Vega Tubaphone Five String Banjo
This Vega Tubaphone was sent to me as a complete Vegaphone with a beautiful original tenor neck. The owner wanted to preserve the original instrument as much as possible but copy the original neck details making it into a five string banjo. I matched the finish of the original neck and used the original inlays. The owner had me do a couple of tweaks to the original inlays to make it a little more personalized. We swapped the Vega lettering in the peghead inlay to Tango, the town in West Virginia where they live and added in a silhouette of West Virginia in the lower part of the fingerboard. We kept all the original hardware as well as the resonator making it an excellent banjo for many different styles of playing.
- 26″ Scale Length
- 11″ Vegaphone Rim with Matching Resonator
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- Ivoroid Neck Binding
- Curly Maple Neck
- Custom and Original Vega Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Sunburst Nitrocellulous Lacquer Finish
- Modified C Shape Neck
- Stacked Vega Style Heel Cap
- Original Five Star Planetary Tuners
- Published in Banjos
1923 Vega Whyte Laydie No. 2 Banjo
This 1923 Vega Whyte Laydie rim features a faithful recreation of a No. 2 Griffin style neck. The large 12″ Whyte Laydie rim is one of the most sought after of all original Vega rims from this era and the sound does not disappoint. The classic inlays and engravings compliment the sound that comes along with these rims making a perfect match for any vintage banjo fan. The PegHed tuners used on this banjo are an excellent tuner that give you a vintage look with the ease of a modern geared tuner. The neck shape is a slightly modified original Vega neck profile for excellent comfort and playability.
- 1923 11-15/16″ Vega Whyte Laydie Rim
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- Hand Engraved Inlays
- PegHed Geared Friction Style Tuners
- Vintage Toned Hard Oil Finish
- Ivoroid Neck Binding
- Vega Stacked Heel Cap
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- Graphtech Tusq XL Nut
- EVO Fretwire
- Published in Banjos
055 – 11″ Curly Maple Dobson Special Banjo
This is a variation of the Seeders Dobson Special made with Curly Maple. This banjo has a powerful well rounded tone unique to the Dobson Special with a comfortable neck profile ideal for all hand sizes and comfort while playing all over the neck. The Dobson Special utilizes a Dobson tone ring mounted on a rolled brass ring to isolate the tone ring from the wooden rim giving it a unique and powerful Dobson sound with more balanced and a crisp overall tone. It’s simple but elegant inlays and overall design has a vintage inspired look while adding modern play ability and durability.
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 11″ Curly Maple Rim
- Dobson Special Tone Ring
- Hand Engraved Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Antiqued Brass Hardware
- Striped Ebony Fingerboard
- EVO Fretwire
- 1-5/16″ Bone Nut
- Gotoh Tuners
- Warm Red Brown Stain
- Cole Boat Heel
- Hard Oil Finish
- Published in Banjos
054 – Brass Clad Slot Head Banjo
This slot head banjo features a brass and Walnut half spun over rim with a Walnut neck and Maple accent veneers. The rim features a deep brass clad exterior topped and Walnut internal rim 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
- 1-5/16″ Black Tusq Nut
- Bubinga Tone Ring
- Striped Ebony Fingerboard
- Striped Ebony Peghead Overlays
- Maple Accent Veneers
- Pointed Volute
- Slot Head Peghead and Fifth String
- Antiqued Brass Hardware and Clad Rim
- EVO Frets
- Seeders Violin Bridge
- Published in Banjos
053 – 12″ Walnut Style 1 Banjo
This banjo has the standard Seeders 12″ Walnut Style 1 specs. It features a simple look with a focus on play ability and tone. The rolled brass tone ring is an excellent choice for old-time playing and the 12″ rim gives it a rich deep sound. The neck is a modern C shape neck for a comfortable feel.
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 12″ Walnut Rim
- Rolled Brass Tone Ring
- Antiqued Raw Brass Hardware
- EVO Fretwire
- Ebony Fingerboard and Details
- 1-5/16″ Nut
- Seeders Violin Bridge
- Published in Banjos
052 – 12″ Engraved Lion Head Whyte Laydie Banjo
This banjo is loosely based on early the golden age of Fairbanks and Fairbanks and Cole banjos. I redesigned the classic lion head griffin giving it a more fierce and lion like head. Using the original inlay patterns I created my own engravings giving it a traditional but more refined look. The curly maple 12″ rim features a Whyte Laydie tone ring with ivoroid binding and antiqued raw brass hardware. The tone from the 12″ Whyte Laydie is deep and precise. Paired with the elegant looks this is one of the finest of banjos available from Seeders Instruments.
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 12″ Curly Maple Rim
- Whyte Laydie Tone Ring
- Hand Engraved Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Antiqued Brass Hardware
- Striped Ebony Fingerboard
- EVO Fretwire
- Seeders Pointed Nuts
- 1-5/16″ Nut
- Ivoroid Binding
- Gotoh Tuners
- Red Amber Stain
- Cole Boat Heel
- Seeders Violin Bridge
- Hard Oil Finish
- Published in Banjos
051 – 11″ Curly Maple Dobson Special Banjo
This is a variation of the Seeders Dobson Special made with Curly Maple. This banjo has a powerful well rounded tone unique to the Dobson Special with a comfortable neck profile ideal for all hand sizes and comfort while playing all over the neck. The Dobson Special utilizes a Dobson tone ring mounted on a rolled brass ring to isolate the tone ring from the wooden rim giving it a unique and powerful Dobson sound with more balanced and a crisp overall tone. It’s simple but elegant inlays and overall design has a vintage inspired look while adding modern play ability and durability.
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 11″ Curly Maple Rim
- Dobson Special Tone Ring
- Hand Engraved Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Antiqued Brass Hardware
- Striped Ebony Fingerboard
- EVO Fretwire
- 1-5/16″ Bone Nut
- Gotoh Tuners
- Honey Maple Stain
- Cole Boat Heel
- Hard Oil Finish
- Published in Banjos
1929 Vega Tubaphone Longneck Conversion Banjo
This banjo started its life in 1929 as a Vega Vegaphone tenor banjo. The new longneck was design to match the original neck in style and looks while also using some of Vega’s Pete Seeger model as influence. These old Vega rims make excellent conversions and the Tubaphone paired with the longneck scale is a perfect combination for a big deep sound. The three extra frets on the low end of the longneck add a great range of tunings and keys to play in.
- 32″ Long Scale Length
- 1929 – 10-15/16″ Vega Tubaphone Rim
- Ivoroid Neck Binding
- Mother of Pearl Star Inlays
- Gotoh Tuners
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- Sunburst Nitrocellulous Lacquer Finish
- Published in Banjos
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