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A quality built 19 fret gold plated tenor banjo using the best woods and reproduction Paragon banjo parts. The banjo was built in 2015 by Jim Patton using the exact build plans as Essex banjos in the 1930’s so every detail is as accurate as the original only with his own professional ‘Deluxe’ touch. The maple neck is multi-laminated both in the centre and under the fret board for strength and stability. Ebony fretboard with white side binding and eloborate floral mother of pearl position markers. The ebony headstock has also fancy floral original Mother of pearl design bearing the name of the owner Parajim (instead of Paragon). Jim Barcoe had plans to begin manufacturing these Paragon replica’s and had a total of 3 built, but sadly passed away in 2018. This banjo is with currently me which is on consignment from his son to sell on his behalf.

Banjo details

The neck is 32mm width at the nut and has a scale length of 23.5″. The lathe turned rim is made from rock maple capped top and bottom with rosewood. The rim design has 24 drilled holes to channel the sound waves from the tone ring. The shoes are mounted on the side skirt, similar to the vega artist design and the flange has the circular hole design. Fitted with white smooth top 11″ med crown head, which if preferred can be swapped over for clear or renaissance head. The scalloped tension ring, tailpiece, tone ring and flange setup are all original Paragon parts. The multi layered mixed laminated resonator design is very tastefully made and is concaved to match the Paragon design. The banjo has all of the sound characteristics of the original model which you will hear in the video. Comes with a solid hardshell case.

For Sale £4500

(The photos shown above are pre polish and setup so further photos will be added shortly)

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Recently handmade Rioga 18 fret open-back tenor banjo by Scottish luthier John McClenaghan. John has made many custom banjos, 17 fret, 19 fret, openback and with resonator and flange. He has recently added a Serial Number system to his newly made instruments this banjo being registered as #4.

*Please note the images are of a 17 fret tenor banjo, the current banjo for sale will be completed in 3 weeks

Everything about John’s work speaks of pure quality from choice of woods to the metalcasts parts.

Banjo details

• Walnut and birdseye maple 3 piece neck with maple/green sandwiched veneers and ivoroid binding
• Matching walnut and birdseye maple armrest
• Ebony fingerboard and peghead cap with mother of pearl hand cut Celtic inlays
• Prucha, pre-war style clamshell tailpiece
• Ptacek archtop tonering
• Ptacek 2 band pre-war style tuners
• Remo Weatherking 11″ clear head

Technical Specs

• Total banjo length – 80cm
• Scale length 21 – 1/2″ (54cm)
• Nut width 32mm
• Neck depth at first 5 fret 23mm
• Fretboard length 35cm
• Body depth from top of tension hoop to bottom of rim 82mm
• Rim thickness 19mm

5/8” RIOGA handmade maple/rosewood bridge

Gloss lacquer finish-Comes with limited lifetime warranty-Brown leatherette case with fitted plush red interior

For Sale £2450

About Rioga Banjos

I am John McClenaghan, a banjo builder based in Motherwell, Scotland and I’ve been repairing and latterly, hand-crafting my own instruments for the last 20 or so years.  My interest in banjo making follows a path familiar to many Trad Irish banjo players, having been influenced at a young age by the few banjo recordings available back in the day, including the likes of Barney McKenna of the Dubliners and Liam Farrell in London.  A decent banjo in those long gone, pre-internet days was often difficult to obtain, far less maintain or repair, and so, my banjo building journey started initially by doing my own adjustments and repairs, moving on to banjos which I constructed from imported parts and finally designing and hand-crafting my own instruments. 

My interest in banjos now spans all genres of music, from Trad Irish to Dixie Jazz and Bluegrass, but the one constant is my use of superior and sustainably sourced tonewoods and materials to produce a quality traditional banjo which embodies the very best attributes found in the classic banjos of the pre-war era.  I constantly strive to achieve a well-balanced sound with depth of tone, clarity and levels of sustain which permit the player to express and enhance their own style and innovation, whatever that may be.  I pay particular attention to the neck profile as well as the overall weight distribution of the banjo which offers the player comfort and playability, putting them in complete command of the instrument.

Whilst I am in the process of designing various grades of banjo, I’m always happy to listen to and work with customers to achieve the instrument they desire.  Every timber component of my instruments, as well as the decorative inlays are hand-crafted by me alone at my workshop.  I do not use CNC machines, and make only minimal use of general woodworking machinery. For this reason, I only have the capacity to make a limited number of instruments per year, however, I believe that this allows me to produce banjos of individual character, reliability and ultimately, a lifetime of enjoyment for the player.