I finished this one on October 30th, 2026. This is the second and last banjo I have with the ash neck wood I got from a friend that was cut by Elbon James at Normantown WV before the emerald ash borer got to it. I left the ash in its natural color on this one which I really like best. It has a subtle V neck profile which is an old style but very comfortable to hold and play. The quartersawn cedar really embellishes the overall look and I believe cedar does add to the tone of the instrument but you’d need to be in person as a recording wouldn’t really show it. I always had happy customers who bought or special ordered a cedar body banjo. The Aquila 1b super nylgut strings give this banjo that old timey sound that so many people like to hear and will take you back to a different time & place but the nylgut strings do take about two weeks of stretching to settle in. I did bring them up to standard tuning 3 times so that helps a lot. The solid ebony violin pegs are set in holes made with two violin peg reamers with one special made for the 5th peg so that cuts a taper and thickness in the hole matching the pegs so the more you press in on the peg the more of a friction tension you get. I will include a set of guidelines that will explain things better but really it’s a nice instrument that people will notice when you play it. These banjos represent an artifact of Appalachian culture at a time it’s really dying out so when you get one of these you are helping to keep it going. I make these in the traditional historically authentic way in almost every detail that I can but the uses vary, I even have one that a guy plays in the band inside a synagogue so I leave that up to you. The measurements of the instrument are as follows: 36 3/4” overall length, 11” wide, 2 1/16” side height and I have the bridge 24 3/4” from the nut in the photos but you can place the bridge anywhere on the center because there are no frets restricting you and you may find something you really like that you want on a fretted banjo. There was a time that all banjos were Fretless and when they first started making fretted banjos a lot of older people didn’t want them because the frets interfered too much with their style of playing. I been making these really for over 30 years but more in the past couple years. I fully insure each shipment and with a great company like this neither of us has anything to worry about but I do custom make each shipping box myself and use two kinds of bubblewrap and styrofoam peanuts and haven’t had any problems. I think I covered everything just let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to doing business with you. Thanks!