Dear Chuck,

Thank you so much for building me the best banjo ever. Since it came, I haven't been able to put it down or stop looking at it. I love the balance of the tone. Although it has the traditional 12" woody sound as its center, the bass string really booms out and all of the strings fret clear and true right down to the 19th fret. Now, when I capo up two frets to play in D--I'll be able to play those last two notes up the neck and not have to slide down into the scoop.

I love that Texas scoop design.When I took it to the Barberville Festival a couple of weeks ago--I actually turned the banjo over and walked around in the audience so they could see the marbled walnut neck and all the beautiful woodwork on the back. Thank you for the girl in the moon with the basset hound on a cloud inlay on the peghead. Between the unique peghead inlay and the fancy walnut neck, I had to keep turning the banjo around and around because folks kept asking to see both. If this keep us, I am going to develop enough coordination to twirl my banjo like Leroy Troy.

Also, I received a very nice email from Tony Pass who was delighted that my basset hound banjo had one of his ancient wood rims because he too has a basset hound named Sam that looks very much like Jezebel.I love this banjo and anticipate that I will be playing it for years and passing it down to one of the children or grandchildren to play through this century and maybe into the next.

Thank you again, Chuck, for all you do and your exquisite craftsmanship. Chuck, you are the best! Truly, this is one of the finest banjos ever made and it humbles me to have the opportunity to play it.

Love,Mary Z. Cox

Mary Z. Cox

The email starts with, "Just in case I am somehow able to slip the leash of banjo restriction before my husband retires". Well, banjo buying restriction must have been removed and with further email, Mary's new banjo began to know life.

My favorite inlay takes on a new look for Mary. Pink short-alls and sassy shoulder length hair, and even her dog Jezebel, are fun variations. Mary's beloved Basset Hound floats in a cloud longing to be with her. The Girl playing the Banjo in the Moon is not really Mary, it's just a dream, as we all know Jezebel can't really fly on a cloud. Mary's banjo playing is still heavenly all the same.

It's off to the secret wood stack to find a one-of-a-kind piece of Figured Walnut. It gets laminated with Padauk/Maple/Padauk veneers with a select Figured Walnut center strip. An Ebony Fingerboard and Peghead Overlay with Padauk/Maple/Padauk veneers underneath, 25 1/2" scale, double action truss rod, Texas Scoop with 17 full frets and two partial frets for a total of 19 finish off the neck. Bill Keith Planetary tuners grace the peghead to make the banjo tune like a dream.

The rim is a Tony Pass Timeless Timbre' Birch rim, 12" x 1/2" x 3" tall, stained in a see-through black. It sports a slim and trim 14 hooks, nuts and shoes (for the slim and trim lady of course). The head is a pre-mounted calf skin with my special aged treatment.

Mary gets the first 12" prototype Ameritage Custom case. Ameritage is custom building a series of cases around my banjos. We took their "Gold Series Cases" and added all of the upgrades and some upgrades not even on the list.



PHOTO GALLERY OF THIS BANJO