Slocode - Posted - 02/01/2026:  23:38:38

I bought this open-back banjo a few years for under $250 and stuck it in a closet until today. It is easy to play but the neck is a little wide for my taste. Have you seen anything similar. The only name anywhere on the banjo is the Rickard on the head but not so much as an initial on the banjo proper. It could be a home made banjo but if it is, this isn't the first banjo the builder had created. There is not a name on the tuning pegs or other hardware. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Neck joint

Tailpiece

5th Tuner

Unnamed-09

Unnamed Open Back Banjo-13

Unnamed-05

Unnamed-07

Unnamed Open Back Banjo-03

Unnamed Open Back Banjo-02

Unnamed Open Back Banjo

 

Bill Rogers - Posted - 02/02/2026:  00:36:27

DIY project gets my vote. Your region is small. I would try checking for players and or builders from Ft. Bragg south to the Sea Ranch. I would think a banjo play might be known in one of the coastal towns. 

Edited by - Bill Rogers on 02/02/2026 00:47:25

Pick-A-Lick - Posted - 02/02/2026:  00:50:49

It appears to be built fairly well. It does look like someone took a complete pot assembly from an existing banjo and cobbled on a home brew neck. The neck is stained a different color than the pot assembly and the neck to pot joint appears to be a bit rough (at least for my taste).

The price is right so if it sounds good play it. If you don’t like the neck replace with a used one more to your liking. Or you can hang it on the wall as a conversation piece. 

Edited by - Pick-A-Lick on 02/02/2026 00:52:18

mrphysics55 - Posted - 02/02/2026:  08:44:23

Big Bang

Dan Gellert - Posted - 02/02/2026:  11:54:04

What about it would make you think it wasn't the first or only banjo by the maker? My impression is that it most likely was. The neck, at least. That doesn't necessarily mean there's anything functionally wrong with it.

It is your banjo... There's no law against reshaping the neck, if you'd rather it be narrower.

If the pot is as solidly made as it superficially appears, replacing the whole neck (with one from Gold Tone?) might be worth considering.

banjonz - Posted - 02/02/2026:  12:32:13

Interesting to see a butt joint (?) on the peghead.

mikehalloran - Posted - 02/02/2026:  18:32:17

Normally, a round dowel tells us that this was once a Harmony but I'm not getting that vibe here as the dowel is not fitted like anything else I've seen.

I'm with Bill that this looks home-grown. One-off? Small output from a single maker? We may never know.

Slocode - Posted - 02/03/2026:  09:42:02

quote:

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Originally posted by Dan Gellert

"What about it would make you think it wasn't the first or only banjo by the maker?"

---

I suppose it is because everything about the banjo is balanced and cohesive. I'm not sure if I can explain it well enough but the fact that is so unlike any commercially produced banjo I've seen, (I've never seen a dowel rod such as this) yet is plays and sounds well balanced and understated. I also don't recall seeing a banjo (except for some fretless banjos) without any markers or embellishments on the fret-boards. What frame of mind must a banjo maker have to decide to forego fret-marker dots? (There are marker dots on the 5th-string edge of the fret-board.) Sorry, if my response seems inadequate, that was just my gut reaction to how the banjo felt, I don't have much real-life experience playing first-time home-made or kit banjos.

Joel Hooks - Posted - 02/03/2026:  10:21:23

The OP's banjo has two features that will give us an idea.

The slanted scoop seems like it might have been based on the very common "S" scoop that was developed by Kevin Enoch. I don't know the exact year, but around 2000.

The rod looks like some variation on what is now called a "Rudy Rod", which searches reveal started to show up in the mid 2010s.

So we know this banjo neck was not made earlier than about 2015 give or take.

I'd pull it apart and see if anything was written on heel or top edge of the rim.

Joel Hooks - Posted - 02/03/2026:  10:30:13

quote:

---

Originally posted by Slocode

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dan Gellert

"What about it would make you think it wasn't the first or only banjo by the maker?"

---

I suppose it is because everything about the banjo is balanced and cohesive. I'm not sure if I can explain it well enough but the fact that is so unlike any commercially produced banjo I've seen, (I've never seen a dowel rod such as this) yet is plays and sounds well balanced and understated. I also don't recall seeing a banjo (except for some fretless banjos) without any markers or embellishments on the fret-boards. What frame of mind must a banjo maker have to decide to forego fret-marker dots? (There are marker dots on the 5th-string edge of the fret-board.) Sorry, if my response seems inadequate, that was just my gut reaction to how the banjo felt, I don't have much real-life experience playing first-time home-made or kit banjos.

---

Around 2000 or so a new and modern aesthetic started to form based on nostalgia.  Builders, shops and individuals, began to design banjos to look "old fashioned", though this styling was strictly new. 



Not using inlays could have been a aesthetic choice, or it could have been due to lack of skill or patience of the builder. 



Regarding marking, again, take it apart and look all the parts over.  If one were just making a single banjo for themself, they don't need to mark it.  After they die, who cares (they won't).

Andy FitzGibbon - Posted - 02/03/2026:  16:56:51

Amateur home build, circa 2005-2020 would be my best guess. Some of the hardware wasn't available before that period.

desert rose - Posted - 02/03/2026:  20:56:32

Obviously a home project garage built from sourced parts and likly hand cobbled neck, using inspiration from others

CaseyJones - Posted - 02/25/2026:  21:06:54

Hey neighbor!
When you said: “What frame of mind must a banjo maker have to decide to forego fret-marker dots?” I immediately thought “hmmm, maybe it was made in Humboldt.”
Seems like a very Humboldt thing for someone to forget the marker dots. Haha