Rioga Open-back 18 Fret Tenor Banjo
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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.