Guy - Posted - 06/22/2015:  12:57:41

Ha ha, KS, that one's easy. try one of Tom's cocobola wooden tone rings. They sound great, so much so, a lot of people prefer them and they weigh next to nothing.

I don't know if Tom's tried carbon fibre yet but if he hasn't, it'll be on his list of things to do...

Guy

chickenlady - Posted - 07/13/2015:  14:20:30

To those who own an Excelsior (machined metal body) open back, what is the exact weight of your banjo? What tone ring do you have ( metal or wood)? I like the possibilities of this model, but, want a light weight banjo. I think a wood tone ring would help keep the weight down. Thank you for your response.

Guy - Posted - 07/13/2015:  15:36:07

Hi Chicken Lady
You could always ask the folks at Nechville themselves but I'm pretty sure the Moonshine with the Excelsior body and a wooden tone ring would weigh around the same as a typical well made open back banjo.
Guy

nematode! - Posted - 07/13/2015:  16:16:21

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guy

 

Hi Chicken Lady

You could always ask the folks at Nechville themselves but I'm pretty sure the Moonshine with the Excelsior body and a wooden tone ring would weigh around the same as a typical well made open back banjo.

Guy

---

Edited by - nematode! on 07/13/2015 16:17:59

chickenlady - Posted - 07/13/2015:  16:31:54

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guy

 

Hi Chicken Lady

You could always ask the folks at Nechville themselves but I'm pretty sure the Moonshine with the Excelsior body and a wooden tone ring would weigh around the same as a typical well made open back banjo.

Guy

---

Thanks for the suggestion, but, I once emailed this question to Nechville and was told that the weight was about 7 - 7 1/2 pounds (extra weight due to the machined metal body). I then read on a "What's new at Nechville" thread, Al Price state that the weight was about 5 pounds. Thus my confusion and and my current question here. This is why I posed this question to "those who own an Excelsior...".

Guy - Posted - 07/14/2015:  00:33:20

Mea culpa! I shall read the questions more fully in future. Just too passionate about Nechville's I suppose :-)

Denton - Posted - 07/14/2015:  04:20:27

actually an Excelsior with wooden tone ring seems lighter to me than my Nechville Whyte Ladie with flux capacitor.

bjango53 - Posted - 07/14/2015:  23:59:49

Does anyone know what strings Nechville sends out on new phantoms ?

Guy - Posted - 07/15/2015:  01:42:10

I think Tom uses GHS :-)

alprice - Posted - 07/15/2015:  11:01:18

GHS 10-12-14-22-10 for strings.   

 

Chickenlady, weight will vary depending on the tone ring selected.

pick1936 - Posted - 07/17/2015:  10:08:11

My Classic  Deluxe Wood  Ringed  banjo  weighs 7 Lbs.  using  digital  bathroom  scales.  Very  good  on  My  back.  

Nechville In Higginsville

​Lee Kelso

pick1936 - Posted - 07/20/2015:  19:47:23

What other banjo can offer  half  as much as a Nechville?

​Nechville  In  Higginsville.

Lee  Kelso

boernegrass - Posted - 10/31/2015:  12:49:50

Wow, 89 pages of replies.  I'm a late comer to the thread, having purchased a Nextar in March this year.

Before I ever heard or tried a Nechville, I wanted one.  Technology appeals to me (being an engineer).  I used to set the head tension on my old Vega banjo using torque wrenches, or the coin-and straight edge method, or tapping on it and watching the tuner display. I never could develop a feel for it, so off to the luthier it went.  The Heli-Mount seemed like a much cleaner way to go about it.   No more trying to balance 24 tensioning screws.

Actually trying a Nechville clinched the deal for me.  There are no Nechville dealers in Texas where I live (what's with that?).  But last March,  on a trip to Phoenix, we went over to the Acoustic Vibes music store in Tempe.  In the banjo room, I had a chance to try a number of really nice banjos.  While they all sounded wonderful, the Nextar had such a nice tone and played so well that I bought it on the spot (at a really reasonable price, I might add).  My choice was later confirmed by comments received from fellow jam members back home. One of my fiddle-playing friends said, "whatever you paid for that thing, it was well worth it."  So I am one happy customer.  Good job, Tom.

It's likely not the last banjo I will ever own.  There are so many other fine banjos would love to try out.  All it takes is money.

chickenlady - Posted - 11/21/2015:  15:46:37

Anybody have a Nechville Titanium topped wood tone ring (TTT) they'd like to sell? Thank you.

Unclelevi - Posted - 11/22/2015:  14:30:45

I,ve had my Nechville Vintage 10 days now  (still have my OME) and for the first time, I've practiced 3-5 hours a day for the last 10 days. Does THAT tell you what I think of my new Nechville ?

banjo bill-e - Posted - 11/22/2015:  16:38:19

I'm not sure if I want a Nechville banjo but I surely would love a Nechville neck, with tunneled fifth, please. The only one I ever had a chance to play, I really liked the feel of the neck, and I mean a lot.
As for the rest, that would take further investigation, and they are not exactly common.

psikes - Posted - 11/22/2015:  17:03:19

I have been playing my Saturn pretty constant at least an hour a day and love it more every time I grab it. The tunneled 5th would be pretty cool to have, I have played a few of them at Wintergrass and the Wenatchee River Bluegrass festival. There are no better people to deal with than Tom and Al and as far as my needs and wants, no better banjo.

Guy - Posted - 11/23/2015:  06:00:39

Hi banjo bill-e

Tom does a device called a flux capacitor which allows you to attach a Nechville neck to a standard banjo body :-)

Guy

banjo bill-e - Posted - 11/23/2015:  08:12:08

Thanks Guy, I know about that option. Of course, it's the neck that is the major expense here and I'm not sure if I would really like some other pot better, but I am keeping that idea in mind. You know, in the "someday" file.

Guy - Posted - 11/24/2015:  04:49:17

Hi Bill

I just wanted to check that you knew that option was available. It was Tom's necks that first got me hooked, then I started to realise that Tom's banjos were capable of a far greater range of tones and sounds, even without changing the set-up than I could achieve on a Gibson clone. I can go from really sweet and mellow to a hard driving sound in the blink of an eye.

I told my wife it would be a lifetime investment, It's now seven or eight years on and I can't see that changing. Course if I came into a windfall I might buy some more Nechvilles. I don't have B.A.S. I've got N.A.S. :-)

All the best

Guy