About
Several years ago, I inherited a Banjo from my late grandfather. I think I ended up with it because I was the closest family member with any kind of an interest in playing instruments as a kid. I remember picking it up for the first time and being really uncomfortable with the 5-string tuning. It was completely foreign to everything I knew about guitar, so I didn’t really give it much attention.
Recently however, I found myself looking for a challenge, so I decided to pick it back up. It took some real adjustment, but after a couple months I could play a couple of tunes pretty reliably. Many more months have passed and it has definitely grown on me. So much so, that I thought it could use a setup and a couple little upgrades to make it sound better, and be a little more user-friendly. This thing has been well loved and clearly played for decades. It has definitely been dinged up and even refinished in some areas, so I don’t feel like I am at risk of degrading a musical relic with these upgrades.
I started looking for some upgrades which lead me down a fascinating road to learning about Bill Rickard. I needed some new tuners and quickly discovered that many people had a lot of good things to say about Rickard Cyclone tuners. They’re not inexpensive by any means and I’m usually not one to believe that the more you pay for something the better it is – but these were worth every dollar, no contest. I was so impressed, I also picked up a new tailpiece, as the one that came with the banjo was dented askew at some point in time, and this new one is both a functional and aesthetic upgrade. Most surprising to me is that Bill Rickard is based out of Aurora, which is not very far from where I am based here in Toronto. Small world.
With these upgrades, this banjo now plays as good as I can imagine it can. I’m definitely going to spend more time with this instrument and recommend it to anyone looking to try something new.
Banjo Info:
– El Degas 5 String Banjo [1960-1970’s?]
*no serial numbers or identifying marks other than headstock logo
– Rickard Cyclone Tuners
– Rickard R-40 Adjustable tailpiece
– Compensated Banjo Bridge
– Remo Banjo Head
Process Documentation
