Tom Nechville has launched a joint venture with Wayne Sagmoen; together, they are introducing hybrid banjos, which have traditional pots and Nechville's innovative neck design.

The Atlas is their first such banjo, and has a 12-inch, Sagmoen walnut block pot with an exotic hardwood tone ring (the first one we have seen appears to be one of the rosewood species).

The neck is also walnut, and attaches with Nechville's unique system, providing for rapid disassembly and instant action adjustment, all without interfering with the critical neck-pot joint.

The Atlas is available in two flavors: The Standard (shown here) has a flat fingerboard and lists at $1795 with a gig bag, and the Deluxe, which features a radiused fingerboard and a hardshell case listing at $2095.

Hear one of these banjos, or, if you prefer, see and hear one of these banjos (20mb).

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

	The peghead has a traditional appearance, and has the Nechville logo inlaid in its ebony overlayment.			All five tuners are Gotoh brand--those on the peghead are planetaries.
	The banjo has a Renaissance head and a Nechville proprietary tailpiece. The wooden tone ring can be seen fairly clearly through the head.			This banjo is made of walnut.
	The handsomely inlaid ebony fingerboard has a thumb notch instead of a full scoop, so all those high notes remain available.			The 1-piece neck is walnut and has a volute. The hole in the heel is for Allen wrench access which provides for instant action adjustment and rapid disassembly.
	The 12-inch, walnut block pot has what appears to be a rosewood family tone ring. The removable dowel stick is provided for mounting a pickup or "stuffing" the pot. Of course it can be left in place because it looks cool, too.			The Sagmoen pot has an integral wooden flange, which helps keep weight to a minimum!

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