Your Thoughts On Open-Back Banjo Choices Welcomed!

[Rudy4]

The best way to get your custom banjo may be to purchase all of the components, a rim, and neck and send them to be assembled and finished. That couldn't possibly take more than a year or two!

Sometimes the work becomes secondary once there's money in hand. One of my friends commissioned a carved banjo neck from a well-known builder over 10 years ago. He gave up sending e-mails and trying phone calls after the first 5 years passed. He never got his neck or any of his $500 deposit refunded, and now the builder has passed.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

The best way to get your custom banjo may be to purchase all of the components, a rim, and neck and send them to be assembled and finished. That couldn't possibly take more than a year or two!

Sometimes the work becomes secondary once there's money in hand. One of my friends commissioned a carved banjo neck from a well-known builder over 10 years ago. He gave up sending e-mails and trying phone calls after the first 5 years passed. He never got his neck or any of his $500 deposit refunded, and now the builder has passed.

... or buy all the banjo components from Stew-Mac and Rickard and build our own banjos for a decent price. It could be a very rewarding or a rather disastrous experience depending on one's mechanical skill level.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

... or buy all the banjo components from Stew-Mac and Rickard and build our own banjos for a decent price. It could be a very rewarding or a rather disastrous experience depending on one's mechanical skill level.

I'm with you on that.

I prefer to make all of the components, both wood and brass. The only major components that I purchase are Renaissance heads, Grover Sta-tite slot head tuners, and sometimes two way adjustable rods.

If someone is so inclined it saves a lot of money, allows guilt-free accumulation of instruments, and eliminates headaches from dealing with someone who gets in over their head and has a problem meeting their workload.

I've built instruments for many years, starting by building my first guitar when I found out what it was going to cost me for a new Martin. I was already building furniture, so adding a few instruments seemed like a good idea.

That first guitar always rewarded me on humid days by providing a very slight aroma from the sound hole that brought me back to heat bending the walnut sides.

[SpruceTop]

It's now been 13 weeks since my last communication with Ozark Banjos about my custom build when it was supposedly at the top of the queue ...

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

It's now been 13 weeks since my last communication with Ozark Banjos about my custom build when it was supposedly at the top of the queue ...

Perhaps they are waiting for that cherry tree to grow!

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

Perhaps they are waiting for that cherry tree to grow!

LOL! That could be, Robin, although Eden said in her post that indicated my banjo was now at the top of the list, "Boy, do I have a piece of cherry in the shop right now for you! It’s gorgeous and figured, you’ll love it." I guess it's time to send another email to Eden and ask for a refund and that way my banjo will once again be at the top of the list for the next three months ....

[Maryc-k]

Just so you know, I saw a post by Lukas on Facebook:

Hey there Banjo Folks,
It’s been a while and we’re sorry if it seems like we’ve disappeared a bit.
After Christmas, Rosamund and I caught Covid and needed to take some time to heal up and as soon as we did Eden came down with Preeclampsia and needed to be hospitalized for the time being. She’s working really hard to keep our little guy safe & stable and stay pregnant as long as possible. We’re not sure when he’ll make his debut into the world, could be a few days from now or a month or more. Please know we’ll be back in touch with all of you as soon as we can.

This is from a few days back.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Maryc-k

Just so you know, I saw a post by Lukas on Facebook:

Hey there Banjo Folks,
It’s been a while and we’re sorry if it seems like we’ve disappeared a bit.
After Christmas, Rosamund and I caught Covid and needed to take some time to heal up and as soon as we did Eden came down with Preeclampsia and needed to be hospitalized for the time being. She’s working really hard to keep our little guy safe & stable and stay pregnant as long as possible. We’re not sure when he’ll make his debut into the world, could be a few days from now or a month or more. Please know we’ll be back in touch with all of you as soon as we can.

This is from a few days back.

Thanks For This, Mary, And I Wish The Pools All The Best!

Current Banjos:
Vega No. 2 Tubaphone
OME North Star Walnut
Rickard 12" Maple Ridge Dobson
Pisgah 12" Walnut Tubaphone
Bart Reiter Regent Whyte Laydie

On Order:
Ozark Custom 12-inch Figured Cherry

[SpruceTop]

Today, I traded in three banjos toward a new RainSong Black Ice Series BI-DR1000N2 Dreadnought Carbon Guitar. I'm not forsaking banjos it's just that I've kept the ones that I really want and I'm making room for my Ozark Custom 12" Figured Cherry whenever it arrives, The banjos that bid farewell today are: Deering Sierra Maple Resonator, Deering Old Tyme Wonder, and Eastman EBJ-WL1 Whyte Laydie.

