Specializing in openback, oldtime, clawhammer banjos!
Cloverlick Banjo Grades DetailDeluxe Grade features and choices included on all banjos. Note that all grades with the same choices will sound and play the same. The higher grades add a finer look and increasing level of inlays. We never compromise our tone, reponse, dynamics and playability. Fancier appearance and detail is a personal choice.
- Neck and rim wood choices of curly maple, black walnut, white oak, hickory or african mahogany and include:
- Traditional dowel stick
- Peghead will be cut with our Deluxe smooth cut peghead
- Waverly tuners with capstan style fifth string tuner, ivory knobs
- Extra wide neck (36mm at nut), 1 degree heel angle, ¼” fingerboard rise above banjo head for good thumb clearance
- Carbon filament truss rods in neck and two piece neck construction
- Necks are split and have ¼” center veneer for stability
- Fingerboard and facewood choices of african ebony, cocobolo, bloodwood, or indian rosewood and include
- Original antique coal script is inlayed into the fingerboard at near the banjo rim
- No neck binding to show natural wood
- Side dots 3,5,7,9,12, 15,19 trillium or panther peghead, engraved star at 7th fret or IX at the 9th fret
- 19 fretted positions
- 20" radiused fingerboard can be done no extra charge, normally flat
- 5th string in 4th/5th fret position
- Rail spike for fifth string for "A" tunes
- Rim sizes of 11", 11 1/2" and 12" and include
- Rims are bottom dressed with same wood as your facewood and fingerboard choices
- Rims are 3/4" thick and built with 3 layers of 8 blocks
- Curtiss McPeak Lighting Bridge, 5/8" to 3/4"
- Renaissance heads
- Kerschner tailpieces
- Scale lengths of 23 1/2", 24 1/2", 25 1/4", and 26 3/16"
- Cloverlick tone ring styles of EKWood, EKBolt, EKTube, EKLyte, EKlectric, EKTN'T
- Cloverlick all brass hardware or Prucha made nickle plate hardware
- Brass serial number plates in rim and a custom brass plate showing your name
Oldtime Special Grade includes all the Deluxe base features and choices plus these extras: - Layer of maple veneer underlayment between all the facewoods and the neck/rim woods
- Intricate cut peghead with more detail but same overall shape
- Binding in rim above the bottom dress
- A set of diamonds or dots are added to the 3,5,7,9,12,15,17,19 frets
Parlor Grade includes all the Deluxe and Oldtime Special features and choices plus these extras: - Detailed inlays require the banjos to have EBONY only for the fingerboard and facewoods
- An additional ring of intricate wood marquettry is added to the rim
- Neck binding is added to the neck to match the rim
- A set of inlays from one of the choices below from Depaule Supply. We can do the more detailed ones but we will have to provide you a special quote. The headstocks would have our logo "Cloverlick". The following are included in the Parlor Grade pricing.
- Diamonds and squares ($150 credit for this set), includes a Trillium or Panther in peghead
- Flying Eagles
- Hearts and Flowers
- Ode
- Orpheum 1
- Price Set
- Ribbons and Bows
- Wreath
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Tone Ring Discussion
Tonal ranges in CloverLick banjo pots varies over the illustrated range below. However, the right hand attack and playing style of the banjoist has terrific impacts. Folks that play aggressively will sound crashy on EKlectrics or EKTN'T's, our most responsive set-up. Folks that play very light to medium attacks have better sound with Eklectrics or EKTN'Ts and attain a sustain and purr that is very nice for solo and articulated playing. EKlectrics and EKTN'Ts also perform quite well with oldtime up pick fingerstyles. EKlytes, EKtubes, and EKbolts are the mid range and have different but more forgiving tones. EKlytes are sweet full range and great for solo or group playing. EKtubes, EKbolts and EKTN'Ts have the percussive "hrrump" that is great for rhythm and backup playing. EKwoods are the softest, most earthy in tone and response. Great for solo and small group playing, lead, rhythm and backup. Our rims are 3/4" of an inch in thickness, 11", 11 1/2" or 12" in diameter, and finished pot height with tone rings is 2 3/4". Our configuration of handmade tone rings along with 3/4" rims provides us with the best balance of tone, response, and dynamics in addition to a firm, stable and solid foundation in construction. One of the unique characteristics of CloverLick banjos is that they are tailored for different styles of playing and tonal desires of banjoists. There is no one size fits all banjo. Let us fit you out with one that is best for your tastes. No right or wrong answers.
Tonal Continuim of Banjo Pots
plunky/earthy/soft « ========================================== » loud/bright/twang/sustain Extreme
« =Gourd Banjo = »
«== EKwood Pot ======= »
«========= EKlyte, EKbolt orEKtube Pot== »
«===EKlectric Pot=========================== »
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The EKlectric (1/4" bronze rod on top of brass scalloped ring) is the hottest treble, sweet bass purr, and best overall projection and response at the expense of being crashy if played hard handed. Solo/duo in all settings.
«=EKTN'T Pot================================ » Extreme
- The EKlectric and EKTN'T can be being crashy if played hard handed. These are hot rodded and need a seasoned player.
