SHOP TALK

BUILDING

Each banjo begins as a piece of dried rough sawn lumber picked out by us. It’s always amazing to watch it go from a plank of wood to a musical instrument. Every banjo is hand shaped starting off with a spoke shave and ends with fine sanding and scraping. After we are done shaping the neck and turning the pots, Eden starts with hand cutting inlays and engraving. We finish up with final sanding and putting on the finish. Once everything is in place, a few final tweaks and it’s off to its new home!

Woods We Love

• Cherry

• Mahogany

• Maple

• Walnut

• Ebony

• Rosewood

• Wenge

A few things to think about when ordering

There are several different factor that will really determine the sound of your instrument. The choices between wood and pot size to the differences in tone rings and drum heads will help shape your instrument into something you love. Think of what situations you'll be playing in, It can help to determine the qualities that will make you the most happy with your banjo. 

WOODS

Maple is the brightest and clearest sounding of the woods we use. It ages beautifully and Flamed Maple is incredibly striking.

Cherry is a medium density wood that offers a warm and sparkling sound. It's has a hint of red to it's color that intensifies over time.

Walnut is a similar density to Cherry, and also has a lot of warmth and bass to it's tone.

Mahogany is the darkest sound. It's got loads of plunk and a low tap note. 

TONE RINGS

Rolled brass has a great mid-range and a plunky, warm sound. It’s become a staple in the Old Time community. I believe everyone should have at least one rolled brass banjo in their arsenal. 

Whyte Laydie is my favorite tone ring. It’s mid range has a lot of sparkle and cuts through in a jam really well. 

Dobson tone rings have a lower end range and strong bass, but still manage to really pop. 

Tubaphones have a lot of power, they really ring out. It’s a brighter, crisper, clearer sound and yet warm.

POT SIZES

An 11 inch pot cut through and have a good sustain in their mid-high range. Certain tone rings sound better on different size pots, like a tubaphone adds a lot of clarity to an 11” pot.

12 inch pots have lower, more bass end quality to them. They add heft to the sound and feel of the instrument. I love a whyte laydie on a 12 inch pot. 

A 12 inch pot versus an 11 inch pot is like the difference between a dreadnought guitar and a small bodied OM or parlor guitar.

CARING FOR YOUR BANJO

Now that you have your Ozark Banjo we have some suggestions on how to care for it.

As a general rule when the heating goes on in your house it’s time to start humidifying your instrument. Keep your banjo in the case with a humidifier when the temperatures start to drop. Ideal humidity levels are between 45% -55% humidity. The finish will not protect the wood from moisture loss, so keep an eye on the condition of the instrument year round and avoid leaving your banjo in a car during anytime of the year but especially during the summer. There are a ton of great humidifiers available today, we recommend any of the Oasis Case Humidifiers.

Keep a dry cotton cloth in your case for dust and debris that might get on your banjo. This will take care of the majority of cleaning. The fretboard is made of a more porous wood and one or two drops of oil (mineral, lemon or linseed) can be used to rehydrate the wood every year. For those of you who don’t want your brass plate on your half fretless or scoop plate to develop it’s own patina over time some very fine “0000” steel wool will buff the brass to it’s original shine. Avoid commercial metal cleaners as they can potentially damage the wood.

We always recommend a fiber glass case when flying with your banjo, but a well constructed hard shell case will do fine. Always check that your banjo is snug in it’s case and the headstock is supported. Never check your banjo in a gig bag. Gig bags are great for light travel and going to and from jams. Boulder gig bags are great as they are light with comfortable straps and have lots of pockets for spare strings and capos. 

WARRANTY

All Ozark Banjos come with a limited lifetime warranty to the original owner. We stand by our work and any problem with the construction of the instrument is guaranteed. General wear and tear such as damage from dropping and/or improper handling, wear in the finish, exposure to weather or extreme temperature, and improper humidification aren’t covered.

FAQ

How long is the wait? Our current wait time is 2 and a half years.

