Replica Banjos

Gourd fretless banjos, authentic looking and affordable, give you that wonderful 19th Century low bass toned minstrel sound. Each banjo is a unique hand made original by John Salicco. They are designed to be played "stroke style" (a simple type of frailing or claw hammer stroke) tuned 2 1/2 steps below modern tuning. From about 1830 to 1860 this was a usual tuning for the banjo.

For those of you who have not yet enjoyed the freedom of a fretless banjo, please do not let these instruments intimidate you. They are no more difficult to play than any modern fretted instrument. In many ways, they are easier. For the better part of two centuries, they have been played by people from all walks of life with little to no instruction. If you would like to pursue a formal 1855 approach to stroke playing, please click here: Brigg's Banjo Instructor.

Remember, that for every professional minstrel master in the 19th century, there were dozens of ordinary folk, stroking and plunking out their favorite tunes by the firelight. Some could read musical notation, most could not. No matter the level of proficiency, all shared the common satisfaction and enjoyment of making music! You'll be amazed at how addicting fretless banjos are.

We make two basic models of banjo: a gourd banjo and a tack head wooden hoop minstrel banjo. We are willing to customize. Please contact us with your ideas.

Note: I have revised the way I do the necks. I use a two piece construction where the spike is part of the heel of the neck glued on as a separate piece. The spike is now rectangular in cross-section rather than round. This provides for a more authentic 19th Century appearance.

If you have photos or drawings of an old gourd banjo that you'd like me to duplicate, then lets talk. I'm fairly handy with a carving knife. I'll work up a quotation for you.

Except on special orders however, my objective is not to produce absolutely historically accurate facsimiles. I'm trying to produce a sturdy playable fretless banjo that has the right general 19th Century look and feel, but at a price that almost anyone can afford. This is a folk instrument, not a Stradivarius.

I've had a number of questions asked about the 19th century positioning of the 5th string tuning peg position. The 20th century "standard" is at approximately the 5th fret position. This corresponds to modern guitar tunings and with the addition of a string "bracket" (I use a miniature model railroad spike on my modern fretted banjo) at the 7th fret to stop the short string a modern player can capo up 2 frets on the bottom 4 strings to change keys without re-tuning. On the early 19th century fretless banjos, the 5th string tuning peg did not have a standard position. In fact it was often at the corresponding 7th or 9th fret position on the neck. I prefer the 7th fret location because, at the 5th stop, the the tuning peg sometimes gets in the way when playing up-neck on the 4th string. That being said, I can place the peg wherever you want.

The other observance I've made is that the 5th string often doesn't run over the neck in the originals. Like the drone strings on a harp guitar, the string runs along the outside edge of the neck. I make my banjos with the 5th string running barely over the edge of the neck.