Nichols Banjo (my personal one)

 

Here are some pictures of the banjo I play. After my other banjo was stolen in the 1990’s, I built this one. I’ve built others, but this is the one I play most of the time.

Some of these pictures are old and some are new. I have added the Nichols D-tuners to the peghead since I took these first pictures.

 

It has some unique features that would only suit me. I decided that banjos were too heavy for me several years ago. I’ve built several lighter weight banjos and banjo type instruments. This banjo originally had a Gibson-Kulish tone ring in it. When I installed the one piece shell, I put a small tone ring in it to eliminate about 3 pounds.

This banjo does not have coordinator rods because I don’t think they are necessary.

I have the neck raised above the plane of the head by about 3/4 inch or so. This is to get added space between the strings and the head. I was looking at some videos of Earl Scruggs and J.D.Crowe recently. If you will look at their banjo heads you will see some black marks under the strings near the neck area where their picks rub the head. This apparently didn’t hurt their picking since it doesn’t make much sound. My experiments with wooden and aluminum topped banjos taught me that the picks hitting the head (or top) make a sound that takes away from the music. My picking technique isn’t very good and I have trouble controlling my picks. I need a little extra room between the strings and the head. This is my reasoning for raising the neck above the plane of the head.

I put guitar tuners on my banjo instead of banjo tuners. Some folks want to make fun of it because the tuners look like what is on a cheap banjo. Guitar tuners are a 12 to 1 ratio. Banjo tuners are 4 to 1. Which instrument usually is known for being out of tune the most? I like the guitar tuners better. I have some D-Tuners that I made on this banjo. They are ball bearing and they operate very smoothly.

The inlays are my design.

This banjo has a home-made brass tailpiece and a Nichols Maple Bridge.

Slim Johnson says I have the whole food chain on the fingerboard.

The truss rod cover has 3 Crosses on it to honor Jesus Christ who died on that cross. The j-hook brackets are stainless steel and were made by me several years ago. I use a 5 Star smooth white head. I also use some foam pieces under my head in the bridge area to take away some of the twanginess. This banjo would probably not suit anyone else in the world. It has taken me a lot of years to get it to sound this way and I’m happy with the tone. I don’t try to make it loud. Tone is what I’m seeking in a banjo.