Curious if any radical builders have ever done a "real banjo" in the style of the Tranjo Sam Ferris's travel banjo design tranjo.com without a headstock and with tuners on the pot? Prefer lightweight banjos which have a tendency to be neck heavy and today I'm daydreaming about a custom banjo design.
I vaguely recall a tailpiece that had a 5th string tuner to replace the tuner halfway up the neck. Never seen one with all 5 strings though.
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Originally posted by banjo bill-eCurious if any radical builders have ever done a "real banjo" in the style of the Tranjo Sam Ferris's travel banjo design tranjo.com without a headstock and with tuners on the pot? Prefer lightweight banjos which have a tendency to be neck heavy and today I'm daydreaming about a custom banjo design.
I built this one as my COVID project. It's a Nechville Turbo Module mounted to a Recording King Dirty 30s rim and resonator. The custom 24 fret neck is attached with a Nechville Flux Capacitor mount. The tuner mount is made from a piece of Dragonplate carbon fiber laminate. It's not very lightweight, as least compared to a Tranjo.
Sam Farris
Gordon Acri has done that.
havasunews.com/gordon-acri-pla...887a.html
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Originally posted by KCJonesI vaguely recall a tailpiece that had a 5th string tuner to replace the tuner halfway up the neck. Never seen one with all 5 strings though.
That is the Sterner tailpiece. I always thought it would be awkward to tune the string with picks on your fingers.
How many do you want
martyjoe your photo raises more questions than it answers. It deserves it's own post, including detailed build descriptions and closeup pictures!
It sems to work, but if I did not know, I would think, that the weight of a peghead, stabilizes a banjo neck some in a positive way, and keeps it from vibrating too much (which could be eating some sustain and give other unwanted problems?). I can not support this with banjo experiences, but I once tried an electric headless bass, and it seemed to me that that one lacked the weight of the head. But I also know, that basses and banjos work with quite different frequencies, so maybe? I should like to hear one :) Steen
This seems like something Tom Nechville might have fooled with, as he likes to experiment and is not bound by tradition. My thought project so far is an open back banjo with a neck for five full length strings like Yates makes, a mini head stock with just enough space after the nut for a capo and with a finished look, and five Steinberger tuners somewhere on the pot. 27" scale tuned down to Open E or F with the ability to quick capo to any key.
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Originally posted by KCJonesmartyjoe your photo raises more questions than it answers. It deserves it's own post, including detailed build descriptions and closeup pictures!
Feel free to ask. The banjos in the photo are tenors. The two with 12" pots are 23.5" to 24.5" multi-scale's. The 10" ones are a 22" to 23" multi-scale & a 19" to 20" multi-scale. All those banjos have Remo drum heads in 3 different thickness (diplomat, ambassador & emporer). They all have woody (bamboo) tone rings.
I once made a tailpiece with the fifth string tuner mounted on it.
I don't intend to highjack the thread. Somebody above just mentioned it.
Some interesting designs.
Not sure what problem(s) it solves.
A heavy headstock can be awkward to handle. I have read that some Flamenco guitar players use lightweight wooden "fiddle pegs,' because their guitar bodies are light and geared metal tuners unbalance the whole thing, so it can solve a problem, particularly with a heavy neck. I think perhaps many banjo players have simply gotten used to holding up their necks and don't see it as an issue.
I've seen these at the folk festivals and bluegrass meetings. It's usually a machinist. I saw one using 25 cent pieces with center holes to mount tuners in under the rim.
The same guy also had a string bender installed that raised the 2nd string a half step = Amen.
I personally prefer a continuum from the peghead to the tailpiece.
Anything Martyjoe is doing with bamboo is a good thing. I like that: "Wait a minute, here. What?" Bamboo?
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Originally posted by KCJonesI vaguely recall a tailpiece that had a 5th string tuner to replace the tuner halfway up the neck. Never seen one with all 5 strings though.
I vaguely recall posting how to install a cheap guitar peg on a block, on a bar, slid under the J hooks next to the tailpiece.
I made this banjo in the early 80ies. The neck carved from a piece of 2X4, the pot from a double layer of 2X4, the head is a sheet of teak veneer simply glues onto the pot. Nope, wasn't able to come with any ideas about how the tension the head other than a really tall brigde pushing into the veneer. The 5th string's loop snags onto/over a flat head screw into the neck at "about here" (sorry, the pic's kinda out of focus) and I jammed the 5th string tuner into a hole I drilled "about here" beneath the tailpiece.
Why "there, this way?" Dunno, seemed like a good idea at the time. Sounds kinda cute but haven't played it for about 4 decades...
For the historians: yeah, so that rectangular hold-um-up-strings thingie officially counts as the very first bridge I ever made 
Added: keep in mind this was way before the internet and even Banjo News Letter had barely entered the picture so, at the time, this approach was hardcore pioneering back then 
Edited by - Bart Veerman on 02/09/2023 21:10:41
I like your inlays
I built and sold at least a dozen of these banjos of my own design about 10 years ago. I designed the neck to be easily removed and stowed for travel. I used Steinburger tuners at the tail end and they prevent string chaos from happening when the neck was removed.
Here is a clip of a Travel-Lite banjo being demonstrated at Bernunzio’s in Rochester NY.
youtu.be/Gy7PuODI7Co
Here I am giving a demo on this banjo
youtu.be/SqSsWNedGSI
I have recently retired from build banjos.
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Originally posted by HelixI like your inlays
burn-marked with a soldering iron
