"Save The Banjos" is dedicated to finding old, beat-up banjos and returning them to playable condition. I get most of my banjos and parts from eBay, auctions, and estate sales here in York County, Pennsylvania. It is remarkable how many old banjos are discovered in attics, basements, chicken coops, and other obscure places almost every day. Mostly, they are "low end" instruments. The "low-enders" were manufactured and sold in the largest numbers and therefore surface more frequently than the expensive models in any particular manufacturer's line.

I don't produce museum quality collectors' instruments. Very few people could afford them. I take an old banjo, disassemble and clean it, repair any damage, replace the missing parts as necessary (either with period spare parts or new reproductions as available), set it up for maximum playability, and get it back into circulation at a reasonable price. After all, banjos are made to be played, not hung on a wall.

I have a number of projects going, some of which are featured here. In the future, I will be adding pictures of banjos from various sources, scans from old catalogs, and anything about banjos and the playing thereof that I see fit. Mostly, you will see 5-string banjos because that is what I have played for many years.

If you don’t know the names of the different parts of a banjo, go here: FRETS.COM

Be sure to read my article in the Fall Old Time Herald (Vol. 10, No. 1), 2005.