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Reflections

Reflections on the Thumpy Ogee

I’ve been on a bit of an artist’s journey with the banjo. My entry point to banjo building was a study of Vega inspired steel-strung banjos. After having spent a few years in that style of banjo I took a big step back in time and immersed myself in building gourd banjos. My banjo focus has never been deeply historical. Instead, I often favor exploring the instrument as an artist and crafts person from my own contemporary experience and perspective. That said, my work is deeply influenced by banjos of the past as presented in paintings and photographs.

In exploring the banjo as a player and builder, I often like to ask, “What if…?”. The Thumpy Ogee banjos are inspired by just such a question. What if the fretless nylon strung banjo met with a more contemporary rim assembly? The resulting journey inspired by this question has been challenging, enlightening, and enriching.

Design Elements

The scroll-style peghead is a design element whose true origin is unknown to me. It appears on instruments from the contemporary Fender Stratocaster, to banjos of the mid-1800’s, to the guitar works of Johann Stauffer, and can be found on early violins and viols of various vintages and description. I’ve always liked the scroll-style peghead and chose to include my own rendition of it on the Ogee banjos as a way of honoring the rich history of stringed instruments.

Many banjos of the mid-1800’s featured contours on the fifth string string side of the neck. I included my own contours inspired by the rolling hills and mountains where I make my home. I later learned that in architecture the “S” shape is sometimes called an ogee. This term seems to fit the contours I’ve chosen for the fifth string side of the neck. I like the sound of the word and it makes think of the phonetic homologue “Oh gee!”.

Many contemporary banjos designed for clawhammer or frailing styles include a “scoop” on the upper portion of the fingerboard. I chose to use a big scoop on these banjos. I first began using this design element on gourd banjos and it seemed like a natural fit for the Ogee banjos. I really like the access it provides for playing above the head. I find the extra space in this area is especially helpful when playing the hard tension nylon strings found on most Thumpy Ogees.

Contemporary Vega-style banjos feature a neck whose heel is fitted to the rim with additional structure created by using a dowel stick that travels through the rim and glues into the heel of the neck. When I was working with gourd banjos I began to question the structural utility of this design. With some experimentation I found that using a larger stick continuous with the neck and fitting the rim to it instead of the other way around was a fine approach that suited my build style more comfortably. This has become my preferred method for fixing the rim to the neck on all my banjos.

Scale length, the length of the active portion of the string from nut to bridge, has a variety of impacts on the feel and play-ability of any stringed instrument. In my years in playing banjo and spending time with other banjo players, I’ve known some who could have had more fun with a shorter scale banjo. For this reason the Ogees have a 22.5″ scale length. Hard-tension nylon strings provide a driving rumble and grumble that works well with a shorter scale length. Hard tension strings provide a firm feel and a snappy response.

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Banjos Banjos For Sale

Ogee – Short-Scale – Fretless – Nylon Strung – $2,800

Front view of Thumpy Ogee

Five string banjo, short-scale nylon strung fretless. Great for clawhammer and finger-style parlor music. Plays well in common old-time tunings like A, C, D, and G. Will also go down further than G, plays well in F and B-flat. This particular Thumpy Banjo features an 12″ rim with a Fyberskin head. Very articulate for a fretless nylon strung banjo. Rim features a 45° bearing edge, no tone-ring.

Hand-Crafted in Radford, Virginia.

  • Maple neck, non-adjustable carbon fiber reinforced
  • Indian Laurel Fingerboard
  • Gotoh 2-band tuners
  • 12″ multi-ply maple rim – 3 & 3/16″ deep
  • 22.5″ scale length
Back view of Thumpy Ogee
Peghead view of Thumpy Ogee
Ogee detail view
Head and rim of Thumpy Ogee
Back of neck
Back of ogee detail view
Back of rim detail
Deep scoop detail view
Categories
Banjos

Fretless, Shoeless, Nylon Strung

Shoeless Ultra-Light Banjo

Sometimes I get tired of the hardware on the banjo rim poking me. For years I pondered over how to build a banjo that I could play without being poked. The Shoeless Ultra-Light is what I came up with. Inspired by tackhead banjos, the Shoeless Ultra-Light has a non-adjustable, permanently fixed head. However, instead of using a head made from an animal hide, this banjo uses a synthetic renaissance head made by the Remo company. The head is pre-stretched before fixing to the rim. It’s very light weight and comfortable to play.

