Instead of making a 15° cut and attaching the headstock with a scarf joint, I've extended the neck laminations to form the headstock.
I was correct - it greatly simplifies construction. So if the scarf joint scared you away from making a banjo for yourself, now you have no excuse for not making one. I encourage you to give it a try. I'll help you along.I also changed the headstock design from the double radius style to a "slab" style, a la Martin guitars. I much prefer this style to the previous one, as I think it complements the rustic appeal of the banjo.
I have to make and attach the nut (the part at the base of the headstock that guides the strings), make the bridge and tailpiece, drill the tuning peg holes, make the tuning pegs, and make the metal ring over which the skin will be stretched.
At this point, the instrument is "in the white." I like the sound of that. But it means that it's unstained and un-topcoated. I wish you could see it in person, because it's pretty. Mrs. Smith wants me to stain it, but I'm considering simply applying a few coats of clear varnish. Over time, the maple wood will turn a brownish color, especially if I expose it to sunlight. It's a beautiful, rich, mellow color that you can't buy in a can. Offer your opinion on the subject, if you care to.
I corresponded with several men who make mountain banjos, about my plan of extending the neck laminations to form the headstock. I respect those men, because they create beautiful instruments, and have been doing so for a long time. But, to a man, they disdained what I've done. All of them are of the school that bandsaws the neck and headstock from a solid piece. As I wrote in Part 1, I think that's wasteful. Besides, when you saw the angled headstock from a solid block, you're reducing the grain length, and thus weakening the headstock. Now, I admit that I've never heard of a bandsawn headstock failing or breaking. But why take a chance, when a simple change will ensure its structural integrity without affecting the sound, while simplifying construction? I see nothing wrong with my design, which I copied from electric guitars. Also, the men with whom I corresponded are all of the opinion that they are the true heirs of the Stanley Hicks design and method. They're like psychiatrists who compete with each other for ideological proximity to Sigmund Freud: "I was analyzed by Dr. Marvin Goldberg, who was analyzed by Dr. Abraham Cohenstein, who was analyzed Dr. Schlomo Rosenheim, who was analyzed by Dr. Freud." When it comes to selling mountain banjos, the closer you claim to be to Stanley Hicks, the more money you believe you can charge for your instruments. I don't give a rodent's backside about such political jockeying nonsense. Let them play their silly little banjo-genealogy games. You just start making an instrument for yourself, and look forward to learning to play it like our noble ancestors did.
At this point, the instrument is "in the white." I like the sound of that. But it means that it's unstained and un-topcoated. I wish you could see it in person, because it's pretty. Mrs. Smith wants me to stain it, but I'm considering simply applying a few coats of clear varnish. Over time, the maple wood will turn a brownish color, especially if I expose it to sunlight. It's a beautiful, rich, mellow color that you can't buy in a can. Offer your opinion on the subject, if you care to.
I corresponded with several men who make mountain banjos, about my plan of extending the neck laminations to form the headstock. I respect those men, because they create beautiful instruments, and have been doing so for a long time. But, to a man, they disdained what I've done. All of them are of the school that bandsaws the neck and headstock from a solid piece. As I wrote in Part 1, I think that's wasteful. Besides, when you saw the angled headstock from a solid block, you're reducing the grain length, and thus weakening the headstock. Now, I admit that I've never heard of a bandsawn headstock failing or breaking. But why take a chance, when a simple change will ensure its structural integrity without affecting the sound, while simplifying construction? I see nothing wrong with my design, which I copied from electric guitars. Also, the men with whom I corresponded are all of the opinion that they are the true heirs of the Stanley Hicks design and method. They're like psychiatrists who compete with each other for ideological proximity to Sigmund Freud: "I was analyzed by Dr. Marvin Goldberg, who was analyzed by Dr. Abraham Cohenstein, who was analyzed Dr. Schlomo Rosenheim, who was analyzed by Dr. Freud." When it comes to selling mountain banjos, the closer you claim to be to Stanley Hicks, the more money you believe you can charge for your instruments. I don't give a rodent's backside about such political jockeying nonsense. Let them play their silly little banjo-genealogy games. You just start making an instrument for yourself, and look forward to learning to play it like our noble ancestors did.
I really can't express how much I appreciate your posting this step-by-step chronicle of the making of a fretless mountain banjo. My enjoyment is somewhat tempered by the realization that some will read an article like this, shrug, and say, "Well, that's nice, but I don't have the time"...and then reach for the credit card to order some geegaw they saw in a catalog or on a website.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you make a splendid point about the snottiness of the "bloodline" of the instruments. We see this sort of thing in many craft subcultures, each of them jockeying for "purity" in their pursuit. Most of it is nonsense, like a martial artist claiming that HIS version of the reverse punch is the real one because he studied under Mr. Miyagi, who studied under Steven Seagal, who parachuted behind enemy lines in Ming's All-Day Buffett, etc.,etc.
Bravo to Winston Smith, the Contrarian Luthier.
Wheeler,
ReplyDeleteI'd like to post a truly step-by-step process for building the banjo, as well as for all the other things we'll be buiding here. But I started posting the banjo's progress after I was well into it. At this point, I hope only to encourage our people to try it for themselves, and I'll guide them as best I can. But I'll eventually post a serialized a procedure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhPfbAZaykk
ReplyDeletePigtown Fling
Although the banjo player at our house doesn't play fretless, when this video surfaced out here today, I thought of your post...