Categories
Banjos Banjos For Sale

Fretless, Shoeless, Nylon Strung – $950

Shoeless Ultra-Light Thumpy banjo

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

Categories
Banjos Banjos For Sale

Short-scale, Flush fret, Nylon – $1,100

Try this banjo in person at the Floyd Country Store

Five string banjo, short-scale nylon strung fretless. Has very, very subtle fret markers to aid in way finding around the fingerboard. Fret markers may be tough to see in the photos. 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.

Thumpy Banjo #18 as seen from the front.
Detail photo of the neck showing flush fret markers
Close up detail view of the neck showing flush fret markers
Back view of Thumpy Banjo #18
Close up of nylon strings as they attach to the tail of the instrument
  • Walnut neck, non-adjustable carbon fiber reinforced
  • Gotoh 2-band tuners
  • 12″ maple rim
  • 22.25″ scale length
  • Indian Laurel fingerboard

Categories
Banjos

Ultra-Light Precision Pro Minus

Thumpy Banjo #17 as seen from the front. The fretless neck features fret markers that are flush with the surface of the fingerboard.

What is a Thumpy Banjo Anyway? Thumpy Banjos are short-scale, nylon-strung, fretless, open-back banjos. They are a slightly different animal than steel strung open-back banjos. The short scale length can be helpful with shoulder fatigue. The fretless feature facilitates certain playing styles. The nylon strings, IMO, make it easier to get clean notes from a fretless fingerboard and they have a mellower tone than steel strings.

Thumpy 17 Demo
The front view of the neck of Thumpy Banjo #17 featuring flush frets.

What’s so Ultra-Light about it? This banjo weighs 3 pounds and 9.8 ounces. As banjos go, that’s light!

What’s precision about it? This fretless banjo has fret markers that are set flush with the fingerboard. This gives the player the best of both worlds, the sound and feel of fretless with the precision of a fretted banjo. As a long-time fretless player, this feature emboldens me to play stuff up the neck even in performance setting.

What’s minus about it? This banjo features a deep thumb scoop. These can be a great comfort feature for some players.

Thumpy banjo thumb scoop
The back view of Thumpy Banjo #17
The back view of the neck of Thumpy Banjo #17
Thumpy Banjo #17 strings through the rim
  • Walnut neck with Indian Laurel fingerboard
  • carbon fiber reinforced neck (non-adjustable)
  • Nickel hardware including Gotoh 2-band tuners and geared fifth peg
  • 11″ multi-ply maple rim with bearing edge
  • 22.25″ scale length
  • Weight: 3 pounds, 9.8 ounces
  • Strings through the rim