Recent Banjos Archives | Bad River Banjo – Handcrafted banjos by Paul Corrigan

September 30, 2020

The EC Minter cherry banjo

This custom banjo sports a timeless headstock in the spirit of vintage Lyon & Healy models. It is embedded with a vintage 25-cent coal scrip from the E.C. Minter Coal Company, which was founded in Rhodell, West Virginia in 1921. This particular peghead shape is one of two new shapes that I recently added to my menu for custom banjos. To see the entire menu along with other standard options, see my banjo specifications page. The peghead veneer, heel cap and fingerboard are all fashioned from Richlite, which replaces ebony in all of my newer banjos.

The 3-ply steam-bent rim contains a maple core, with cherry on both the outer and inner surfaces. It is capped with an integrated maple tone ring, which lends a subtle “old-time” quality to its sound. And the dowel stick is cut from excess neck material, providing continuous, perfectly matched grain pattern and coloration.

As part of this custom build, a single railroad spike was installed at the seventh fret. This took a bit of finesse, knowing that my client planned to use both Nylgut and steel strings with the banjo over time. As a result, I gauged the spacing beneath the spike to accommodate both.

Below is a historical photo of E.C. Minter (pictured third from left) atop a natural stone formation at Blowing Rock, North Carolina. For more context on coal mines and why I include coal scrip coins in my banjos, see my recent post regarding the truth about scrip.

Here are a few process shots from my shop as I worked on this banjo project. These images are an example of content updates that I regularly share with clients as their custom banjo is being built. Please feel free to follow my account on Instagram for more process photos like these, along with the most recent updates from my shop.

January 29, 2020

The Freedom fretless walnut banjo

This traditional fretless model is built along the same lines as the original Camberwell Fretless banjo, with a few notable exceptions. It sports a simple minstrel style headstock with minimal ornamentation and raw brass hardware throughout. The steam-bent rim is 3/8″ thick for lighter weight and a throatier tone – also in keeping with old style models from the late 19th Century.

The Freedom Fretless is made from American Black Walnut with sustainable Richlite fingerboard and peghead. The rim is fitted with a simple rolled brass tone ring for added brightness. The vintage-style heel is boldly capped with a raw brass plate, hand-stamped with the word freedom.

handmade cherry banjo peghead and fingerboard

In keeping with historical accuracy, I found a vintage set of steel hand stamp letters to create the custom freedom wordmark on this banjo’s raw brass heel cap. I don’t know exactly how old this set of stamps is, but I love the round wooden case that holds them all together.

Below is a collection of photos from my workshop showing some of the steps that went into building this custom banjo. I share content like this with every client — along with detailed descriptions — as part my process. If you’d like to follow more updates from my shop, and to see my banjo-building process up close, feel free to follow my account on Instagram.

November 23, 2018

The Wyatt and the Southern twin banjos

Two clients approached me, asking for a pair of banjos that they could play together. They even provided a large block of walnut, which had been harvested from land that one of them owned. As a result, these two banjos were built as a matched set. Each has a walnut rim that is 3/8″ thick and 11″ in diameter. One peghead sports a vintage 25-cent coal scrip coin from the historic Wyatt Coal Company of Laing, West Virginia. The other is from the Southern Mining Company of Colmar, KY.

Both banjos have necks shaped from the same stock of American black walnut with ebony fingerboards and pegheads. Each rim is fitted with a brass tone ring for clarity and volume.

Below is the original block of air-dried walnut stock. I was careful to select sections of the wood that were free of defects and that would match up well for the 2-ply, laminated necks.

I built these banjos together (at the same time) to maintain consistency. This not only saved time, but ensured that they would be a true matched pair — down to the smallest detail.

The process images below are examples of content I share with each of my clients while their banjo is being built. Additional images and features list can be viewed on the work page for this project. And if you’d like to see more timely updates from my shop, feel free to follow my account on Instagram.

March 26, 2018

The Deutsch Fretless walnut banjo

This traditional fretless model is built along the same lines as the original Camberwell Fretless banjo. It sports a simple minstrel style headstock with minimal ornamentation and raw brass hardware throughout.

The Deutsch Fretless is made from American black walnut with ebony fingerboard and peghead. The rim is fitted with an integrated ebony tone ring for a warm, woody sound. And the natural goat hide head adds to the vintage aesthetic and tonal quality. The steam-bent rim is 3/8″ thick for lighter weight and a throatier tone – also in keeping with old style models from the late 19th Century.

The owner of this banjo wanted the option to switch to higher tension steel strings in the future, so I installed a 2-way adjustable truss rod. As you can see below, I look to maintain a high level of precision and craft — even when it comes to functional parts that are hidden from view. All of my truss rods are installed so that the access hole is in the heel (rather than the headstock). This helps to maintain a clean, minimal aesthetic on the banjo exterior.