Current Banjos:
Vega No. 2 Tubaphone
OME North Star Walnut
Rickard 12" Maple Ridge Dobson
Pisgah 12" Walnut Tubaphone
Bart Reiter Regent Whyte Laydie

On Order:
Ozark Custom 12-inch Figured Cherry

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

Today, I traded in three banjos toward a new RainSong Black Ice Series BI-DR1000N2 Dreadnought Carbon Guitar. I'm not forsaking banjos it's just that I've kept the ones that I really want and I'm making room for my Ozark Custom 12" Figured Cherry whenever it arrives, The banjos that bid farewell today are: Deering Sierra Maple Resonator, Deering Old Tyme Wonder, and Eastman EBJ-WL1 Whyte Laydie.

Current Banjos:
Vega No. 2 Tubaphone
OME North Star Walnut
Rickard 12" Maple Ridge Dobson
Pisgah 12" Walnut Tubaphone
Bart Reiter Regent Whyte Laydie

On Order:
Ozark Custom 12-inch Figured Cherry

That'll be fun. I wouldn't mind having a Blackbird Savoy, but that's probably more because I love the Ekoa material it's made from.

[Sage Runner]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

Although I'm loving my new Deering Sierra 5-String Resonator (maple neck), I'm hankering for an open-back, 5-string banjo to keep it company. From window shopping on the web I've narrowed my choices for a new open-back banjo to the following:

Vega #2 (Tubaphone Tone Ring) very expensive at $3739 MAP with case.

Bart Reiter Regent (Whyte Laydie-style Tone Ring) $1495 MAP without case.

Wildwood Troubadour (Tubaphone-style Tone Ring) $1835 MAP without case.

All the above are American-made and have excellent quality ratings and I've read only good things about their tone. Being a long-time fan of The Kingston Trio and Pete Seeger, I'd prefer the *Vega #2 because of its real Tubaphone Tone Ring and Vega name but the Bart Reiter Regent and Wildwood banjos seem like really excellent values.

I'd appreciate your thoughts on the above open-back, 5-string banjos and any other brands you feel are worthy of consideration in terms of a convergence of quality, tone and value. Thanks, Ken

*I've thought about a Vega Long-Neck 5-String banjo (Tubaphone models) but my dealer says they don't hold their value on a trade-in or outright sale because very few players want them anymore. He also said that most players who buy a long-neck wind up playing most of the time with a capo at the third fret which makes it like a regular 5-string banjo.

Im a multi instrumentalist and needed a Banjo to add in my mix. Many years ago I once owned a early 1920s top of line Tuba-phone Mandolin Banjo that I played in a Gospel street Band for couple years. So few years back I sniped a Top line 1912 Vega Whyte Ladye Mandolin Banjo for $450. Being a small time luthier I made a 8 piece Maple,RW Neck for it. Thought about making a long 5 string neck but I decided on a Hybrid Neck so I made a Custom short scale Guitar Neck for it! I can finger pick or flat pick it. When I use it to spice up a song recording using finger picks you would not know it was a Guitar banjo. I Always liked the sweet tone of the old High end Vegas.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Sage Runner

Im a multi instrumentalist and needed a Banjo to add in my mix. Many years ago I once owned a early 1920s top of line Tuba-phone Mandolin Banjo that I played in a Gospel street Band for couple years. So few years back I sniped a Top line 1912 Vega Whyte Ladye Mandolin Banjo for $450. Being a small time luthier I made a 8 piece Maple,RW Neck for it. Thought about making a long 5 string neck but I decided on a Hybrid Neck so I made a Custom short scale Guitar Neck for it! I can finger pick or flat pick it. When I use it to spice up a song recording using finger picks you would not know it was a Guitar banjo. I Always liked the sweet tone of the old High end Vegas.

Thanks for this! Being an "Old Folkie," I'm a Vega man as I loved Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, The Limeliters, The Brothers Four, and The Highwaymen. I still have my eyes open for a 1963 Vega Pete Seeger Model, in excellent condition.

[SpruceTop]

I still haven't heard anything from Ozark Banjos and I'm now thinking of canceling my order but due to their circumstances, I'd let Eden & Lukas keep my $400 deposit, no problem for me.

Current Banjos:
Vega No. 2 Tubaphone
OME North Star Walnut
Rickard 12" Maple Ridge Dobson
Pisgah 12" Walnut Tubaphone
Bart Reiter Regent Whyte Laydie

[Maryc-k]

He sold a Builder’s Choice banjo off his website today. He says he has a few more to list according to Facebook.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Maryc-k

He sold a Builder’s Choice banjo off his website today. He says he has a few more to list according to Facebook.

Thanks, Maryc-k! Maybe, I should reach out to Ozark ... again? Talk about a truly customer-driven business ...