Vega Little Wonder Conversion Banjo
A 12″ Vega Little Wonder rim that, like many of these, was originally a tenor banjo. The neck was long gone and the owner happened to have a very nice piece of Santos Mahogany around that an old friend had given him many years ago. Sticking with a simple Vega aesthetic I created a new neck from the wood he sent. It turned out to be an excellent neck material and a perfect color match for the stained maple rim. A simple adorned but extremely enjoyable banjo to play. The Little Wonder rims and tone rings are often overlooked but they can have an excellent sound when setup correctly.
- 26-3/16″ Scale Length
- 11-15/16″ Vega Little Wonder Rim
- Ebony Fingerboard, Peghead and Heelcap
- Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Original Dowel Stick Construction
- Calf Skin Head
- Published in Banjos
Vega Tubaphone Slothead Banjo
A nice old original Tubaphone rim with an original Tubaphone resonator. The client wanted a slothead neck with simple aesthetics setup for fingerstyle playing.
- Original 11″ Vega Tubaphone Rim with Resonator
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- Curly Hard Maple Neck with Ebony details
- Brass side dot inlays
- Micro Dot Mother of Pearl Fretboard Inlays
- Slothead Peghead
- Seeders Curved Bridge
- Renaissance Head
- EVO Fretwire
- 2 Way Truss Rod Hidden in Heel
- Published in Banjos
Washburn Raised Tone Ring Slothead Banjo
This banjo started it’s life as a Washburn Banjolin. It had a broken and badly repaired neck that wasn’t worth saving so I built this neck to go on the rim. It has a very unique design that Washburn used for a few years with many tenor banjos and banjolins. It has a pleasant but unique sound as you could expect from the odd construction of the tone ring and is fun to play.
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 2 Way truss rod hidden in Heel
- Curly maple neck with Ebony Details Stained to Match Rim
- Ebony short backstrap overlay
- EVO Frets
- Small Dot Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Brass Side Dots
- Washburn Raised Tone Ring Spun Rim
- Slothead Peghead
- Goat Skin Head
- Seeders Fielding Style Bridge
- Soft V-C shape neck profile
- Published in Banjos
031 – Internal Resonator Tennessee Banjo
This banjo was built for a Tennessee native as you may be able to tell. It features a Bacon style Internal Resonator rim with Tennessee themed inlays. It has a big, dark, plunky and rich sound that you would expect from an internal resonator banjo with a 1/4″ brass rod tone ring.
- 26-3/16″ Scale Length
- Maple Neck and Bacon style Internal Resonator Rim
- 1/4″ Brass Rod Tone Ring
- Honduran Rosewood Fingerboard
- Claro Walnut Peghead Overlay
- Recon Stone and Gold Mother of Pearl Tennessee Inlays
- Backstrap and mini volute
- 1-1/4″ Buffalo Horn Nut
- Renaissance Head
- 16 Hooks
- Antiqued Brass Hardware
- Published in Banjos
030 – Pipe Makers Banjolin
This banjolin was custom made for my friend Steve Norse who owns and runs Vermont Freehand/Pimo Pipecraft. We chose to make as many pieces as possible from the pipe making supplies that he sells. The rim is Italian Briar with an Ebonite rim cap. The neck and peghead overlay is Morta, a Ukranian bog oak that turns black because of the trees were submerged in bogs for many thousands of years with exposure to acidic waters and lack of oxygen. It’s carbon dated to approximately 5500-5600 years old. The fretboard is made from Cumberland, a vulcanized rubber that is used for stems of pipes. The inlays and heelcap are pre-ban salvaged ivory.
- 10″ Italian Briar Rim
- 14-9/16″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- Ebonite Rim Cap
- Cumberland Fretboard
- Ivory inlays
- Morta Neck
- Buffalo Horn Nut
- Published in Banjos
029 – Cherry and Birdseye Maple Tubaphone Banjo
This banjo was an outside the box design that the client had a fun vision for. Being a big Grateful Dead fan he wanted to use some of his favorite details and themes from his love of their craft.