Below are some process photos taken during the build of this banjo. I like to share images like these with my clients as part of the journey while their instrument is being made. Feel free to follow me on Instagram to see more workshop updates like these.

November 14, 2016

The Cleage-Wills Travel Banjo

This lightweight and economical travel banjo is fashioned with a walnut neck and pot assembly. It’s built to travel easy, with a short A-scale neck and a narrow 4-inch width.

This travel banjo is fitted with old-style Champion friction tuners and a patented internal maple tone ring frame. It comes with a custom case that is designed in the tradition of an old wooden shipping crate – with a sliding lid, leather handle and matching leather support straps.

The Bad River travel banjo is designed for comfort, playability and economy. It is naturally lower in volume for solo practice sessions, and sits as well in the lap as it does in your back seat. The Cleage-Wills travel banjo is adorned with a vintage coal scrip coin from the old Cleage-Wills Coal Company of Clearfield, Tennessee.

August 15, 2016

The Weyanoke cherry banjo

This 5-string cherry banjo is built with an 11-inch rim that is 3/8″ thick. The peghead sports a vintage 50-cent coal scrip coin from the historic Weyanoke Coal and Coke Company of Hiawatha, West Virginia.

The cherry rim is built with an integral matched cherry tone ring for a more rounded “woody” tone. Ebony is featured on the rim cap, heel cap, fingerboard and peghead. With a thinner rim, wooden tone ring and fewer bracket hooks (12 total), this banjo is purposely built to be lighter than most standard banjos. This lighter weight – especially around the rim – provides less sustain without effecting tone or relative volume. When played, this equates to faster note decay and more definition between individual notes.

Instead of a scooped neck, the last six frets are set flush with inlaid maple. This allows clearance for playing up the neck and the added ability to fret strings accurately at the highest points.

This banjo includes a handmade ebony tailpiece. These days, I make these out of Richlite, a sustainable substitute that is also excellent for fingerboards.

These are some images from my workshop that show the process of this banjo being built. I enjoy taking these and sharing them with each client — along with detailed descriptions — as their banjo is made. Feel free to follow my account on Instagram to see more process photos like these.

November 25, 2015

The Laurel Creek Special walnut banjo

This 5-string walnut banjo is custom-built with a 12-inch rim for a deeper bass sound and greater volume. The peghead sports a vintage large 50-cent coal scrip coin from the historic Laurel Creek Coal Company from West Virginia.

The walnut rim is built with an integral ebony tone ring and a matching ebony rim cap. An ogee-shaped scoop in the fingerboard allows for higher fretting on the bottom strings. The figured walnut neck was specially sourced from Oregon, and the hand-rubbed oil finish allows the character of the grain to show through.

handmade walnut banjo rim with Dobson neck

This banjo features a unique ogee-shaped frailing scoop. I created a custom jig that would allow me to remove fingerboard material along a precise path. The frets were cut to follow this path, terminating with rounded ends along the shaped edge.

In addition to the custom scoop, this banjo features an ebony rim cap and integrated ebony tone ring. The process photos below show these elements in various stages of completion, including the precise gap built into the neck junction to accommodate the tension hoop. Feel free to follow my account on Instagram to see more process photos and the latest updates from my shop.

August 26, 2015

The Winifrede Longneck

This 4-string longneck mahogany banjo is custom-built for plectrum-style playing. With three extra frets on the end of the neck, it allows the player to perform in a variety of circumstances and tunings. And the 12-inch rim provides a richer, deeper bass sound with added volume.

A large one-dollar coal scrip coin adorns the peghead, hailing from the old Winifrede Coal Company of Winifrede, West Virginia. The rich mahogany tone wood provides a warm, rounded sound. And the hand-rubbed oil finish allows the character of the grain to show through. A natural skin head and raw brass hardware complete the aesthetic. The combination of a longer scale neck and the 12-inch rim makes for a banjo with a truly unique look and sound.

April 6, 2015

The Avis Eagle Fretless mahogany banjo

This fretless mahogany banjo captures a true vintage look with simple, well-placed ornamentation. A large one-dollar coal scrip coin adorns the peghead, and a matched one-cent piece sits in the ebony heel cap. Both are from the Avis Eagle Coal Company, which hailed from Logan County, West Virginia.

Below are a few photos from my workshop, showing steps along the way to building this custom banjo. If you would like to see more process photos like these, along with recent updates from my shop, feel free to follow my account on Instagram.

January 10, 2015

The Canadian Lefty Travel Banjo

This lightweight and economical lefty travel banjo is fashioned with a cherry neck and pot assembly. It’s built to travel easy, with an A-scale neck and a narrow 4-inch width.

The Canadian Lefty features numerous improvements over the original prototype design – including a deeper, stronger internal maple tone ring frame and geared Peghed tuners. In the spirit of the city to which it is being shipped, its peghead is embedded with a vintage 1914 Canadian One Cent piece. It is fitted with 4:1 geared Peghed tuners and a patented internal maple tone ring frame.