Technical Specs

  • Weighs about two pounds, eight ounces
  • 22.25″ scale length
  • Fretless
  • Nylon strung
  • 11″ multi-ply maple rim
  • Renaissance head
  • String through at the tail of the rim
  • Carbon fiber re-enforced (non-adjustable) walnut neck and stick
  • Gotoh 2-band tuners
  • Position markers on the fingerboard
  • Side-dot position markers
  • Scoop with thumb-scoop
Categories
Banjos

Short-scale, Fretted, Nylon Strung, 12 inch

front view of banjo
Back of banjo
banjo neck
Banjo pot
back of banjo neck
Back of banjo rim
front view of banjo

Five string banjo, slightly short-scale, nylon strung, fretted. This banjo has position markers on the fingerboard and on the side of the neck. Great for clawhammer and finger-style parlor music. Plays well in common old-time tunings like A, C, D, and G. Will also go down further than G, plays well in F and B-flat. This particular Thumpy Banjo features a 12″ rim with a renaissance head. Has hard tension nylon strings. Very articulate for a nylon strung banjo. Rim features a 45° bearing edge, no tone-ring. Includes new gig-bag.

Hand-Crafted in Radford, Virginia.

  • Fully fretted walnut neck with adjustable truss rod
  • Gotoh 2-band tuners with geared Gotoh fifth peg
  • 12″ multi-ply maple rim with bearing edge
  • 23 & 5/8″ scale length
  • Indian Laurel fingerboard
  • Brass & Nickel hardware
  • Strings through the rim at the tail
Categories
Banjos

Ogee with Cocobola

Front view of Thumpy Banjo #24
Back view of Thumpy Banjo #24
Peghead view
Fingerboard view
Rim view
Back of peghead
Back view of neck, behold the curly maple, Woot!
Back or rim view
Tail view

Five string banjo, short-scale nylon strung fretless. Great for clawhammer and finger-style parlor music. Plays well in common old-time tunings like A, C, D, and G. Will also go down further than G, plays well in F and B-flat. This particular Thumpy Banjo features a 12″ rim with a renaissance head. Has extra hard tension nylon strings. Very articulate for a fretless nylon strung banjo. Rim features a bearing edge, no tone-ring. Includes new gig-bag. Hand-Crafted in Radford, Virginia.

  • Lightly flamed maple neck, non-adjustable carbon fiber reinforced
  • Gotoh 2-band tuners
  • 12″ maple rim
  • 22.5″ scale length
  • Figured Cocobolo fingerboard
Categories
Banjos Banjos For Sale

Fretless, Steel Strung, 12 inch – $950

*** Try this banjo in person at Fretmill Music in Roanoke, Virginia ***

Five string banjo, short-scale STEEL strung fretless. Has flush frets and fret markers to aid in way finding around the fingerboard. Great for clawhammer and finger-style parlor music. Plays well in common old-time tunings like A, C, D, and G. This particular Thumpy Banjo features a 12″ rim with a renaissance head. Rim features a bearing edge, no tone-ring.

Thumpy Banjo #23 front view
peghead and fingerboard detail
Upper fingerboard detail
scoop detail
rim detail
back
back peghead detail
heel detail
Rear rim detail
String through rim detail
  • Walnut neck, non-adjustable carbon fiber reinforced
  • Flush fret
  • Gotoh 2-band tuners
  • 12″ maple rim
  • 22.25″ scale length
  • Indian Laurel fingerboard
Categories
Banjos

Ultra-Light, Short-Scale, Flush-Fretted, Nylon-Strung

Thumpy Banjo #22 front view
back view
peghead and neck detail view
upper neck detail view
Scoop detail view
rim
tail
back of peghead detail view
neck heel
back of rim

Five string banjo, short-scale, nylon strung, fretless. This banjo has flush frets and mother of pearl position markers on the fingerboard. Also has dot markers on the side of the neck. Great for clawhammer and finger-style parlor music. Plays well in common old-time tunings like A, C, D, and G. Will also go down further than G, plays well in F and B-flat. This particular Thumpy Banjo features an 11″ rim with a renaissance head. Has hard tension nylon strings. Very articulate for a fretless nylon strung banjo. Rim features a 45° bearing edge, no tone-ring. Includes new gig-bag.