This banjo uses a combination Cherry and Birdseye Maple rim construction. There are two cherry layers trapped between two Birdseye maple outside layers. Neck in two photos is showing an older cherry neck to show how the cherry will darken over time creating a beautiful contrast with the Ironwood.
- Cherry and Walnut Neck
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 11″ Birdseye Maple and Cherry Combination Rim
- Bill Rickard Tubaphone Tone Ring
- Birdseye Maple Peghead Overlay
- Amber Stain on rim and peghead
- Ironwood Fingerboard
- Black Mother of Pearl wolf print inlays with engraved star
- Antiqued Brass Hardware
- John Balch Skin Head
- Published in Banjos
028 – Aluminum Rim Conversion Banjo
This custom banjo was designed around an old aluminum rim that was originally found in a 70’s or 80’s factory made Japanese banjo like the rim from Seeders #019. The rims make great sounding lightweight conversions for a handmade neck. This banjo features a Cherry and Walnut neck with a curly Walnut peghead overlay and an Ironwood fingerboard with Walnut Inlays.
- 25-1/2″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Bone Nut
- 11-1/8″ Aluminum Pot
- Renaissance Head
- Ironwood Fretboard with Walnut Inlays
- Curly Walnut Peghead Overlay
- Seeders Ironwood and Cherry Bridge
- Published in Banjos
027 – Curly Maple Longneck Banjo
This Curly Maple Longneck banjo was designed as a variation to Seeder Banjo #010. We used an original peghead shape and a slightly red golden brown stain to highlight the exceptional curly maple figure of the neck and birdseye figure of the rim. It also features a quote chosen by the client on the head custom screen printed by a good friend and professional screen printer Andrew Stearns. The client also had the cool unique idea of using the date of the first cut I made on the wood for the banjo on the brass name plate.
- 11″ Steam Bent Birdseye Maple Rim
- 32″ Longneck Scale Length
- 1-5/16″ Nut
- Tubaphone Tone Ring
- Hand Engraved Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Mother of Pearl Side Dots
- Curly Maple Neck with Volute
- 24 Shoe Bracket Band
- Nickle Plated Hardware
- Gotoh Tuners
- Seeders Bridge
- Seeders Pyramid Heel
- Custom Screen Printed Fibersykn Head
- Published in Banjos
026 – Cherry and Rosewood Piccolo Banjo
This Cherry and Rosewood piccolo features the Seeders Instruments logo in mother of pearl inlayed into the fumed English Oak peghead veneer. It’s a simply adorned piccolo with a one piece cherry neck and a steam bent rim with a Bubinga tone ring and walnut details.
- 18″ Piccolo/Pony Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Bone Nut
- 8″ Cherry Steam Bent Pot
- Bubinga Tone Ring
- Pointed Volute
- Mother of Pearl Seeders Instruments logo inlayed in Fumed English Oak Peghead
- Rosewood Fretboard
- Aquila Nylgut Strings
- Published in Banjos
025 – VT Native Wood Banjo
A Vermont native wood banjo made from Cherry, Walnut and Ironwood. The owner decided on some of the details to pick up on some common themes that we see throughout the state. We went with Cherry, Walnut and Ironwood as they are common hardwoods grown sustainably throughout the state and make great sounding banjos. The Fiberskyn head reminded him of the cows that you see throughout the state’s dairy farms (while not having to use a calf skin for the banjo). The amber tuning knobs and maple leaf inlay touched on the maple sugaring industry that is such a large part of Vermont tradition and culture.
- Vermont Cherry and Walnut Brick Laid 11″ Pot
- 25-1/2″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- Ironwood Fretboard
- Ironwood Vermont Inlay in Curly Walnut Peghead Overlay
- Cherry and Walnut Three Piece Neck
- Seeders Pyramid Heel with Vermont Inlay
- Vermont Inlay in Frailing Scoop
- Paddle Peghead Shape
- Published in Banjos