A short history of Buckeye Banjos

In the mid-nineties, several years after discovering old-time music, I moved to southwest Virginia to be closer to the historic source of the music. I immediately began searching for someone to teach me clawhammer banjo in the traditional style of southwest Virginia and was fortunate to discover Mac Traynham. Mac was an excellent mentor and passed on many of the old tunes as well as the craft of banjo making. Mac studied with several banjo makers, including Kyle Creed, from whom he learned many of his techniques. In addition to being a master banjo maker, Mac is an excellent musician (he has won the banjo competition three times at the Appalachian String Band Festival/Clifftop). After a year of work and a lot of help from Mac, I completed my first banjo. During the next ten years I continued to make banjos on a limited basis for friends, and improve my designs and construction techniques. In 2005 I decided to concentrate fully on making banjos and built a shop at the base of Buckeye Mountain near the community of Eggleston, Virginia. In 2006, in honor of that mountain, and because of the good luck traditionally carried by buckeyes, I officially began making banjos under the Buckeye Banjos name.

When crafting a banjo, aesthetically I like a clean, elegant look, inspired by the great Boston makers of the late 19th and early 20th century. Acoustically, I strive for a balanced tone. I like a full, rich, bassy sound, but without losing the crisp, clear higher notes so there is plenty of punch to cut through while playing in a jam or with a band. I also like a good amount of volume and clear note articulation when played either soft or hard. My goal is to make a beautiful banjo that will sound as great in a large late night jam at a fiddler's convention as it will sitting on the porch playing by yourself or with only a fiddler.

About the maker

Born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland I had little exposure to banjos or banjo music except through the stories of my mother who was born and raised in the mountains of north Georgia . Growing up I remember her speaking of her love of the banjo and of her grandmother's family who all played music. After a little research I discovered that in the 1920's two of her great uncles played in the Armuchee Stringband which was led by fiddler Lowe Stokes - better known as one of the fiddlers for the the Skillet Lickers. Unfortunately, the Armuchee Stringband was never recorded. Also, in this band was Kasper "Stranger" Malone who only recently died at the age of 95. I was lucky enough to visit with Stranger several times, and hear many of the wonderful stories of the band and his life.

I attended Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Virginia a mere hour north of Galax and some of the best old-time music in the country. Unfortunately, at that point I didn't fully appreciate the areas rich musical heritage . After receiving my Bachelor's degree in Biology I moved to Ithaca, New York to work on a Master's degree in Ecology at Cornell University. There I began listening to old-time music, and eventually to a scratchy recording of a hot late night jam recorded at the 1986 Galax Fiddler's Convention. I was hooked. I purchased a cheap Chinese bluegrass banjo, and after some education from a friend about the differences between old-time and bluegrass, removed the resonator and began learning clawhammer banjo (thanks Karen). After finishing my degree I got a woodworking job back in Blacksburg to be closer to the source of the music and the mountains that I missed so much while living in Ithaca.

I currently live near the community of Eggleston, Va (about half an hour from Blacksburg), along with my wife Cindy, a great musician who does the bookkeeping for Buckeye Banjos and the final quality inspection on every banjo. We enjoy blacksmithing and caring for our gardens, dogs, cats, chickens, and bees and play together in the old-time string band, The Wild Turkeys.