I needed a banjo for myself that was: 1) lightweight 2) loud and sweet 3) made quickly from available/thrifty woods.

To achieve this, I tried curly maple for the rim without a pistachio tone ring. I turned the block rim a little thinner than normal. For the neck, I used some mahogany and added maple for the fretboard, stripe and headplate. The maple rim turned out loud and sweet, with a growl to the low strings that I like. The mahogany neck made it a bit lighter than a maple neck. I also used a smaller headstock and tuners to make it balanced in my lap. I stained everything with the same stain, which gives it a bit of a folk art look. The thin, hand rubbed stain and finish will show a nice patina over time. Overall? A success. It was really just a series of small tweaks to my usually design, but it added up to something with a slightly different personality.