Do you ship banjos to my country? Yes! We are happy to ship banjos all over the world. We can discuss shipping options and prices, but they are subject to change when it’s time to ship your banjo.

Can you build my banjo sooner if it’s not very fancy? No, we have a banjo building list in order of when deposits are placed. The complexity of the banjo won’t change when we start your build. 

I placed my order a few months ago- How’s my banjo coming along? Your order hasn’t come up yet- we build our banjos a few at a time. It takes anywhere from 4-8 weeks to build your banjo, we’ll be in touch before we start your build to confirm all the details.

I ordered my banjo a few months ago, Can you send me the design for my inlay? We’re so excited that you’re so excited! But, I (Eden) work on the inlay designs when all details have been confirmed and the banjo is either under construction or about to be. If I take time to work on designs many months, sometimes years in advance it puts me behind in my current work. We can chat about designs and ideas as much as you like, but as for actually sitting down to draw it might be a while. 

I’d like to change my order, is there still time? As long as we haven’t started your build you can change anything about it you like. We get in touch before your banjo is started to confirm all of your choices. Then we usually get going on it straight away. 

Why is the wait longer than you originally said? We had tried to predict what kind of work load we would have a few years out, but it turns out we were wrong! Over the years our banjos orders and options have become more complex and as a result taken longer than we thought. Many of our customers have changed their banjos to include significantly more inlay and woodworking details that have ended up compounding time over the years. We are so proud of the banjos we are sending out the door these days, but that full fretboard & headstock of inlay and french polish finish takes time!

The price of banjos on your website changed, does that include my order? The base price of your banjo will always be the same, but some of the options may be different. The cost of materials fluctuates from our suppliers and the prices reflect that change. 

Do you have any banjos available now? Unfortunately, no. We do occasionally finish up a builder’s choice banjo, those are offered first to our mailing list. If you’re interested in receiving our emails sign up here (we promise they are not frequent…)

Can I get pictures of my banjo during the building process? At this point in time, no. We find ourselves elbow deep in saw dust most days and don’t often stop to take pictures of the process. We take pictures of our banjos when they are done and ready to shipped. 

Why am I being sent my final invoice for the banjo and it’s not finished? We ask that payment is made a week or two before the banjo is finished. Most people like the banjo to get in the mail ASAP once it’s finished as they’ve been waiting a while for it. Also, as most of our banjos have custom inlays, we ask that they are paid for before your design is inlaid onto the instrument. Some of the inlays we do are very personal and individual, if something changes we end up with a banjo with someones initials or children’s birthdays…

Can I come visit your shop? Yes! But, please let us know ahead of time when you’ll be in Mountain View. We travel frequently and aren’t always home and as our shop is at our house, we only ask you give us time to straighten up (babies are messy!)

Can you teach me to build a banjo? Maybe someday, but we are a bit too busy between building and teaching to hold any banjo building workshops or host apprentices. But, thank you so, so much for asking! 

Can you fix this other makers banjos? We recommend you send your non-Ozark Banjo Co. repairs to Mountain View Music. Scott Pool (Lukas’ father and mentor) is a fantastic and incredibly experienced luthier who has seen and fixed it all! You can reach them here- 870 269 9044

I have an Ozark Model XXX can you tell me about it? OR I have an Ozark Model XXX and it’s broken! Unfortunately we are unable to help you with these issues as these are not our banjos. There is a company that manufactures an Ozark Model that we are not affiliated with and the banjos are not covered under our warranty. 

I bought one of your banjos on eBay and it’s not the same quality! It is very rare that one of our banjos comes up for sale on eBay, we are usually aware if there is. It is most likely the Ozark Model banjos we are not affiliated with, BUT if you are convinced it’s one of ours or have purchased a banjo you believe we built send us some photos and we can confirm either yes or no.

What strings do you use? Martin mediums 

The ends of my frets are sticking out! This is a common problem with freshly built instruments and an easy one to fix. Any luthier that works on fretted instruments can sort this out. It just means that your banjo has dried out (usually in fall or winter) and once the fret ends have been filed they won’t stick out again. 

CUSTOM OPTIONS