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Took a while to get to it but I got it done! Loving it so far. And going fretless wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be. I highly recommend adding fret markers where the 2nd and third frets would be if you’re going fretless. I think it helps a lot.
The good: Plays and sounds great. Looks good although I wish I would’ve stained the rim. Very lightweight.
The not so good: The dowel hole was drilled a bit crooked so it’s not centered on the tailpiece. The tacks supplied were a bit too long. About 75% of them came through the other side of the rim. Too Lightweight? I know I put this in “The good” but I also wish it was heavier sometimes just so it would stay put while playing.
Things I wish were different: I wish the neck was thicker and rounded more. I’m sure that would up the price quite a bit though. Also I wish the scoop was about an inch longer. It would be nice to have a little more playing room there.
Cheers all, Thomas
Good job Thomas! Excellent pictures and review. Great to see these kits being put together. I like the added fret dot markers.
I can address the not so good points you made. They are valid points and I understand it is constructive feedback, which is always appreciated.
The frailing scoop is a little short, I put it there in all these necks though it could be longer on the fretless necks. I wanted a full 19 frets, so the scoop had to be shorter, it begins right after the 19th fret and that doesn’t leave a whole lot of length. You could extend the scoop easily since it’s a fretless neck.
The tacks will pass through the rim, you could test and trim the tacks before assembly. I talk about this in a lot of my previous assembly videos, I can’t remember if I mention it in the specific video for this kit.
The neck is what it is for thickness. I work with 1” lumber, so I understand but that’s not something we can change. As for roundness, you can shape the neck to your liking. I talk about this in my other assembly videos, but I left it out of this specific kit video.
The dowel is a bit wonky on yours. If it’s my error I sincerely apologize. It can happen because I was drilling the holes by eye, I’ve since developed a jig to help with the process. I’m not sure if it could have been glued into the neck at an angle to correct the offset or not. I’m glad the strings still line up and the banjo looks like it plays as intended.
I appreciate your feedback and pictures!
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