Distinctive folk instruments fashioned by a Maine artisan, pleasing to the ear and eye.

          Banjos.

  These are 4- and 5-string pieces inspired by traditional American instruments, homemade by just plain folk.  In addition to the fretless instruments I've offered for years, I now also have fretted instruments available. (The frets are made from carefully cut and individually sanded wooden toothpicks - which work surprisingly well.) Each body or pot is either a used tin container (usually a cookie tin), wooden cigar box, or a gourd.  (As you can see from the gallery photos, some of the cigar boxes are are plain wood with embossed words or designs and some have paper covering with colorful illustrations.)  The necks are made of available hardwood - usually maple or mahogany - and some feature cedar fingerboards.  For the "higher-end" instruments, a higher quality hardwood (e.g., cherry, walnut, or bird's eye maple) is selected.  Cigar box models also have hardwood internal bracing.  Nuts and (and occasionally, bridges) are shaped from available hardwoods (sometimes including African ironwood).  There are two basic headstock styles: either a standard flat-faced design or a simple violin-style pegbox.  I generally use ebony pegs but occasionally install standard tuning machines.  Screw and washer fittings are stainless steel and brass, and the strings are light-gauge steel.  These instruments are very playable, with an easy action and the characteristic fretless capacity for sliding notes in a naturally bluesy manner.  The instruments offer distinctly different sounds. The cigar box  types have a warm and rather gentle sound while the cookie tin models resonate with a little more bite. (Though, I must say that the cigar box units with the resonator feature have a nice, bright edge to them.)   The banjos are lightweight and of a convenient size (typically, about 31" long).  They are large enough to play without cramping your style but small enough to be quite portable.  (For example, when you've got to head up into the holler to tend to your still, you can easily tote one along.  You can just idly plunk along while your corn-squeezins collect in the jug.) 

          Ukuleles

NEW! Gourd and Cigar Box Ukuleles. With or without a resonator plate (Ball canning jar lid), each instrument features wooden toothpick frets and its own, slightly rough-hewn, personality.

          Fretless Gourd Banjo (sold)

          Fiddles/Lap Cellos (Cellini)

  The instruments in this group are truly unique.  The wooden cigar box units are visually-engaging little fiddles that produce a sweet characteristic sound, kind of like what you might have heard on your Granddaddy's Victrola.  These are instruments you can cradle in the crook of your elbow and bow Cajun-style.  The tin models, however, are too long or large to play in this fashion.  (They are usually about 28" from stem to stern.)  For this reason, I play these in an upright position and call them "lap cellos" or cellini.  (Very loose interpretation: "teeny cello".)   I use various larger containers for these: e.g., whiskey, liqueur, or olive oil tins.  As with the cigar box fiddles, the necks are typically made of maple, with the "store-bought" parts - the fingerboards, pegs, and tailpieces - being made of ebony.  These larger instruments have a full and resonant sound with a haunting, slightly echoing effect - perfect for Celtic laments or Eastern dirges.

          Links:

-  www.tradmusic.com

- www.searchmusicnetwork.com - Music Information and More

- http://geocities.com/cigarboxguitar  The Cigar Box Guitar Museum, celebrating "The Cigar Box Guitar's Rightful Place in Music History"

- http://doctoroakroot.com/    Bluesman Dr. Oakroot: Rough-edged songs of the dark played on homemade guitars.