I think my banjo is ready for a fret job. Does anyone know of a trustworthy luthier around Nashville? Since @BanjoBen doesn’t have a local store and I don’t really trust guitar center, I thought I would see if anyone here has experience with someone in the area. I mean, they may be fine, I would just like to hear from someone that has first hand knowledge.
Luthier
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Yep, go see see Charlie Cushman, he’s one of, if not the best, in the biz. He works primarily on pre-war Gibson’s but he works on others as well. He used to work at Gibson when they were still making banjos and of course he’s one of the best players like ever.
Here’s his facebook link, contact him. You’ll probably get some great stories at no charge.
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I’ll check him out. Maybe he had a hand in building my 2004 ESS. Wish I could say the fret wear was all from me, but I have only owned it about a year and don’t have my hands on it nearly enough.
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Perhaps he did. I can’t remember the years he worked there, but he’ll tell you about it. I’m sure he’d love to get his hands on it in any case. Tell him Maggie sent you. It probably won’t get you anything… just sayin.
He’s the only one I trust with my pre-war Gibson. He’s also worked on my Twanger.
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I’m sure Gruhn guitars would do a good a job as they did for us if you say you are near Nashville. That’s who I would recommend.
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Yes. Gruhn Guitars has done work for us and they’ve been great.
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I think Charlie started working at Gibson in 2004. My banjo is an ‘05 ESS and it’s got that sharp, crisp maple tone. You’ve got a great banjo Dave!
And great to see you back on the forum @MissMaggie!
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Hey @MissMaggie, awesome to see you back here. This forum has been missing your light hearted chatting and input. Good to see your still awake and running.
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Glad to see you Thanks @Michael_Mark. I visited Charlie this evening. He pulled the resonator off, looked at the label and said, “That’s my handwriting. I built this one.” It’s awesome he is getting it back in shape again.
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How cool is that?
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A related question: can you just send a neck to have fretwork done or do they want to have the whole banjo?
@Mike_R I can’t answer that one myself. However, unless you know what you are doing, I would hand over the whole thing. For instance, I thought I needed a fret job because even with the intonation dead on I had fretted notes out of tune. After he inspected the instrument, he discovered the neck wasn’t put on straight. He said there was a little fret wear, but not enough to need a fret job. He is confident with a few tweaks he will have it singing. He made a couple of other recommendations to improve tone as well. I can’t wait to see what it will sound like when I get it back.
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Well that’s just too cool.
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