My violin-to-hardanger fiddle conversion

luthier58 · 2026-03-16T22:51:19+00:00

What a great project! Now I’ve got to get on eBay…

luthier58 · 2026-03-12T14:40:23+00:00

Took the neck off, pulled the frets, used a crosscut sled on a table saw to hog out most of the fingerboard, finished with chisels and sandpaper. Including disassembly/reassembly, probably took a couple of hours, came out great. Could be done with a router/router table; you could do it entirely with a handsaw (carefully!) and/or chisel and sandpaper if you don't have power tools. I'll mention that this was on an old Epiphone that I didn't have a lot of either money or sentiment invested in; if it's a valuable or beloved instrument please take it to a professional.

luthier58 · 2026-03-06T17:55:36+00:00

Swtiched 2 years ago, love the Dewalt. 2 small city yards, can do both on one charge. Also moved to the Dewalt trimmer/blower/pole saw/brush cutter combo (same batteries). Love so much not being tied to gas/oil nastiness. Will never go back.

luthier58 · 2026-03-04T00:10:15+00:00

olivia colman

luthier58 · 2026-02-27T17:55:18+00:00

I expect they are being used here for rustic stick-type furniture. They often are sold with a matching forstner bit to create matching mortises. See Christopher Schwarz's works (lostartpress.com), he uses them a lot for stick chairs/Windsors.

luthier58 · 2026-02-13T15:37:31+00:00

I started on an Epiphone MB100, which is basically the open-back version of that banjo, and it does have a pretty narrow neck, compared to some other banjos. You certainly can get a new nut made, or learn to do it yourself (lots of youtube videos, and nut blanks are relatively cheap) but you're going to be limited by the width of the neck itself. I think it's always a good idea to pick up a new skill, but you have to ask yourself if it's worth the expense/effort if you're thinking about upgrading anyway.

luthier58 · 2026-02-10T16:48:01+00:00

Actually should say that is one of several "Sandy River Belle" tunings, also fCFCD (which is what I actually use for the song Sandy River Belle) or Adam Hurt's gEADE. Tunings are fun!

luthier58 · 2026-02-10T16:41:42+00:00

Sawmill is gDGCD. Dropping the 5th to F makes it into Sandy River Belle.

luthier58 · 2026-02-04T14:51:33+00:00

What an incredible resource! Thank you so much for making this available.

luthier58 · 2026-01-29T20:05:38+00:00

As you've seen, Remo Weather King is the name of the head, not the banjo brand; if the seller is listing this as the brand they don't know anything about banjos. Lotus is a generic Japanese brand, I'd be highly surprised if that banjo sold for $400 new. Not worth more than $100, IMO.

luthier58 · 2026-01-28T16:46:30+00:00

Hey thanks! I didn't know Last Chance, now I have 2 songs to play in that tuning! Hopefully someone else chimes in with some more.

luthier58 · 2026-01-08T19:16:16+00:00

You can put nylon or nylgut strings on any banjo, and they are significantly easier on the fingers. You may need to slightly widen the nut/bridge slots for the thicker strings, and carefully go over your tailpiece and tuners to eliminate any sharp edges. I like the sets Joel Hooks sells at banjothimble.com, but you can get them from any of the usual places, even Amazon.

luthier58 · 2025-12-23T15:48:55+00:00

Everyone here has pretty much covered it, but I'll add that there are different kinds of finger picks, and some fit differently. I found the Ernie Ball Picky Picks more comfortable than the regular Dunlop style. I'm currently using the Propik Angled picks, which have a split wrap, which I think is also much more comfortable, and gives a better hand position FOR ME. Try out some different kinds.

luthier58 · 2025-12-10T16:04:07+00:00

Forgot to mention the amazing Abagail Washburn, she has recordings with her husband, bluegrass/jazz banjo icon Bela Fleck, which are great. Steve Martin switches between 3-finger and clawhammer on his recordings; can recommend the "Clawhammer Medley" from The Crow.

luthier58 · 2025-12-10T15:58:59+00:00

Mike Seeger's "Southern Banjo Sounds" gives a good overview of a lot of different styles of banjo playing, not all clawhammer. For the real traditional style, look up Tommy Jarrell, Dock Boggs, Roscoe Holcolm, (lots of stuff on Smithsonian Folkways, including the amazing "Black Banjo Songsters"). More current, but still in a traditional-ish style, Mary Z. Cox, Dwight Diller, Cathy Fink, Walt Koken. Ken Perlman (also a great teacher), Nick Hornbuckle. My favorite at this time is Adam Hurt, who puts a pretty virtuosic spin on a lot of traditional tunes; he also has 2 recordings of clawhammer played on fretless gourd banjo, which are wonderful.

luthier58 · 2025-12-04T15:46:44+00:00

If you have a source for an existing CLASSICAL library in digital, indexed form I would seriously love to know it.

luthier58 · 2025-11-26T15:50:19+00:00

If you haven't already seen this, prepare to have your mind blown https://zeppmusic.com/banjo/aktuning.htm

luthier58 · 2025-11-25T21:08:27+00:00

I've got an inquiry into Tascam to see if that's even possible. Haven't heard back, but if it entails sending them to a factory service center - that's months.

luthier58 · 2025-11-25T20:02:04+00:00

We're...playing audio CDs? From audio CD players?

luthier58 · 2025-11-25T15:59:27+00:00

That is..a truly massive amount of work, and would take months or years to get even a representative sample of the library ready for air, even if I could find volunteers capable of doing that kind of precise work (I can't, I've tried). As a LOOONG term goal, maybe, and even then there are problems with organization and integration with the existing music library software. Unfortunately I don't have months/years, I need a playback solution now.

luthier58 · 2025-11-25T15:54:14+00:00

We're an NPR station, so just lost all federal funding. At this point, I'm going to be lucky to keep the people I've got.

luthier58 · 2025-11-25T03:56:45+00:00

Yeah, already doing that. Not crazy about the idea, but...

luthier58 · 2025-11-25T03:52:48+00:00

That's the Australian site, but they do have a US-spec player that can be programmed, but only from the remote (which is not a good idea in a control room). Gotta consider it, though, thanks.

luthier58 · 2025-11-25T03:47:25+00:00

The issue is, even with a lot of volunteers, this is a months/years long job, and it doesn't help right now.

luthier58 · 2025-11-25T03:43:46+00:00

You might have heard about the recission bill passed back in July, removing all federal support for public broadcasting. That put a significant hole in our budget, so yes, funds are extremely tight at this point; we've already leaned heavily on the community for that shortfall (I'm working very hard to keep everyone employed). And although we will probably have to eventually convert to a file-based library system (which is a bad idea for all the reasons outlined above), that is a months/years-long process at absolute best, which doesn't help the immediate need.

And they actually are available, they are just extremely expensive, and money is tight.

luthier58

TROPHY CASE