Fretless, Tackhead, Salad Bowl Banjo

This banjo was made at the request of Caleb. The Jamaican goatskin head came from Jeff Menzies. The song is Bright Sunny South which came to me mostly from the playing of Dock Boggs.

[@rickregenfuss5038]

Well done, on all counts: building, playing, singing!!!

[@morbanjo2503]

Thank you!

[@terryfinley7760]

That was most excellent my brother!

[@morbanjo2503]

Thank you.

[@johnforneris5479]

You sang from your heart on this! Touching song, the message within is great. Good Health and Peace to you Brother.

[@morbanjo2503]

Thanks for your kind words.

[@MasonCroneMusic]

Wow, cool banjo and awesome sounding music! I play a normal resonator banjo but I'd love to try something like that sometime.

[@morbanjo2503]

Thank you! These are pretty simple to make if you have some basic woodworking skills. Fretless certainly simplifies things.

[@MasonCroneMusic]

@@morbanjo2503 Wow, I'd like to learn how to make banjos sometime.

[@morbanjo2503]

@@MasonCroneMusic I was just listening to your channel. Mighty fine bluegrass picking! I usually play clawhammer or 2 finger style like in this video. This was a relatively easy build since I used a wooden salad bowl for the pot and the only real woodworking was shaping the neck. I've seen old banjos where the necks were crudely shaped, obviously just with hand tools. The only criteria is getting the fingering area as flat as possible. Some folks use 1x2 poplar boards from Lowe's and put very little taper from the nut down and those work pretty well, just takes some adjustment while you play. In this video and part 2 I show, among other things, a method of attaching the skin to the pot. ua-cam.com/video/f5uxHYpwYSI/v-deo.html

[@MasonCroneMusic]

@@morbanjo2503 Thanks!

[@clarawright7915]

wonderful! Do you ever sell the instruments you make?

[@tunesandjams-lisa]

I like.. good tone, the beat is good, and I love the song.. thank you! :)

[@morbanjo2503]

Thank you

[@Henrig361]

what is the tuning of the banjo?

[@morbanjo2503]

This is what's called sawmill tuning. Starting from the 5th string: gDGcd but the nylon strings were still stretching so it's about 1/2 step lower.

[@steveh2o]

I'm digging that peghead shape. Sounds great!

[@morbanjo2503]

Thank you. If I use this shape again I'll make it a bit wider since the two top pegs are a little too close to each other.

[@nealmont]

Another masterpiece!

[@morbanjo2503]

Thanks Neal

[@PrimitiveGuitars]

Wow, love this!

[@morbanjo2503]

Thank you sir!

[@loulamannacigarboxguitars4214]

Man that's beautiful! The cicada's in the background sounds like you're jamming with a rattlesnake!!! Very cool!

[@morbanjo2503]

Thanks Lou. I hope to see you next week sometime.

[@loulamanna567]

Me too! I have physical therapy 9:20 Tues morning.

[@isetta4083]

Absolutely beautiful music as always, I'm currently making a Komuz, an instrument from Kyrgyzstan. They're beautiful pear shaped instruments typically with wood tops but I'm really considering making mine a Tackhead. Can you give any advice on what I should use as a skin? If you have any social media I would be happy to show you the instrument in its current stages

[@morbanjo2503]

Thank you. You can't beat a good goatskin for a tackhead instrument. I got this one from Jeff Menzies but they are easy to find on ebay too. I'm on Facebook as Jim Morris and I'd certainly be interested to see your Komuz.

[@isetta4083]

@@morbanjo2503 I've heard a lot about Jeff Menzies' skins, he's based in Jamaica right? I have a page named Isaac Godfrey Luthiery, hopefully I will be able to message you through it

[@KHbanjo]

Deer skin also works very well. That’s what I use because it’s easier to obtain for me. :)

[@morbanjo2503]

@@KHbanjo I might have to try that when hunting season rolls back around.