2nd Accutone
First one was stolen, click here
She wasn't around long, but she did have a voice.
19 fret tenor
Flamed maple neck, Custom built by Wyatt Fawley
Custom Peghead inlay
Radiused fingerboard
"Slit bowtie" TB-18 style inlays
Steve Gill "Burl" Walnut resonator w/ White binding
Gibson style 1 piece flange rim design
Non engraved nickel plating
Jimmy Cox rolled maple rim
Wyatt Fawley "Retrotone" tone ring
I will send a choice blank up to Wyatt for shaping into a really fine custom neck.
His work is some of the best in the World as far as i am concerned
Picking a board and a rim for this project
To time compress things a bit, I did not do the resonator and rim building process with pictures
I am adding clear to them while I prepare the other parts
Fawley ring custom fitted to Cox rim
Rim assembled with new quality calfskin head
Inside of resonator finish is now complete and ready to fit to the
flange
Lugs mounted
Sidewall looks cool with lens flare from blue towel!
Rim hardware mounted, with flange" standing tall" as requested by
TJ
He likes his off the resonator land, just setting on the 4
L brackets
When outdoors, I always have a guard dog watching.
We have already lost one of these you know!
All the little puffy clouds in the sky look like Lacquer blush!
Assembly with prewar Gibson TB4 neck
I decided to go ahead an put this neck on, while we wait on the custom neck to finish out.
This allows TJ to have a playable banjo and allows this rim assembly to get some playing time on it.
It has been together for a year and has had plenty of time for the new pieces to mate up.
So I will bring the head to tension now, and get going on this neck.
I will see how it plays out and check fit to rim
Now to match the finish on all pieces
After stripping, the TB4 neck is now restained to a deep Gibson
Purple from the late 20's.
here is it shown with the clear applied, ready to buff.
The resonator was stain washed on the topcoat,. and then more clear
applied to make it match the neck as well.
Setting it up after curing / buffing
Waverly heavy tailpiece
Premium skin head
Resonator numbered after completion
Old prewar Gibson style, with chalk pencil.
Final Assembly with TB4 neck
2 band 4:1 tuners, with Ivroid buttons
9/16 inserted Farquhar bridge
Now we will wait for a really cool neck to come in here from Wyatt. to make this banjo complete.
But for now, it is SCREAMING on this neck .
This thing is a Powerhouse, and in TJ's hands, I shudder to think
of what it can do!
He will be here in a few days to take delivery, and we will dial
it in to his setup and see what she can do.
1-4-08 DELIVERY
After fine tuning it, figuring out the usual 3 bridge selection for certain voicings, putting his custom string selection on it we have it working very well for his style of playing
So many people think that they go to the store, buy a banjo and it should perform, but that is not the case.
if you do not learn your instrument, you will never know the possibilities of voicings that it can produce.
"1 setup = 1 sound"
This particular calfskin head rivals the finest Rogers heads ever made.
It produces super clean tones all over the range.
That is the desired expression, now he can take it out on the road
and break this puppy in properly.
If you see it in the future you will hear the difference that only
Calfskin can impart, and like it or not, use it or not, its tone is unrivaled.
After he leaves here today, he is headed out on the road with
Ray Price once again playing the Instrument he went to school for, doing
a few short gigs while planning for another longer tour later in
the year.
If you want to see him in action, order the DVD "Last of the Breed"
Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Ray Price
MORE TO COME