treesner Says:
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 @1:23:04 AM

Is this a little travel banjo? how does it play? I've been looking for something small and compact

OldPappy Says:
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 @5:33:50 AM

Yes it is a little travel banjo with a detachable neck so it can be stowed in a small travel bag, or suitcase.

I built it for a friend of mine.

It is a 20" scale, or what would have been called a "D" scale banjo in times past.

If you capo a standard scale banjo on the third fret you will have a close equivalent.

I don't want to sound like a braggart, but the pictures do not do it justice as far as looks. It is made from some very nice black walnut that I had in my loft for over twenty years. The neck is a three piece lamination of black walnut with a 1/4" white oak center, and the rim is block constructed black walnut. The peghead has a walnut burl overlay, and the fretboard is made from the blackest piece of ebony I have seen in twenty years.

The inlay on the heel end of the fretboard is a $1 Coal Script coin from the Panther Coal Company of Panther WVa. A very rare Script token that has significance to the owner of the banjo.

I cut the neck with a little more at heel to move the bridge a little more toward the center of the head to put a little "growl" in the tone.

A short scale is always going to be a little more sensitive as far as tuning goes, but this banjo sounds very good in the hands of the man who it was made for, especially when tuned for modal tunes.

The setup I used is especially for a "clawhammer" player.

It has a zero degree heel cut, a Kerscher style tail piece form Prucha, the fretboard is about 1/8" above the level of the head, and it has an 11/16" bridge. This setup has a nice low action over the fretboard, but plenty of room for the thumb to get behind the 5th string over the head. It has a tubular tone ring sitting on evenly spaced brass support points. It is strung with heavy gauge strings which helps with the tuning on a short scale like this.

Having an adjustable tailpiece is a good idea, but for a short scale with a zero angle heel, it is even more important to be able to adjust pressure applied to the bridge.