Hand-Crafted in Radford, Virginia.

  • Weighs in at 3 pounds 9.1 ounces
  • Walnut neck, non-adjustable carbon fiber reinforced
  • Gotoh 2-band tuners with geared Gotoh fifth peg
  • 11″ multi-ply maple rim with bearing edge
  • 22.25″ scale length
  • Indian Laurel fingerboard
  • Custom 5-hole bridge
  • Nickel hardware
  • Thumb scoop
  • Strings through the rim at the tail
  • DAAARK lightly relicked finish
Categories
Banjos Banjos For Sale

Ultra-Light, Short-Scale, Fretless, Nylon-Strung – $950

Front view of Thumpy #21
Back view of Thumpy #21
Peghead
fingerboard
scoop
inside rim

Five string banjo, short-scale, nylon strung, fretless. This banjo has position markers on the fingerboard and on the side of the neck. Great for clawhammer and finger-style parlor music. Plays well in common old-time tunings like A, C, D, and G. Will also go down further than G, plays well in F and B-flat. This particular Thumpy Banjo features an 11″ rim with a renaissance head. Has hard tension nylon strings. Very articulate for a fretless nylon strung banjo. Rim features a 45° bearing edge, no tone-ring. Includes new gig-bag.

Hand-Crafted in Radford, Virginia.

  • Weighs in at 3 pounds 10.8 ounces
  • Walnut neck, non-adjustable carbon fiber reinforced
  • Gotoh 2-band tuners with geared Gotoh fifth peg
  • 11″ multi-ply maple rim with bearing edge
  • 22.25″ scale length
  • Indian Laurel fingerboard and peghead overlay
  • Nickel hardware
  • Thumb scoop
  • Strings through the rim at the tail
Categories
Banjos

Short-scale, Steel strung, fretted

Five-string, short-scale, fretted, steel-strung banjo. Great for clawhammer and finger-style parlor music. Plays well in common old-time tunings like A, C, D, and G.

Hand-Crafted in Radford, Virginia.

Front of Thumpy #20
Back of Thumpy #20
Thumpy #20 peghead
5th fret to scoop
Scoop
Back of peghead
5th peg to rim
Back of rim
  • Walnut neck – Carbon fiber reinforced (non-adjustable)
  • Fretted fingerboard with Evo Gold Frets – Indian Laurel, 16″ radius, frailing scoop
  • 22.25″ scale length
  • 11″ Multi-ply Maple Rim – rolled brass tone ring
  • Gotoh tuners in nickel

Categories
Banjos Banjos For Sale

Short-scale, Flushfret, Steel strung – $950

Thumpy Banjo #19 front view
Thumpy Banjo #19
Thumpy Banjo #19 - front peghead
Peghead
Thumpy #19 Neck
Fingerboard
fingerboard
fingerboard
scoop
back of peghead
back of rim
back of heel
String posts
vertical front view
vertical view of scoop

Five-string, short-scale, flush-fret, steel-strung banjo. Great for clawhammer and finger-style parlor music. Plays well in common old-time tunings like A, C, D, and G.

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. All others please reach out to make arrangements.

Includes new gig-bag. Hand-Crafted in Radford, Virginia.

  • Walnut neck – Carbon fiber reinforced (non-adjustable)
  • Fretless fingerboard – Indian Laurel, flush-fret, 16″ radius, scoop & thumb scoop
  • 22.25″ scale length
  • 11″ Multi-ply Maple Rim – rolled brass tone ring, string through
  • Gotoh tuners in nickel
  • Custom 5-hole bridge with wide string spacing and offset 5th string
  • Weight: about 4 pounds & 1 ounce