The folks at Gold Tone have introduced a number of new banjos - cello banjos, that is.

These jumbos are made with a 24.75” scale, fitted with high-tension nylon strings. They were introduced at the January 2008 NAMM show in Anaheim, CA and Gold Tone co-founder Wayne Rogers tells us that their first shipment of 100 sold out immediately, with back orders for another 100 now in force.

The 4 string model is tuned in 5ths like a cello (C G D A), and designed to play melody lines - though players with large hands could conceivably play chords as well. The 5 string is tuned a full octave below the standard banjo, much like the ones used in banjo orchestras near the turn of the previous century.

Rogers describes how this new set of Gold Tone models was born…

“Marcy Marxer was playing an 1920s Gibson cello banjo for accompaniment. After seeing one of her You Tube videos, I was convinced it would be of great interest to contemporary banjoists.

So since we tooled up for the 4 string, we also did a 5 string and a 6 string Lojo… a short high top string with an extra bass string.”

He proudly notes that the 5 string model has already received endorsements from Béla Fleck, Victor Wooten, Rick Shubb, Bob Carlin and Tony Trischka - who will review the banjo for Banjo NewsLetter.

The 5 string (CEB 5) sells for $1199 and the 4 string (CEB 4) for $1099. Both are shipped with a hard shell case and feature a maple rim and neck (ebony fingerboard) and a brass tone ring.

Here is Marcy playing a spirited version on Angeline The Baker on her CEB-4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_tPC0knYbE

The Gold Tone cello banjos are available from selected dealers worldwide.

The Santa Cruz Guitar Company introduced their latest artist signature model at the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville last month.

It’s for Ron Block, celebrated banjo player and guitarist with Alison Krauss & Union Station, and is being produced in conjunction with My Favorite Guitars.

The Ron Block Signature Dreadnaught is modeled after Ron’s 1939 D-28 herringbone. It features an Indian rosewood body, Adirondack spruce top and braces (constructed with hide glue), herringbone trim, diamond and square fingerboard inlays, a through saddle bridge and a 1 11/16 nut width.

Only ten of these limited edition guitars will be made, selling for $5963 with a hard shell case. Full specs and ordering are available through MyFavoriteGuitars.com.

Earlier this year at the SPBGMA convention in Nashville, TN, Red Line Resophonics showcased their instruments for the first time. Red Line Resophonics is run by Steve Smith of Cumberland Acoustic, a company that produces bridges for mandolins and banjos, as well as truss rods, pick guards, resonators, and more.

Steve has previously worked for Gibson in their Original Acoustic Instruments division, and brings that experience to the creation of this new line of resophonic guitars.

Red Line Resophonics utilizes a combination of traditional body shapes and contemporary sound-well and bracing designs, along with other techniques. There are two primary models being offered at this time.

The standard model consists of all solid wood parts (your choice of woods), an ebony fingerboard, and a number of custom options. The standard model is priced at $1950 with a handful of the custom options adding a few dollars to the price tag. Some custom options, or choices, do not affect the final price.

The rambler model is designed for those who are not able to spend quite as much. The rambler is constructed of solid birch neck and sides, with laminated birch top and back, and a rosewood fingerboard. The cost of the rambler is only $950.

Both models are constructed entirely in America by the team at Red Line Resophonics . No kits or kit parts are used in either model.

We heard recently from Larry Barnwell, a regional sales manager with C.F. Martin, and a long-time bluegrass musician.

Larry was born in North Carolina and toured extensively as a member of the bluegrass band Monroe Doctrine in the 1970s, during which time he became well acquainted with a good many other performers who were, or would become bluegrass celebrities. Before coming onboard at Martin, he worked for Gibson where he worked with Bill Monroe on the Gibson Monroe model mandolin.

Though Larry’s current duties at Martin do not specifically involve marketing or artist relations, he has become their go-to guy when it comes to bluegrass, and was directly involved in the creation of the Martin Del McCoury model (D-28DM) in 2002. He tells us that he was both delighted and proud to have been able to offer such an honor to Del, and pleased that Martin saw the honor as well deserved.

“Bluegrass people are among our strongest supporters, but the truth is that they make up no more than 20% of the C.F. Martin customer base. Seeing the company recognize Del with a signature guitar was very gratifying.”

