MrNatch3L - Posted - 06/21/2012:  12:07:10

After owning it for some 20 years I discovered that my 70s vintage StewMac aluminum pot banjo sounded a whole lot better when tuned down to E. After adding a Ren. head, adjustable tailpiece and a Kat Eyz bridge I had a really sweet sounding folky banjo. I dubbed it The Mutt because I changed out so many of the original parts. For a couple of years now I've been looking for a second one. I've missed several that came up for sale. This week a kind of funky one came up in the classifieds and I was able to nab it. Not totally sure about it other than the pot, but it will be fun whipping it into shape. I may just leave it with my brother in the States so when I visit I don't need to haul a banjo with me.

Now that I have my second one, I'll let out a little secret I discovered. If you come across one of these old StewMac cast aluminum archtop kits, they make a nice beginner banjo... better than a lot of new stuff you could get for anywhere near the price. But be aware that bluegrass is not where they really shine although you can jam with 'em just fine. It's low keys seem to be really good. If you like to play Hartford tunes and other stuff down in E tuning, put on a Ren head, a decent tailpiece (The Mutt now has the original Presto off my Bishline), and a heavy bridge (Mutt has a 2 gram Kat Eyz ebony topped McCormick Spice bridge) and medium strings, and you can end up with a real sweet sounding banjo. A lot of the stuff on my music page is recorded with The Mutt (pic attached).

These kit-jos in the original form also make a good travel banjo because the neck is a bit shorter scale and it's just bolted on. Take it apart and pack in a checked bag. The pot is pretty indestructible and if you pack the neck with care you should be fine. I've taken several air trips with mine in a soft-side trolley type bag. Depending on what I needed to take, I've packed the pot in carry-on and the neck in checked baggage. So far so good.

There's another one in the classifieds now, but the price was a bit higher than I wanted to go because the seller did a lot of work on the neck - new fingerboard, etc. I might have gone for it had I not just bought a Martin guitar a few weeks ago (at last!) banjohangout.org/classified/28823 Oh... and one more... banjohangout.org/classified/28197 - again, a little higher than these usually go for because of a custom-made neck. Both can be real nice banjos for not a lot of cash I guess.

The Reincarnated Mutt