Figured Claro Walnut peghead overlays
- Pointed volute
- Slotted peghead and fifth string
- Antiqued Brass hardware and clad rim
- EVO frets
- Seeders Violin bridge
- Published in Banjos
Fretboard Journal – Open Back Banjo Construction
I was recently featured in Fretboard Journal article about the fundamentals of open back banjo construction. The author, Carling Berkhout, interviewed builders, players and banjo experts to find a wealth of information that will be interesting to any banjo player.
- Published in News
Podcast with The Fretboard Journal
When out in Seattle recently I made a trip over to The Fretboard Journal. Jason Verlinde recorded a fun talk we had about my work and the world of custom open back banjos.
- Published in News
Exclusive Music Emporium Dealership
Seeders Instruments banjos are now available for purchase at The Music Emporium in Lexington, Mass. If you’re not looking to get a custom made banjo or would like to skip the wait, head over to their shop to find the latest inventory of readily available models. The knowledgeable friendly staff and amazing inventory of instruments will never disappoint.
- Published in News
Interview for Smithsonian Banjo Builder DVD Series
Check out my interview with Craig Evans featured in Volume 5 of Conversations with Old-Time Performers & Banjo Builders. Craig and I had a great conversation about my story that led to becoming a banjo builder, I hope you enjoy what he put together. It’s an honor to be included with friends and many of my greatest influences in this series in the Smithsonian Collection. The link to purchase the DVD set can be found at the bottom of this page.
http://www.oldtimeconversations.com/old-time-performers.html
- Published in News
G003 – Del Vecchio Style Resonator Guitar
The Del Vecchio style resonator proved to be a unique challenge to recreate. The design is based on an original Del Vecchio resonator but modified slightly and built to handle steel string instead of nylon which the originals were built for. Because the unique parts for these guitars are not available for purchase I had to recreate the majority of them.
The Del Vecchio design is a single cone resonator that features a shorter cone with a floating biscuit type bridge. Instead of the biscuit being attached to the top of the cone, in a traditional biscuit bridge resonator, it sits on a pointed lip on top of the cone and is held with string pressure. The biscuit is hollowed out on the inside so it only contacts the lip and is quite light. One of the most distinguishing features is that it incorporates the cutout of the top as a cover plate for the cone. The interesting design of the cone support allows for this. It’s a hand spun piece of Aluminum that drops into the top and snaps into place. The groove that holds the support in place also holds the cutout of the top, which is trapped into place with a spring steel wire. Overall it creates a very eye catching look and has a wonderfully sweet and unique sound not often found in a traditional biscuit resonator.
- 24.9″ Scale Length
- 1.75″ Nut
- Slope Shoulder Body Shape
- Slotted Headstock
- Adirondack Spruce Top
- Quilted Maple Back and Sides
- Birdseye Maple and Walnut Neck
- Walnut Binding
- Bubinga Biscuit Bridge
- Waverly Tuners
- Published in Guitars
G002 – Mahogany Slope Shoulder
This guitar was modeled after a 1957 Gibson J-45 with a couple of twists and my own brace tuning. It resulted in a powerful guitar with a strong sound and a well balanced tone. The classic curves of the slope shoulder body shape paired with excellent tone woods bring together a perfect blend of tone and style.
- Adirondack Spruce Top
- Figured Mahogany Back and Sides
- Mahogany Neck
- 1.75″ Nut
- 24.75″ Scale Length
- Ebony Fingerboard and Peghead Overlay
- Ebony Reverse Belly Bridge
- Grained Ivoroid Binding
- Rounded Volute
- EVO Frets
- Waverly Tuners
- Published in Guitars
G001 – Walnut Parlor Guitar
This Walnut parlor guitar was mostly built in the Circle Strings shop under the guidance of my friend and fellow Vermont luthier, Adam Buchwald. I was working part time for Adam helping him implement the use of a CNC into his building process. The guitar features an inlay designed by the recipient of the guitar which was built for her as a gift and commissioned by an old friend of mine. The small size of the parlor guitar is not to be underestimated as it has a large presence and very focused but sweet sound, especially when fingerpicked.
- Engelmann Spruce Top
- Black Walnut Back and Sides
- 24.75″ Scale Length
- 1.75″ Nut
- Ebony Peghead and Fingerboard
- Herringbone Rosette
- Curly Maple Binding
- Abalone Location Dots
- Custom Recon Stone Inlay
- Waverly Tuners
- Ebony Pyramid Bridge
- Pointed Volute
- Published in Guitars
048 – B’rer Rabbit Trickster Banjo
This banjo features some of my favorite inlay and engraving work yet. The unique folklore trickster theme led us to make some very fun decisions that tied everything together very nicely in a personal and cohesive way. We started with B’rer Rabbit on the peghead and the Japanese Kitsunev, a nine tailed fox, in the scoop with fox prints traveling up the fingerboard. We later added a raven to the back of the peghead and lastly a butterfly to the heel. The connection of the two is as follows, “in the Canadian Pacific northwest, the Haida depict Butterfly as the companion of Raven the Creator-Trickster, perhaps acknowledging the unpredictable and unreliable nature of “flights of fancy” and dreaming”. The copper of the half fretless overlay with brass screws led to the use of copper and brass side location dots as well as the raw brass hardware. Overall a very fun and playful but elegant design resulted.
- 12″ Curly Walnut Rim
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- Wenge Tone Ring
- Copper and Brass Half Fretless Overlay with Engraved Fret Markers
- Copper with Brass Eye Side Location Dots
- Ebony Peghead Binding
- Engraved White, Black and Gold Mother of Pearl and Abalone Inlays
- Figured Maple Details with Golden Brown Stained Finish
- Backstrap
- Raw Brass Hardware
- Brooks Banjos Hooks and Nuts
- Scalloped Ebony Nut
- Seeders Violin Bridge
- Fielding Tailpiece
- Aquila Nylgut Strings
- Published in Banjos