As usual, our artist-almost-in-residence has outdone herself with beautiful Ozark flora- and fauna-themed tuner buttons for the Mermaid. The tuner buttons were engraved with exacto knives and the engraving filled with archival ink, with a tiny pen.
Four down, one to go!
Just in time to ring in the New Year, the mermaid banjo was strung and ready to play.
She’s surprisingly resonant, with just the balance of tone with percussion we’d hoped for. Bluegrass banjos, with their hard resonators and snare-drum-tight heads, tend to be brash and sharp; old-time banjos tend to err in the opposite direction, with large pots and loose heads to create a sound that’s more thump than tone. Amber had chosen this pot in the hopes of a goldilocks-like compromise between the two that would suit her light, melodic clawhammer style. Continue reading “Mermaid Banjo Splashdown”
