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Big Honkin' Bass? Banjo?

Posted by pi_r_squared on July 31, 2010 at 9:58am in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box relate
A friend of mine from Ireland mentioned a "bodhran" in a conversation the other day.  I didn't know what it was, so I googled it.

It's large shallow drum, and immediately I thought of using it for the body of a BIG banjo.  Some of the "tunable" ones look eerily like a banjo body.


I googled "bass banjo", and I guess I'm not the first one to think of it, but I've never heard of anyone using a drum head for the body.

I have a small resonator banjo, and looking at how it's made, I think this would be a pretty straightforward build if I get an 18" bodhran, and a neck from an acoustic bass.

Now I need to find an acoustic bass neck.....not an easy task so far.

What do you call the illness that causes you to see homebuilt musical instruments in every wayward piece of junk in the garage??

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Replies

  • Bluesheart August 2, 2010 at 8:09pm
    You know, a canoe paddle is not a bad idea at all. Every time I see mine in the shed I get a little more tempted to take it over to the workbench.................
  • pi_r_squared August 1, 2010 at 12:05pm
    it looks like Richard does some really nice stuff, and maybe it's just psychotic, but I have this obsession with trying to make it myself, even though I may need to treat it like "making pancakes from scratch" (plan on throwing the first one away), unless I happened to stumble across a neck from an otherwise-trashed acoustic electric bass.

    ....and if it doesn't work, I may end up building a really nice canoe paddle :)
  • Keni Lee Burgess July 31, 2010 at 2:20pm
    My friend here on the Nation built me a real nice 3 string bass. I would suggest you contact him about building the neck with the correct scale length. This sounds like a great idea for a build. Here is his page:
    http://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/RichardSanabia
    Please give me a shout if it works out. Enjoy your build, Keni Lee
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