A banjo player here locally by the name of Bobby is turning either 76 or 77. It seems there is some confusion about which one, which I can understand, I suppose. Either way, he is turning one of them soon and a family member of his approached me about making him on of my cake-tin tenor banjos, which you see above.
Not sure what that back pan is for, I found it at the flea market. Looks good though, and holy jeebers is this thing loud. Loud with lots of sustain, and I have the action set really low on it. It sounds great. Not sure if it is the Corian bridge (a trick I learned from Steve Wishnevsky) or the particular resonance of the aluminum cake tin that is the banjo head, but it really rings. It is a lot of fun to play, and i hope Bobby (however old he is) has a hoot playing it for years to come.
Here is what it sounds like. I painted on the lettering by hand, something I used to do a lot, though not so much any more. It was fun to hold a liner again and do a little lettering.
Wow! Sounds great. My wife and I are watching the Kansas City / Indianapolis play-off game today and I have been checking out all of your blog posts. Your work is inspirational, educational and entertaining.
ReplyDeleteDo you make the instrument necks yourself?
Jeff
Jeff