Calkins Banjo Mountain 2020 - Walnut w/ Gigbag + extra friction pegs

Walnut Frank Proffitt Style Mountain Banjo – Fretless – 2020

Beautiful handmade Frank Proffitt-style fretless mountain banjo, built in 2020. These traditional mountain banjos trace their roots to the hills of North Carolina, and the builder’s design was inspired by the mountain banjo plans documented in the Foxfire books.

This one is a little different from the builder’s standard model because the entire banjo is walnut, an upgraded wood option that originally added $50 to the build. Also, the peghead is not just a square, it is a figure 8 style (I think that’s what they call it) custom carve.

Normally, looks like Calkins would charge around $900 for this including the custom headstock upgrade

I bought it hoping to learn fretless banjo, but I have too many instruments I’m trying to learn, so I’m thinning the herd and making some cuts.

Specs:

• Handmade in 2020
• Traditional Frank Proffitt-style mountain banjo
• Fretless
• All-walnut construction
• Walnut neck
• Walnut pot
• Walnut middle disc
• 6” drum with goatskin head
• 3” sound hole
• 1.25” nut width
• 25” scale length
• Figure 8 Peghead
• Ebony nut
• Walnut bridge
• Nylgut strings
• Traditional friction-style tuners

One thing to note: The original fifth-string tuning peg went missing before I purchased it. The previous owner included a set of violin friction tuners that work and can be used as a replacement.

This is a simple, traditional mountain banjo with a lot of character and a very different feel and sound from a modern bluegrass banjo. Great for old-time music, clawhammer, or anyone interested in traditional Appalachian instruments.

Feel free to add fret markers, too.