047 – 12″ Birdseye Maple Tubaphone No. 9
This custom banjo is designed around the classic Vega Tubaphone No. 9. The engraved mother of pearl inlays, found on the original model, were simplified and replaced with tightly figured Birdseye Maple for a simplified but elegant look. The Ivoroid binding was replaced using Curly Maple. Unlike the original maple rim this rim was built using Mahogany to match the neck and extra rim depth was added.
- 12″ Mahogany Rim
- 22.25″ Scale Length
- Tubaphone Tone Ring
- 26 Hook Bracket Band
- Three Piece Mahogany Neck
- Ebony Peghead, Rim Cap and Rear Peghead Overlay
- Birdseye Maple Inlays
- Raw Brass Hardware
- Curly Maple Binding
- Published in Banjos
046 – 12″ Style 3 Dobson Special Banjo
This is a 12″ Walnut Style 3 variation. 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. The low end range is enhanced slightly with the larger 12″ rim. 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
- 12″ Walnut Rim
- Dobson Special Tone Ring
- Hand Engraved Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Nickel Hardware
- Unplated Brass Tone Ring
- Striped Ebony Fingerboard
- EVO Fretwire
- 1-5/16″ Bone Nut
- Gotoh Tuners
- Red Brown Stain
- Ebony Heel Cap
- Hard Oil Finish
- Published in Banjos
045 – Moon and Sun Clover Banjo
This banjo was a custom order that featured some very unique inlays. An abalone crown tops the peghead with a bell hanging from the lower peghead like a necklace. The rear of the peghead has a moon and sun inlay that was a fun challenge to create with Mother of Pearl and Recon Stone. The side peghead snake inlays created a unique challenge and were done with a bronze powder. The green clovers on the fingerboard matched the deep green finish on the neck and rim. The puzzle piece as well as the other inlays have a special meaning to the owner of the banjo who it was designed for.
- 26.1875″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Bone Nut
- Custom Engraved Inlays
- Kavanjo Banjo Pickup
- Nickel Hardware
- Ebony Fingerboard, Rim Cap and Peghead
- Custom Green Finish
- Nitrocellulose Satin Finish
- Rolled Brass Tone Ring
- Rounded Volute
- Published in Banjos
044 – Curly Maple Style 3 Dobson Special Banjo
This is a variation of the Seeders Style 3 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 Amber Stain
- Cole Boat Heel
- Hard Oil Finish
- Published in Banjos
041 – Style 5 Dobson Special Banjo
This banjo is the first of my Style 5 Dobson Specials. It has Style 5 inlay details with a Dobson tone ring sitting atop a rolled brass tone ring to isolate it from the wooden rim. This creates the unique Dobson tone but adds an even deeper more balanced low end while keeping a nice crisp well rounded sound. This banjo is owned by the talented Carling Berkhout and can be heard on her Instagram feed as well as on our albums with our duo Carling and Will.
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 5/16″ Bone Nut
- 12″ Walnut Rim with Black Lacquer
- Dobson Special Tone Ring
- Engraved Fairbanks Mother of Pearl Peghead Inlay
- Striped Ebony Fingerboard and Peghead
- Walnut Neck
- Ivoroid Rim Binding
- Cole Boat Heel
- Antiqued Brass Hardware
- Published in Banjos
040 – Gibson Pyramid Tone Ring Conversion Banjo
This banjo started its life as a 1926 Gibson TB-1 tenor banjo. I converted it to a TB-2 Style Pyramid Tone Ring banjo with a very unique custom inlay theme. The Pyramid Tone Ring is a reproduction ring made by Arnold Clayton fitted to the original rim. The flange has been upgraded from the TB-1 Diamond Flange to an original TB-2 hex flange.
- 26.375″ Scale Length
- 1-1/4″ Nut
- Aztec Themed Engraved Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Curly Maple Neck
- Ebony Fingerboard and Peghead
- Ivoroid Binding
- Radiused Fingerboard
- Published in Banjos
039 – Ladybug Pony Banjo
A piccolo/pony banjo made from Curly Maple with a Ladybug inlay.
- 18″ Scale Length
- 8″ Curly Maple Rim
- 1-1/4″ Bone Nut
- Ironwood Fingerboard
- Curly Maple Neck
- Walnut Rim Cap and Peghead
- Red Veneer Details
- Amber Tuner Knobs
- Rolled Brass Tone Ring
- Published in Banjos
038 – Seeders Style 3 Cherry Banjo
This banjo was built for someone who started it all for me. The 4 year old that the very first banjo I sold was built for and my piccolo/pony banjo was designed for was turning 9 and was finally ready for a full sized banjo. It’s a variation of my Style 3 model made from Cherry.
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- 1-5/16″ Nut
- 11″ Cherry Rim
- Cherry Neck
- Rolled Brass Tone Ring on Pins
- Engraved Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Van Epps Style Tension Hoop
- Cole Style Boat Heel
- Walnut Rim Cap
- Striped Ebony Fingerboard and Peghead
- Published in Banjos
037 – Engraved 12″ Thin Rim Banjo
A walnut long scale banjo with a thin rim featuring engraved mother of pearl inlays. The rim has the owners niece and nephews initials engraved into the rim cap to add an extra personal touch. I used the floral engraving theme to design a unique fifth string transition carving.
- 27″ Scale Length
- 12″ Walnut Thin and Deep Rim
- Hand Engraved Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Weymann Peghead Shape
- Ivoroid Bound Fingerboard, Rim and Peghead
- Ebony Bound Dowel Stick
- EVO Fretwire
- Nickel Hardware
- Fifth String Transition Carving
- Published in Banjos
035 – Pi Banjo Conversion
This banjo started as a 4 string Little Wonder banjo from 1919. The original neck was falling apart and the owner wanted a new five string neck. Built for the same customer as the Prime Number Banjo and is a similar numbers theme. Using Pi as the idea we came up with this unique design. I came up with a new technique for making delicate inlaid dots to feature the number of the banjo at the end of the Pi string and a Pi symbol for the decimal point.
- 10-15/16″ 1919 Vega Little Wonder Rim
- 26-3/16″ Scale Length
- Pi Themed Inlays
- Ebony Fretboard and Peghead
- Ironwood Inlays
- Delicate Inlaid Dots
- Cherry Neck
- Published in Banjos