This is a new-for-2010 model from Bill Rickard. Its simple elegance makes for a real bargain: a North American-made banjo with top quality parts (Bill Rickard supplies much of the banjo industry with metal parts, including tone rings), great sound a wonderful playability.

This banjo uses Bill's version of the Electric tone ring (patented by Fairbanks in 1890, and which went on to be used in their famous Whyte laydie model). Unlike the later Whyte Laydie, the Electrics had bracket shoe mounting screws through the pot, rather than attached to a external, brass "bracket band." FWIW, the Electric sound is my all around favorite, so naturally, I like this banjo!

The least expensive, non-Asian way I know of to get the Electric sound in a new banjo: $1295 plus case or bag, if desired. Sold

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

	The scooped, ebony fingerboard has a 25.5 inch scale with simple MOP dot inlays with a star at the 5th fret.			The one-piece neck is black-painted maple; the heel has a Dobson-like appearance, but has a pronounced V shape in cross section. It has a two-way adjustable truss rod, accessible from the heel end.
	The simple peghead has an overlay, but everything is painted black.			The tuners are gold-plated, high quality Gotoh brand planetaries. The 5th string tuner is also a gold-plated Gotoh, but of worm and pinion design.
	It's set up with a Renaissance head and a No-Knot tailpiece, and has a Rickard-made bridge and wire armrest.			While the tuners are gold-plated, all the other metal bits are non-plated brass, which will age and develop a natural patina.
	The 11-inch, maple pot has a Rickard-made Electric tone ring of non-plated brass.			Other than the fingerboard and the metal parts, this banjo is painted black.
	Its being an Electric-style, the bracket shoe mounting bolts go through the rim. (Whyte Laydies introduced the bracket band as an alternative.)

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