UK Banjo and Mandolin Advice

Expert service and advice are available at the Banjo Works by appointment.  You can click for address and contact details or for directions and a map.

Please note my revised opening times:  from 10 am till 4pm Wednesdays to Saturdays or on Tuesdays & Sundays by prior appointment.  The shop is not open on Mondays.

When you come to the shop, you can get expert service to your instrument, often on a "while you wait" basis.  Please see the set-up, repairs and restoration service page.

You can also get advice of all sorts on banjos.  There are pages on this site with "Advice for beginners" and "frequently asked questions" but these cannot be exhaustive.  Do try these first but you can call in to the shop, e-mail or phone with other queries.  Please bear in mind that it's sometimes difficult to deal with complicated matters on the phone, especially if the shop is busy.  A personal call at the shop or an e-mail with pictures will often be very much easier to cope with!

You can also have instruments appraised or valued.  Appraisals in the shop are verbal, quite quick and cost only a modest sum (£5 + VAT as at March 2001).  Valuations take a little longer and the written confirmation (which is necessary for probate or insurance) usually takes about a week.  This service costs a bit more (£10 + VAT as at March 2001).

Appraisals and valuations can be done by post with photographs or by e-mail with .jpg images.  These are never quite as accurate as a "hands-on" examination would be - it's often very difficult to distinguish good reproduction replacement parts from originals when there is only a photo to look at.

Appraisals and valuations over the phone are very difficult to do.  There is a section about this on the "frequently asked questions" page.  The short summary is that such advice, without the benefit of being able to see or examine the instrument, often has to be so vague as to be almost worthless.

Repairs  

If your banjo has had a knock or is playing very badly, it may need rather more than just a "set-up" job.  The system is much the same as for set-ups except that it is less likely (though not impossible) that the job can be done on a "while-you-wait" basis.  It all depends on what needs to be done.  Most jobs can be turned round fairly quickly and a replacement instrument on temporary hire can often be provided for those who cannot bear (or afford!) to be without a banjo!  Costs vary according to the work necessary but will always be fully estimated and agreed before the work is carried out.

Restorations

Banjos which have deteriorated to the point where they are barely playable (or even are unplayable) will probably need a complete rebuild and restoration.  This is often a good deal less expensive than you might think.  It is usually cost effective on most classic instruments unless they are very badly battered indeed.  Again, the system is much as for set-ups and repairs except that restorations always take a while.  An approximate delivery date is always provided with the estimate for the costs.

Other servicing  

In addition to set-ups, repairs and restorations, I also carry out conversions (tenor banjos fitted with 5-string necks etc) and modifications (tone rings fitted, resonators added etc).  Whatever sort of job you want done, contact me for an estimate!

It's worth bearing in mind that I have a huge number of bits of old banjos in stock - as well as the very wide range of modern parts on my Spare Parts list.  I can't list the vintage parts on the site as there are simply too many of them.  I can often restore a vintage banjo using genuine period parts which are identical to lost originals.  This is a good deal more economical than having to make brand new reproduction parts from scratch - though I can do that too, if need be!

I've lost track of the exact number of banjos that I've rebuilt, refurbished or restored over the years.  I know (from my own stock records) that I've done over 1400 "stock" items but this leaves out the jobs I've done on customers' instruments.  These probably add about half as many again.  By now, there are very few types of banjo that I haven't had through my workshop.  Every job that comes in gets the benefit of this level of experience and expertise which I believe few people in the UK can match.

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