- The best middle of the road banjos for tone, response, all purpose is the Eklyte, EKbolt and the Ektube.
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The best solo banjo with greatest dynamics available for a seasoned player is the EKlectric or EKTN'T
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The best banjo for a beginner on a budget is to get a Deluxe EKwood. It can always be converted to any other tone ring set-up.
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Nickle or brass is same price
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CloverLick EKTN'T Tone Rings
EKTN'T rings are two parts; a lower brass ring that is scalloped, and an upper 3/8" Canadian red brass tube ring. The rings are handmade here at the shop to get the smooth CloverLick sound.
CloverLick EKlectric Tone Rings
EKlectric rings are two parts; a lower brass ring that is scalloped, and an upper solid 1/4" bronze ring. The rings are handmade here at the shop to get the smooth CloverLick sound. These are modeled after the Vega Electric banjos of the 1890's and have no spunover brass/nickle plated ring.
| CloverLick EKbolt Tone RingsEKbolt ring is two parts; the rim is fitted with 18 brass 1/4" bolts with the heads acting as the scallop tops, and an upper 3/8" Canadian Red Brass tube ring. This is a banjo rim/tone ring concept created at the request of Dwight Diller. The rings are handmade here at the shop to get the smooth CloverLick sound. This is really a great option if you want the EKTN'T or EKlectric sound but less weight. The banjo is more forgiving with this set-up.
PICTURES COMING SOON! This option is available for ordring.
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CloverLick EKlyte Tone Rings
EKlyte rings are two parts; the rim is scalloped, and an upper 1/4" bronze ring. The rings are handmade here at the shop to get the smooth CloverLick sound. These were designed to give more punch and sustain than all wood styles but more forgiving than EKlectrics.
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CloverLick EKtube Tone Rings
EKtube rings are two parts; the rim is scalloped, and an upper 3/8" Canadian Red Brass tube ring. These are essentially the same construction as EKlytes but have the effect of bringing out a nice "hrummph" rythm. The rings are handmade here at the shop to get the smooth CloverLick sound. These were designed to give more of a tonal range like the Vega Tubaphone of the early 1900's.
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CloverLick EKwood Tone Rings
EKwood rings are usually simply the wood of the rim with and tone ring shape cut into the top of the wood. These can have layers of ebony, cocobolo or bloodwood on top for added weight and density. This is probably the oldest style of banjo building and has been around for ages.
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Neck and Rim Woods
In keeping with environmental and renewable resources we have decided to build our line of instruments with woods that excellent for banjo neck and rims, are readily available, do not impinge on rain forest issues, and keep our process envirnmentally friendly. I believe this is an important issue. Our rims are 3/4" of an inch in thickness, 11" or 12" in diameter, and finished pot height with tone rings is 2 3/4". Our configuration of handmade tone rings along with 3/4" rims provides us with the best balance of tone, response, and dynamics in addition to a firm, stable and solid foundation in construction. We use boiled linseed oil for our base coat sanded in ti fill the grains, a few coats of alchohol based shellac, and final coats with Birchwood Casey Gun oils waxes. All are applied with fingers and applicators. We use no stains and the natural wood colors and feel is fantastic. There is at most 1/2 cup of solvent used per banjo, no spraying, and environmentally sound with superior finish results.
Maple
Maple can either be soft maple or rock maple. Rock maple has a higher stiffness rating, although neither wood is particularly stiff. Classifications such as curly maple or birds-eye maple are actually references to the pattern of the grain. Eastern rock hard maple is preferred with figure.
White Oak 
Quartered stock displays an irregular pattern of medullary rays that add interest to the ring lines, though filling the pores with dark material draws the eye away from the rays. White oak seems to have a slightly finer texture than red oak, otherwise, I don't distinguish between the two. This wood is so far outside of musicians' expectations that oak instruments always take them by surprise, especially if they hear them before seeing them. In areas where oak is commonly burned for heat, it may be held in low regard for any other use. Be brave, though. Oak is fun. White oak is preferred.
African Mahogany
Mahogany is a less common choice, but still a viable option. It is more stable than maple, which is good, but it is not as stiff as maple, which is not so good. It is a darker wood, with a reddish-brown color. Unlike maple, it has open pores which should be filled, and that adds an extra step to the finishing process.
Black Walnut
Walnut is a sort of "in-between" wood. It isn't as stable as mahogany, but doesn't move quite as much as maple. It is stiffer than mahogany and soft maple, but not quite as stiff as rock maple. Like mahogany, it has large pores which should be filled. Eastern black walnut is preferred.
Hickory
Hickory is a dense, strong wood with tan to brown coloring. Its fine grain gives it good finishing qualities. It has more grain figure than maple and stain nicely |
Fingerboard and Face Woods
For instrument appearance we use the same wood for the peghead plate, fingerboard, heelplate, and rim bottom dress. We may also top layer the rims with these fine hard woods for EKwood style rims. We encourage minimal inlays and let the wood shine through. The understated elegance of natural wood banjos cannot be overstated and they are much more economical to purchase, less maintenance issues for your grandchildren, and sound and play just as well as the fanciest inlay banjo I could build.