The McCoury model has sold through (limited to 100 guitars), and Larry had contacted us with news about the new Martin 00-18 Tim O’Brien signature guitar which was debuted at the recent NAMM convention in Nashville. He and Tim worked together to design a model that would suit his needs and represent many of the things he loves about Martins. Each one is numbered and signed personally by Tim.

You can find more details about the O’Brien model, which carries a retail price of $5499.00, on Martin’s site. Larry said that about 30 of the 100 guitars that will be made have already been ordered by dealers, so this one should sell through quickly as well.

Larry also agreed to allow us to share the article he wrote about Tim and his signature Martin for Sounding Board, the official Martin owners newsletter, which is posted just below.

A Brother’s Gift - by Larry Barnwell

“I’m not sure whether I was over there to see her or to play the Martin.” Tim O’Brien recalled, with a chuckle, one of his earliest exposures to Bluegrass music and to Martin guitars. The father of his 8^th grade girlfriend was into old instruments such as banjos, mandolins and guitars. He had a D18 and that was the first Martin Tim really had an opportunity to play for any period of time. But Tim’s interest in music began several years earlier in his Wheeling, West Virginia boyhood home. Tim’s parents, Frank & Amy, were supportive of whatever their children wanted to pursue whether it be sports, academics or music. They bought the kids season tickets to the Wheeling Symphony and the Summer Concert Series at Oglebay Municipal Park. As a young teen Tim watched great artists such as Van Cliburn, Itzhak Perlman, Ray Charles and Duke Ellington perform. Tim’s sister Mollie got into the music before he did, then in 1966 he began playing the guitar and together they learned the music of the Beatles, Peter, Paul & Mary and other popular music of the time. (more…)

Regular readers of The Bluegrass Blog should be accustomed to reading rave reviews here of the work of Ron Stewart. Ron has established himself as perhaps the premier session player in and around bluegrass - on both fiddle and banjo - and a highly sought-after producer as well.

Over the past ten years, he has been a member of The Lynn Morris Band, JD Crowe & The New South with high-profile fill in work with Lonesome River Band. He was the subject of two popular instructional DVDs for AcuTab (banjo and fiddle) and released his own solo CD, Time Stands Still.

Ron is featured on two current CDs, Longview’s Deep In The Mountains where he plays fiddle, and Wheels, the just-released project from Dan Tyminski, on banjo. He has also developed a reputation as a first rate set up man on both instruments, and has long been a go-to-guy for folks looking for restored fiddles for sale.

I have heard Ron expound on banjo set up and construction many times, a knowledge he developed over many years of studying the classic pre-war flatheads, and refined through both examination of and discussion with JD Crowe and his collection of fine flatheads. Now, he has taken his banjo experience to the next step, pairing with builder Warren Yates in the development, set up and marketing of a new line of instruments, the Ron Stewart Signature Series banjos.

Ron shared his thoughts with us recently, explainng what brought him to work with Yates, and describing these new banjos that carry his name.

“I first met Warren Yates in July of 2006 at a show in Morganton, NC, while working with JD Crowe. I was also filling in on banjo with Kenny and Amanda Smith that same day. Warren introduced himself, and showed me a couple of his Rattlesnake banjos. I was impressed with the craftsmanship and the tone of the banjos, so we exchanged contact info, but aside from a couple of emails and a phone conversation or two, didn’t get to know each other really well until the next summer (I had a baby boy due in August, so as many of you know, that first year is, well, really intense and busy!).

I was once again playing in the area in July of ‘07 and Warren and Joel Marley (who works at Yates banjo, inlay) came out to our show, and brought a Studio model Yates for me to play. It blew me away, and we started talking about doing a Ron Stewart model Yates at that time. The Studio model was the banjo I played at IBMA on the Dan Tyminski Band showcase in’07, which I sold to a gentleman in NC when I got my Maple model, which I used to record the new Dan Tyminski Band CD. (more…)

The Music Link has announced two new products that will be of interest to banjo and guitar pickers.

First up is an impact resistant, fiberglass case from Guardian Cases. They are available for both resonator banjo and dreadnaught guitar. The shell is made from 6mm fiberglass with thick interior padding and a velvet lining.

Guardian says that these new cases were thoroughly tested during the prototype stage by professional bluegrass artists, and kept the instruments safe in both air and road travel conditions.

The banjo case sells for $249.99 and the guitar for $229.99.

Recording King also has news. They have introduced an arch top banjo tone ring which is now available on their Professional, Soloist and Deco King models.

