Monday, April 24, 2006

Tim Smith's new A scale banjo


Tim sent a photo of his new A scale that he built.
Here is what he says about it:

"Here are some pics of a banjo that I built for myself recently. It is an "A Scale" meaning the neck is about 2 inches shorter than normal (like a regular banjo capoed at 2). The home-made 10.5" rim is block-built of walnut with a fat cocobolo tone ring, heavy home-made brass tension hoop, store-bought hooks & brackets. The neck is a walnut/oak/walnut laminate with ebony fingerboard and peghead overlay. The pearl inlay is about as complex as I can handle. I've decided to use the Keystone shape on stuff I build. The neck was originally started by a guy who died before he finished it. It was then a Seeger long neck. It has a Renaissance head and Sosobee bridge. The tailpiece is a heavy brass home-made job I bought on eBay. I really enjoy playing it and it sounds great (to me). I'm still fooling with the set-up as it has some buzzing issues.

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