Minstrel Banjo

For enthusiasts of early banjo

And it sounds awful!  Heheh, not really.  As promised, the Nylgut strings are still stretching, so it doesn't just go out of tune, it goes out of tune while I am tuning it!  It actually has quite a loud clear sound, I think, but I'll let others be the judge of that when it settles in.

 "Character", I believe, is the word the Victorians used for "screw ups", and this has character in spades, things I measured twice, cut once, and then hid, and things I just didn't understand until the thing started going together, but all of those things will be instructive going forward.  I look forward to suggestions and critique from anyone who can point me forward, as I'm sure there are still things I don't see.

Thanks to everyone here who answered my many newbie questions along the way!

I still have five skins left, what to do, what to do...

Tony

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It looks beautiful and perfect  to me.   :)

Is that a walnut neck?

Thank you for the kind words, Strumelia!  The neck is actually poplar with an East Indian Rosewood fingerboard, and it is stained with a mixed jell oil stain, 50/50 black and the brown used on the ash rim.  I do have a walnut log about long enough cooling its heels in my garage shop, hmmm...   :)

Tony

Strumelia said:

It looks beautiful and perfect  to me.   :)

Is that a walnut neck?

Wow. She's lovely. I can't wait to see the walnut one... :)

Thank you, Valerie!

Valerie Díaz Leroy said:

Wow. She's lovely. I can't wait to see the walnut one... :)

Nice banjer, Anthony. Your strings line up nicely, the tailpiece is secure, the bridge is pine, and it doesn't look new. It'll sound great.

Thanks, Terry, and thanks again for all your help!  I'm hopeful it will be stable enough to do a little sound check tomorrow!

Tony

Bell Banjos said:

Nice banjer, Anthony. Your strings line up nicely, the tailpiece is secure, the bridge is pine, and it doesn't look new. It'll sound great.

Anthony:  That is a fine looking banjo! I love the matt finish...

looks great!   I bet you put those other skins to use soon, its addicting,,, very nice build

Thank you, Roberta!

Roberta Perkins said:

Anthony:  That is a fine looking banjo! I love the matt finish...

Thanks, Steve!  Yep, addicting sounds about right.  I have a couple of gourds just about dried and looking for something to be, heheh.

Tony

Steve Jeter said:

looks great!   I bet you put those other skins to use soon, its addicting,,, very nice build

Great looking banjo

All instruments need some "character". Give your banjo to a 5 year old and let them drag it around for a while. You'll have "character" like you wouldn't believe real fast.  :-)

Also give it some time.  New instruments need time to settle in and for everything to come together and start acting like a single unit, instead of just a bunch of parts.

Good job and I'm sure it will start sounding great real fast.

Thank you, Steve!

I've got a nine month old grandson in the house who shows some promise in that area, heheh.

Tony

Scott Johnson said:

Great looking banjo

All instruments need some "character". Give your banjo to a 5 year old and let them drag it around for a while. You'll have "character" like you wouldn't believe real fast.  :-)

Also give it some time.  New instruments need time to settle in and for everything to come together and start acting like a single unit, instead of just a bunch of parts.

Good job and I'm sure it will start sounding great real fast.

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