The arch top ring was popular before today’s more common flathead tone ring, and is still preferred by players who seek the sharper, crisper tone characteristic of this raised head style of banjo.

Both Recording King and Guardian cases are part of The Music Link family of companies.

If you play an instrument other than the upright bass or fiddle, you probably use a strap. If you play upright bass and use a strap, please send me a photo!

My point was that instrument straps are a vital part of the gear used by bluegrass musicians. Why not make a statement with yours? You could be like me and use a plain black leather strap, or you could use something a little more colorfull.

Colorado Case Company has been hand sewing instrument straps for years now and selling them direct at festivals. They’ve now taken the business online with its own website, guitarstrapsonline.com.

Don’t let the name fool you, they have straps for banjo, mandolin, and dobro as well. What is unique about their straps is that they are all hand sewn at their facility in Fort Collings, CO using interesting cloth prints. They don’t keep the same prints in stock at all times so if you don’t see something you like now, keep checking up on them, or take advantage of their custom options.

…we can make a strap out of any fabric you may have, or find in your local fabric store. This means you can take a strip of fabric from a favorite shirt, blanket or jeans, and convert it into a favorite guitar, banjo, mandolin or harp strap.

All straps are normally priced at $24.95 with an additional $5 charge for custom orders.

Yesterday, Gibson officially announced the debut of their latest limited edition, vintage-styled instrument - the Victorian F-5 mandolin. Only 15 of these unique instruments will be made, which combine features and appointments from both the F-4 and F-5 models that revolutionized the mandolin world in the 1920s.

Each will be constructed of figured maple for the one piece back, sides and neck, with a red spruce top, all assembled with hide glue. The top will have bound F-holes finished with a black face and a dark red sunburst back, reminiscent of the mandolins made by Gibson in the nineteen-teens.

The fingerboard will be ebony with an F-5 scale and an F-4 extension. A double flowerpot inlay adorns the headstock which will also feature Waverly arrow-point tuners. The pickguard and clamp are styled like those on the vintage F-4s and the mandolin is protected with an aged varnish finish.

The Gibson Victorian F-Style Mandolin carries a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $17,777 with hardshell case, and orders must be placed through an authorized Gibson retailer.

More photos and additional details can be found on the Gibson Original Acoustic web site.

Thanks to John Drummond of Banjo.com and Jeff Sullivan with First Quality Musical Supply for their assistance in getting the details on this new mandolin from Gibson.

Two Colorado companies who are leaders in their respective fields will soon be working together to produce a new line of musical instrument cases.

Colorado Case Company of Ft. Collins is a familiar name to musicians in all genres, bluegrass included. Their instrument gig bags, soft case covers and flight cases are endorsed by Steep Canyon Rangers, Missy Raines, Cadillac Sky, Sammy Shelor, Don Rigsby, Bill Evans and a great many other acoustic acts. They have been longtime members of the IBMA and have a history of support for bluegrass music.

Case Logic of Boulder likewise makes products that many musicians own and use, as well as a wide range of storage and portable carriage solutions for consumers. They got their start making carrying cases for audio cassettes, and now manufacture similar products for CDs, DVDs, MP3 players, cameras and laptops, as well as backpacks and luggage.

In their newly announced partnership, Colorado Case will design, market and distribute a line of musical instrument cases under an exclusive license with Case Logic. The first will be available in the 4th quarter of 2008, for guitars, flutes and drums, and marked with the Case Logic brand. More products will be added in 2009 and beyond with a full representation of all cased instruments expected in the next few years.

They will be sold through music stores, using Colorado Cases’ extensive network of dealers, and manufactured in their Ft. Collins facility.

We’ve commented in the past about the ongoing outrage that Blue Highway guitarist - and highly influential flatpicking stylist - Tim Stafford has never received IBMA’s Guitar Player Of The Year Award.

Well, there is one organization who recognizes Tim’s stature in the acoustic guitar world. CA Guitars (Composite Acoustics) of Lafayette, LA is set to introduce a Tim Stafford signature guitar model at the Summer NAMM show in Nashville next month.

Tim has been using a CA guitar on the road with Blue Highway for a number of years, and in the studio as well. The guitars are made from a carbon fiber composite material and Tim has praised his for its constancy with regard to temperature and humidity extremes - common concerns for road musicians.