Ebony
Our suppliers have informed us that the high price of this wood is non-negotiable and that this excellent wood may no longer be an economically feasible choice for guitar fingerboards. This is due to the Madagascar government’s new export restrictions which were recently placed on all wood mills based in Madagascar.
For this reason, we use African ebony (also known as Gabon Ebony -from West Africa) as an alternative. This wood has been a standard in many factory guitars in Europe and America and for many builders it is preferred because it is easier to plane and is more stable than the Madagascar Ebony. On the down side, it is rarely pure-black. Our 1st grade West African boards are the best available, but will often exhibit the subtle grey mottling that is indicative of West African Ebony. This is preferred for extensive inlaying and looks best with brass hardware.
Cocobolo
Dense, lustrous and inexpensive, Cocobolo is rapidly gaining in popularity as a fingerboard wood, especially among bass builders. Fine alternating lines of red, orange, yellow and black make it a striking and exotic choice. Available in bridge blanks and headplates. This is just beauthiful with minimal inlays and with nickle hardware.
BloodWood
Bloodwood is a bolder red color then either Paduak or Bois d’ Rose, but has the advantage of not oxidizing to a warmer color over time. It is remarkably dense (about as dense as the harder rosewoods such as Honduran and Brazilian) so it is well suited for fingerboards. Very hard, rings like a bell, is quartersawn and likely more stable than Ebony.
East Indian Rosewood
Heartwood of East Indian Rosewood can vary from a golden brown to a deep purplish brown, with darker brown streaks. e wood darkens with age, usually becoming a deep brown. Has a medium texture and fairly small pores. The grain is usually narrowly interlocked. East Indian Rosewood has been used extensively on musical insturments since the mid 1960s as a substitute for the now-endangered Brazillian Rosewood. A very nice fingerboard wood, durable, and holds up well. |
Banjo Set-up Standards
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» Neck width at nut is 36 mm, neck width at rim is 50mm, wider than most necks which are 32mm at nut.
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» Neck shape is "D" style and is 13/16" thick from first fret to the 17th.
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» Head is torqued equalized before shipping.
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» All metal parts that have threads are lubricated with graphite.
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» All tuner screws are treated with semi permanent lock fluid so they do not vibrate out.
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» Minature railroad spike installed for the "A" position.
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» Medium gauge strings with (.011 or .012) 5th string for clawhammer performance
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» Action at 12th fret set between 3/16 and 1/4
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» Action at the nut (4rth set at .035 to 1st at .025)
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» Strings will be 5/32” from the fingerboard edge
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» Bone for the peg head nut and the fifth string
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» Bridges are shaped and thinned to maximize tone, slots set at 46mm vs. standard of 42
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» Neck angle to pot 1/2 degrees
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» Fingerboard set to rise 3/16 - 1/4 inch above head
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» 19 fretted postions standard, 15 positions if frailing scoop installed
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» Side dots intalled at the 3,5,7,9,12, 15, &17
We use Kirschner tailpieces, high grade Prucha nickle plate hardware or CloverLick brass hardware. Our heads are Elite or Renassaince . We use Waverly V2 tuners. Keith Standard Tuners for all four and/or Keith Scruggs Tuners for the 2nd and 4rth strings can be installed upon request.
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Rim Sizes and Scale Lengths
We build banjos with 11" , 11 1/2" or 12" rim sizes. The 11 1/2" and 12" pots are slightly deeper and warmer with a bit less volume.
FoxVille and Knaves run are standard 3/4" rim. I will cut yours to 5/8" if you request it.
Standard banjo scale is 26 3/16". I prefer the 25 1/4 or 24 1/2. Dwight Diller prefers and recommends 23 1/2 scale. The shorter scales are more comfortable to play, allowing better right hand dynamics, and are great for people with arthritis, our smaller people. And there is difference playing with the capo to get a short scale vs. getting a shorter scale.
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Add ons/Addendums| Upgrade Options | Additional Cost | | Gig bag style soft case | $ 65 | | Hardshell professional case | $ 165 | | Calfskin head | $ 65 | | Frailing scoop, 15 fret positions | $ 75 | | Stainless steel frets | $ 150 | | Tony Pass Lost Timbre Rim Upgrade | $ 250 | | 4 Keith standard tuners with black knobs | $ 175 | | 2 Keith standar tuners and 2 Keith/Scruggs tuners (oldtime 2nd and 4rth string set-up) with black knobs | $275 | | K&K banjo twin pickup and belt clip pre-amp, installed | $ 245 | | Goldtone ABS banjo micorphone system, installed | $ 245 |
| Warranty and 30 day right to return
5 year warranty on all materials and workmanship
Return banjo in condition received within 30 days
after purchase for full refund if not completely satisfied!
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Shipping and Other Information
We ship anywhere in the world. USA shipping is additional as well as international will incur some extra charges to cover shipping and handling overseas All of our banjos are shipped withbracket wrench, manual, registration and warranty card, PickSlick, leather strap, and ready to play.
Total payment for banjo at the time of shipping. I do not ask for downpayments. I will ask you to commit to the purchase before I begin.
We Accept
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