This one was a commission for a Boucher-style fretless banjo, complete with the scroll head and double ogee. I had some leeway to experiment and hadn't made one of these in a while (it was what got me into this in the first place). I did some experimenting with details on this one and the sister banjo (#25) that I made at the same time.

It's curly maple from a new pile of beautiful wood that I recently found. The peghead overlay and fingerboard are wenge. There are some veneers for detail on the rim cap, neck, and dowel stick. The pegs are Pegheds geared tuners, which I had never tried before, and, similarly, I carved the nut and tailpiece from camel bone (!?). The head is a goat skin from John Balch, which led me to convert some other instruments to his heads, too.

It's a great sound, nice and tubby with the low strings, hide head, and bare wood "tone ring." It plays fast and resonates in a way that makes it easy to play in tune. I'll be sad to send it off East, but I luckily get to keep that other one!

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