“I have the second prototype here, and it has a new bracing pattern, an enlarged soundhole and beautiful rosette design by Bobby Starnes. My name is inlaid at the 12th fret tastefully in the same blue shell that cosmetically offsets the black carbon fiber well. They aren’t finished with it–still some modifications to be done, including a soundport. The thing sounds wonderful–every new guitar I hear from CA gets better acoustically, and they were already great recording guitars. They also play like a dream right out of the factory.”

The soundport Tim mentioned is an opening in the upper bout of the guitar’s side, which he says makes the guitar project more forcefully forward - generating more volume. The Stafford model will also come with a custom Fishman Aura pickup system installed, which uses onboard software (tweaked for this guitar’s properties) in what Fishman describes as a new breakthrough in acoustic image modeling to accurately replicate the way different classic microphones would capture the tone and response.

CA was hesitant to comment much on the Tim Stafford model, saying that it is still a work in progress, but they are very excited about their association with Tim, and looking forward to debuting the guitar at Summer NAMM in June.

We’ll have more details as the actual launch draws near.

The Loar has announced the summer 2008 debut of their latest mandolin model. The LM-600-VS is an F-style instrument, which the manufacturer describes as an accurate replica of the original 1920’s F5-style model.

It is a solid wood, hand-carved and graduated mandolin with a spruce top, flame maple back and sides, and finished with a traditional tobacco sunburst.

The Loar makes much of the fact that they will use a nitrocellulose finish on this new model, a practice common in higher end handmade instruments, but apparently less so in Asian imports. This finish is very durable and flexible, but it’s highly toxic nature makes it more difficult (and costly) to apply.

The LM-600-VS will carry a retail price of $899.99 and will ship in an embroidered, lightweight case.

The company is a division of The Music Link, and their mandolins and guitars are distributed through TML’s dealer network.

Long-time students of bluegrass instruments will recall with fondness the name Oak Publications, a division of Music Sales that released some fine instructional manuals for banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle and bass starting in the 1970s. While the brand has remained active since, some of those early titles have been unavailable for years - though AcuTab reissued their classic (and massive) - Masters of the 5 String Banjo book.

Oak has reprinted a number those early books, and two of particular interest to the bluegrass community are among them. Both Bill Keith and the late Vassar Clements had transcription books as a part of Oak’s Bluegrass Masters series - which also featured books on Kenny Baker, Jesse McReynolds and Clarence White - both reissued earlier this year.

Clements’ fiddle book was written by Matt Glaser, current chair of the string department at Berklee College of Music, and the Keith banjo book was written by Tony Trischka with Bill’s assistance. The Vassar transcriptions are in standard notation and the Keith in tablature. Both feature information on the recordings from which the transcriptions were taken.

Look for Oak titles wherever bluegrass instructional materials are sold.

HT: PlayBetterBluegrass.com

Here’s a brief update to our post from last week about Gibson’s new limited edition Earl Scruggs Flint Hill Special banjo model.

In our previous post, we mentioned that no pricing information was found on the Gibson site, and that our efforts to reach someone there for details were unsuccessful.

A commenter indicated that the suggested retail prices were $18,499 for the first five and $11,999 for the remaining production run. We also reached Janet Davis of Janet Davis Music, a large and prominent dealer for Gibson Banjos, who told us that they are offering them for $16,665 (1-5) and $10799 (6-20).

Only 20 will be built, and Janet Davis Music Center is taking orders at this time. They are being built now, and should be ready for delivery in 2-3 weeks.

Only one or two of the first five are still available. Each banjo is personally and professionally shop adjusted before it is shipped to you from our facility.

A true investment you can enjoy forever!

You can see more details about the new Scruggs banjo in our earlier post.

Gibson is debuting a new, limited edition banjo model this year, marking the 5oth anniversary of the original release of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs’ classic recording, Foggy Mountain Jamboree. Though they had been releasing singles on a regular basis since 1951, Foggy Mountain Jamboree was their first long playing album, which some music historians say was the first bluegrass LP by any artist.

Included on that 1957 LP was Flint Hill Special, a Scruggs instrumental originally recorded in 1952 that, along with Earl’s Breakdown, Foggy Mountain Chimes and Randy Lynn Rag (all three also featured on that album), introduced the bluegrass world to what came to be known as the Scruggs tuner, a device that allowed Earl to quickly detune and retune a string.

