The new name in the banjo world

I am John McClenaghan, a banjo builder based in Motherwell, Scotland and I’ve been repairing and latterly, hand-crafting my own instruments for the last 20 or so years.  My interest in banjo making follows a path familiar to many Trad Irish banjo players, having been influenced at a young age by the few banjo recordings available back in the day, including the likes of Barney McKenna of the Dubliners and Liam Farrell in London.  A decent banjo in those long gone, pre-internet days was often difficult to obtain, far less maintain or repair, and so, my banjo building journey started initially by doing my own adjustments and repairs, moving on to banjos which I constructed from imported parts and finally designing and hand-crafting my own instruments. 

My interest in banjos now spans all genres of music, from Trad Irish to Dixie Jazz and Bluegrass, but the one constant is my use of superior and sustainably sourced tonewoods and materials to produce a quality traditional banjo which embodies the very best attributes found in the classic banjos of the pre-war era.  I constantly strive to achieve a well-balanced sound with depth of tone, clarity and levels of sustain which permit the player to express and enhance their own style and innovation, whatever that may be.  I pay particular attention to the neck profile as well as the overall weight distribution of the banjo which offers the player comfort and playability, putting them in complete command of the instrument.

Whilst I am in the process of designing various grades of banjo, I’m always happy to listen to and work with customers to achieve the instrument they desire.  Every timber component of my instruments, as well as the decorative inlays are hand-crafted by me alone at my workshop.  I do not use CNC machines, and make only minimal use of general woodworking machinery. For this reason, I only have the capacity to make a limited number of instruments per year, however, I believe that this allows me to produce banjos of individual character, reliability and ultimately, a lifetime of enjoyment for the player.