McLeod Banjos

01/11/2022

Sound file is now available for the new banjo. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to hear other samples. Thanks! https://www.mcleodbanjos.com/product-page/original-mcleod-11-open-back-3-ply-maple-rim-maple-neck

13/10/2022

As the build continues for the new workshop, I have just finished a new banjo, 26 3/16 scale and 11” three ply maple pot.

For the full spec or to order visit: https://www.mcleodbanjos.com/product-page/original-mcleod-11-open-back-3-ply-maple-rim-maple-neck

It has good bass response and I’d describe the overall tone as ‘lively ‘, without being overly bright. It’s got good sustain and projects really well.

It’s set up with medium strings and a standard 5/8 bridge.

Any questions, just let me know!

13/10/2022

08/09/2022

***UPDATE*** Well, this has now been SOLD, and will be shipped soon to its new owner. Thank you for all the lovely comments!

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Things have been busy recently with the new workshop build, but I have just finished this banjo with a twelve inch walnut pot and a Maple neck. It's a 26 3/16” scale

There are some details below and on the website, but as always if you have any questions just let me know, am always happy to answer them!

It's handmade and hand carved, and as usual all of the wood was sourced from David D**e in Sussex , who I have always used for exceptional quality materials.

The rim is a block construction and the fingerboard is a lovely piece of ebony, which is getting harder to source.

The tone of this banjo has great volume— loud but warm and the fifth string has plenty of ‘pop’ .

Can't wait to find its banjo forever home!

Visit the website for its full spec and details about ordering: https://www.mcleodbanjos.com/product-page/original-mcleod-12-open-back-banjo-walnut-pot-and-maple-neck

05/11/2021

It's bonfire night, Banjo is sleeping through the fireworks. But if you look at the previous post he was completely unsettled by the banjo... Not sure what to make of that.

05/11/2021

Bit of Friday night light relief. This was Banjo's first exposure to the banjo. This was when he was 14 weeks old. He's now 24 weeks and still a bit of a discerning critic. Although, tonight we discover fireworks don't bother him as much as the banjo, as you can see from the next post, he's sleeping while we make this post... Happy bonfire night!

02/11/2021

Here's a five-string neck conversion for an Orpheum tenor banjo I recently completed. It's for a customer I've done other work for, and someone who is just a delight to work with. The neck is hand-carved from a nice old piece of rock maple. The pot was supplied and the original peg head veneer with the Orpheum inlays. Thought you might find the photos of the build interesting. As this banjo started life as a tenor banjo, the neck would have been a lot narrower, so if you look in the photographs, I've added small ears to the bottom of the peg head veneer in order for it to mate up with a wider five-string fingerboard. I didn't cut the inlays on the neck, the owner supplied a very nice replica set of abalone ones, which I inlaid. Thank you to Claudie Eugenie Photography for the finished photos!

19/10/2021

Final set-up check before packing and posting the short scale open back to a new customer. Banjo the apprentice is in the background taking it all in.

18/10/2021

I'd like to introduce the new apprentice. He's a good worker, but easily distracted. We're just trying to fit his work schedule around digging, chasing wood pigeons, and 11 hour naps. I've made banjos called The Lurcher, now this is a lurcher called Banjo. :-) We're over the moon with him.