Gibson has long marketed a banjo known as the Earl Scruggs Flint Hill Special (the name of both the song and the banjo taken from Scruggs’ birthplace in North Carolina), and their new 2008 commemorative banjo is a special edition of that model.

Only 20 Commemorative Limited Edition Earl Scruggs Flint Hill Special banjos will be made, and purchasers will receive a number of pieces of Earl Scruggs memorabilia as well.

The banjo will be made of figured maple (neck, and resonator overlay) with an ebony fingerboard inlaid with Gibson’s Hearts & Flowers pattern. The neck and resonator are bound with white/black/white trim and the peghead with mother of pearl. The heel cap is also mother of pearl, and the banjo is engraved and gold plated. Each will ship in an Earl Scruggs signature model red line case, with the head signed by the man himself, an autographed copy of Earl’s banjo book and a CD copy of Foggy Mountain Jamboree.

The first five purchasers will also get Earl’s signature on the back of the peghead, plus a signed and framed Flint Hill Special tablature from the Scruggs book.

Gibson has not responded to our requests for more details about the selling price, but similar limited edition models have carried retail prices close to $50,000. When we hear from them with a price (and availability/ordering info), we’ll update this post. (See update below)

The Gibson folks also included this classic YouTube clip in their press release about the new Scruggs banjo. Nice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfB_Saky-6E

UPDATE 4/2: A commenter indicated that the suggested retail prices were $18,499 for the first five and $11,999 for the remaining production run. We also reached Janet Davis of Janet Davis Music, a large and prominent dealer for Gibson Banjos, who told us that they are offering them for $16,665 (1-5) and $10799 (6-20).

The Washburn Guitar folks have a number of new acoustic models. All were debuted at the recent Winter NAMM show, and will be arriving in dealer showrooms later this summer.

Striking and unexpected wood choices are a theme with these five new guitars, three of which are available with onboard electronics.

The two dreadnaughts (D46SP and D46CESP) are maple guitars, using a highly-figured spalted variety for the top, back and sides. This splating is a result of the action of fungi on maple after harveting, but prior to manufacture.

The D46SP will retail for $839.90 and the D46CESP with cutaway and B-Band A-15 electronics for $999.00.

Another interesting wood choice is Java Ebony, used on the J27CE jumbo cutaway. The body is ebony with a mahogany neck and a rosewood fingerboard and bridge. Many people associate ebony with a nearly-black appearance, but a great deal of ebony has a streaked, reddish-brown look before staining. Washburn has left this wood in its natural state.

The J27CE, with onboard electronics will retail for $1,099.90.

There are also two new additions to Washburn’s long-running and very successful Festival Series guitars. These feature an oval sound hole and a cutaway with the EA17 ($649.90) being a deep body guitar and the EA21HM ($1,299.90) a much thinner model. Both feature the same B-Band A-15 electronics.

Our good friend Brad Davis is one of those super fast flatpickers that leaves you wondering, “How does he do that?” Well, Brad wrote in to share one of his secrets (besides insane talent, and lots of practice). The secret is coffee.

Brad is an avid coffee drinker. I’ve been in studio sessions with him that lasted 12 hours or more, and I’ve seen him drink a lot of coffee. Somewhere around a year ago, Brad showed up with a new coffee he insisted I had to try. The brand was Coffee Fool. I had never heard of them before, but Brad swore by the stuff.

Brad went on to write a theme song for company, just because he loved the coffee so much. You can hear that song by visiting CoffeeFool.com and clicking the play button in the lower left.

Just a couple months ago at the January NAMM show, Brad teamed up with Flapicking Guitar Magazine editor Dan Miller, to convince the guys at Coffee Fool that bluegrass flatpickers were in need of a special brew to give them the energy boost necessary to keep up with banjo and fiddle players during late night jam sessions. The company responded by creating a special coffee blend just for flatpickers. It’s called Flatpicker Fuel.

Pick the high note and low note at the same time with our post-roast blend of high energy Breakfast Brew, rich Fool’s House Italian and the subtle sweetness of pure Extra Fancy Hawaiian Kona. Just the right combo to keep you jammin’ through the day… or night!

CoffeeFool.com is a great supporter of music and musicians. They are sponsoring some of Brad Davis’ workshops and performances and are also co-sponsoring some live music events with Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. Dan Miller had this to say about working with Coffee Fool.

