New off the bench

DPO

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Tenor scale open back banjo uke.
Tasmanian Blackwood and Purple Heart/Kahikatea.
I have had about three banjo ukes that I classed as mine, but unfortunately, all ended up being sold. So I decided to make one just for me, to ensure I was never tempted to sell it I put my Initials on the headstock. :)
 
Dennis - that looks amazing!

I love the contrasting wood colors. I am glad you have decided to hang on to one of your works of art for yourself.

Even if it might feel self-indulgent, you should not feel guilty about keeping one just for yourself.

I hope it brings you great joy! :)
 
Ooh, that's a beauty. I'll give you $10,000 for it.

Sincerely,
Donald Philip Olson

:p
 
My electric guitar apparently used to belong to a guy named Les Paul. He put his whole name on the headstock.
 
My electric guitar apparently used to belong to a guy named Les Paul. He put his whole name on the headstock.

My banjo uke may end up belonging to Mr Olsen as soon as his cheque shows up.
 
My electric guitar apparently used to belong to a guy named Les Paul. He put his whole name on the headstock.

Yeah, I had one of his records, well I presume it was, it said LP .
 
Yeah, I had one of his records, well I presume it was, it said LP .

Off-topic to the wonderful new personal DPO banjo uke, but relevant about Les Paul, so I beg your indulgence:

The Gibson Guitar company approached Les Paul to license use of his name and consulted him on design issues for that particular guitar with a cutaway, but he's received little public promotion for single-handedly inventing the analog multi-track tape recorders and associated technology at his home in New Jersey, which enabled recording studios to function the way that they did afterwards for the next 50 or so years until digital recording came along, and established the paradigm for how multi-track recording is actually done, which is still used even today in all of the digital systems that are available...

so I ask you, why was there no "Les Paul Recording Machine" that had his name on it for sale? I wonder...
:)

Of course there is no shortage of other brand and model names for such devices, and without Les Paul, The Beatles famous Abbey Road Studio would have been quite a different experience for the members of The Beatles and producer George Martin...
 
Looks great. Where do people get the banjo fittings for a instrument this size?
 
Yes! the quality has really improved since your first one Dennis...I think you should look into elecroplating on the brass hardware..not for appearance tho co's it looks great, it's to prevent corosion in years to come...Tho it might look OK in green :)
 
Yes! the quality has really improved since your first one Dennis...I think you should look into elecroplating on the brass hardware..not for appearance tho co's it looks great, it's to prevent corosion in years to come...Tho it might look OK in green :)
Ken, one of the first banjo ukes I made I used the brass hardware 'cos I thought it looked primo, but apparently I was the only one who thought so, so the brass hardware has been sitting around the shed ever since. I only use nickle plate now, so I put the brass lot on mine just to use it up.
 
Looks great. Where do people get the banjo fittings for a instrument this size?

Lots of cheaper stuff available on eBay, but if you want the good stuff, Rickard banjos Canada have some of the best quality. Costs more obviously, but we'll worth it.
 
Hi Dennis, This one looks very nice with the brass hardware. I'm loving mine, very nice to play, and wonderful to look at. DPO looks good on the headstock, maybe your new trade mark!
 
Hi Dennis, This one looks very nice with the brass hardware. I'm loving mine, very nice to play, and wonderful to look at. DPO looks good on the headstock, maybe your new trade mark!

Hi Bob, glad you are enjoying the new banjo uke. Maybe we could have a video of you playing?
Not sure about the trade mark , but I like DPO on my one. Thanks again for the kind words.
 
Yes! the quality has really improved since your first one Dennis...I think you should look into elecroplating on the brass hardware..not for appearance tho co's it looks great, it's to prevent corosion in years to come...Tho it might look OK in green :)

I did have a go at electroplating a homemade banjolele's tailpiece a while back without a great deal of success.The plating wiped of fairly easily. Has anyone found a thread on here with tips on how to do this properly?
Max
 
I did have a go at electroplating a homemade banjolele's tailpiece a while back without a great deal of success.The plating wiped of fairly easily. Has anyone found a thread on here with tips on how to do this properly?
Max

I looked into that when I was doing a lot of restoration work on old banjo ukes and the answer in the end was to use a plating service rather than trying to diy, costs a little more but you get professional results.
 
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