Another Zach Hoyt banjo coming my way!
 

In my previous thread, I had Zach build me a custom walnut banjo with a Whyte Laydie tone ring. I have absolutely fallen in love with that banjo, and decided that I wanted the same banjo, but with a long neck for tuning down to E and F. So, I discussed it with Zach, and he made a 29" scale version of my other banjo. So, now I'll have a standard scale and a 29" long neck scale with similar specs.

The banjo was shipped today, and he sent some pictures... Absolutely georgeous walnut on this one!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...78b01c6005.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9ffa7c3370.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...43293e96cc.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2b71c6739f.jpg

That's one mighty fine looking banjo. Ordering two Hoyt's so quickly vouches for their quality and value and will help spread the word on this maker. Enjoy!

That is beautiful!
The headstock is amazing. I love walnut in open backs, it seems to have such a sweet yet clear tone.
Is that a bone bridge?

Thanks!

The bridge is wood, but the nut and pip are bone.

Congrats, looks beautiful. I've seen his banjos on BH. His prices seem very fair. The build quality looks pretty nice too. Have you ever checked out John Balch heads. I have his hide heads on two of my banjos, big fan.

I went to his website, the lighting makes the bridges look almost white, but I see them more clearly now. Zach has some nice looking instruments.

thanks
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I'll try to get some other pictures up at some point, but I can say it's a really nice sounding banjo. I keep this one tuned to "F" and will tune occasionally to "E". It sounds excellent and is just a joy to play!

His banjos look wonderful. How would you describe the sound of Zach's banjos? The YouTube posts are hard to get an idea of the sound quality.

It's hard to describe the tone in generalities. I had these two banjos setup specifically for three finger picking but I didn't want the pop of a standard flat top bluegrass banjo. So, I went with a Whyte Laydie and a 12 inch pot. The tone is definitely more old time sounding and less driving bluegrass style. I have owned a number of nice banjos and I'm loving these two banjos. I keep the standard tuned to G and the long scale tuned to F.

I agree, his videos make it really hard to get a feel for the actual tone of the banjos.

Thanks, BoneDigger. I have been intrigued by Zach's banjos. They certainly look beautiful. It looks like you and I might take the same approach to banjo sound. I like the old-time sound but (as a guitar player that is just venturing in to banjo) claw hammer just baffles me. So I am leaning toward the 3-finger method but still want that darker, pluckier sound. I see that Elderly has a used Hoyt for sale at the moment so I will drive up there tomorrow and check it out. Thanks again.

I saw that one for sale. Let me know what you think.

It was quite nice. It is hard for me to give it a fair assessment as I do not know how to play banjo. Coming from guitar, the whole thing feels awkward and I sound like crap. With that said, it seems to be a well made banjo. It sounded fine and seemed comfortable. The neck was a bit thicker than some of the other banjos. As I am used to a guitar neck that is not an issue. They all seem small to me. For build quality it certainly seems like a fair price for a nice banjo. Someday, I will become a little proficient on banjo and be able to have a better feel for what I am trying.

Yes, that's actually one of the things I like about his banjos. They have thicker necks, almost like a guitar. Glad you got a chance to try some banjos out. Now go buy one and get to picking!