When Flatpicking Guitar Magazine needed a co-sponsor to help with the costs of promoting and hosting an Infamous Stringdusters show in California, with opening act Keith Little and Jim Nunally, Coffeefool.com didn’t hesitate to jump on board and get involved. They are good folks who love supporting live music.

So if you’re a flatpicker in need of a speed boost, give Flatpicker Fuel a try.

The next editions in the series of DVDs featuring recordings from Best of The Flatt & Scruggs TV shows, Volume 5 and Volume 6 are scheduled for released on April 1.

This series contains the best musical performances from a long lost TV show taped in the 1950s and 1960s. Never available before, this footage features Flatt and Scruggs in their prime with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys playing many of their most famous songs as well as many other bluegrass classics.

The series is available from the independent record and video company Shanachie Entertainment of New Jersey, in cooperation with The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

A complete track listing can be seen in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum online store, where pre-orders are available.

Recording King has introduced a line of new metal body resonator instruments, including two guitars plus a mandolin and ukulele. All feature bell brass bodies and hand-spun cones, and the guitars offer the choice between a tricone and a single resonator design.

The RM991 guitar uses three 6” Continental cones and is available in both round and squareneck configurations, both made from Honduran mahogany. The roundneck model offers either a champagne matte or nickel/silver finish, and the squareneck comes in nickel/silver. Both use a screen coverplate and a T-shaped bridge.

The style-O RM998 is a single cone guitar (9.5” Continental) with a roundhole coverplate. The finish and neck options are the same as the 991.

All of the guitar models carry a retail price of 699.99. At this time, no pricing info on the mandolin or ukulele is listed on the Recording King site.

Washburn has announced the release of two new mandolin models, both designed to mimic the appearance of gently worn vintage instruments. These are solid wood mandolins featuring flame maple back and sides and a hand carved spruce top.

The Washburn folks are marking their 125th anniversary in 2008, and introduced these new models as a celebration of their long history building acoustic instruments. The vintage look - complete with aged hardware and a lighter, satin finish - suggests the styling that launched the US mandolin craze in the 1920s, and which has remained the standard to this day.

The M118SW is an F-style model that retails for $1,349.90 while its cousin, the M116SW is an A-style body with a retail price of $1,149.90. Both have a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, Allan tailpiece, ebonite tuner buttons and ship with a hard shell case. Washburn offers a limited lifetime warranty on all their new instruments.

You can find out more about these, and all the other Washburn mandolin models, on their official web site.

The American Made Banjo Co. will unveil their new lightweight banjo tone ring today at the SPBGMA convention in Nashville.

The Aluminum Dannick tone ring came into being after American Made owner Tom Mirisola’s search for a lighter banjo with a full flathead tone ring. He studied a number of alloys that could be cast and machined for use in his banjos.

“I stopped at the metal titanium, and felt I was at the end of the road. Titanium had the sound potential but the casting process was not cost effective for a tone ring. So, that idea was scratched fast. While searching for other aluminum alloys, I found another metal called ticalium (Pat-Pend). This is a mixture of aluminum, titanium and carbon. The hardness of this alloy could be adjusted based on the formula.”

Tom said that ticalium rang like a bell, but since their patent was pending, he knew he would not be able to use the alloy. He finally settled on a high-strength aluminum alloy developed by NASA which was also very hard with a bell-like tone. They poured a few aluminum tone rings and cut them to match the original Dannick tone ring.

“Our first test was when Robin Smith installed one in a maple banjo. It had great volume, but the tone was a little bright for our taste. Robin then suggested he install the aluminum ring in a mahogany rim to soften the sound a little. This became the necessary wood/metal combination. As an all mahogany banjo with the aluminum tone ring, the tone, volume and sustain was perfect to our ears.

One day Scott Vestal who markets his signature Stealth Banjo, was at Robin’s shop. He picked on the aluminum prototype banjo, and said, ‘That’s the sound I’ve been looking for.’ Scott then directed Robin to build a couple of fancy Stealths with elaborate binding and quilted mahogany resonators. These Stealth banjos with a Dannick Aluminum tone ring will be on display in the McGavick Room at SPBGMA 2008.”

The Dannick aluminum tone rings are cut to the same dimensions as American Made’s Dannick tone ring, and offer a full size 20 hole ring that weighs in at only 18 ounces. They are unplated, buffed to a bright finish to match the metal parts in a nickel banjo and sell for $435.