5-string banjo
Maker
Billy Reed Hampton
Date1999 September
Place MadeNew York, New York, United States, North America
ModelCheckers
Serial No.none
SignedHand-carved into inside of resonator [in cursive text]: Made By / Billy R. Hampton / Sept 1999 MarkingsStamped onto bridge in black ink: GROVER
DescriptionThe maker named the instrument “Checkers” as a reference to the design used on the resonator. This instrument was commissioned by the museum as a way of showcasing what the present-day craft of banjo making has become; therefore, all the receipts for materials used in the making of the banjo are included in the file. The maker was born in Dongola, Kentucky, November 15, 1940. His grandfather, Elhanon Day, was a banjo maker and his father, Willie Hampton, was a banjo player as a child, and later made banjos, as well.
An Appalachian dulcimer, a banjo, and a violin by Hampton are preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. A dulcimer is preserved in the Paris Philharmonie Collection.
Neck: walnut; 5th-string tuner
Peghead: walnut, integral with neck; “fiddle-back” shape design based on pattern found in a book of banjo patterns; additional walnut pieces on sides [to complete shape]
Fingerboard: walnut, integral with neck; 22 solid nickel T-frets; light hardwood single dots inlaid behind 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th, and 18th frets
Heel cap: none
Head: top-tension vellum [Weather King]
Tone ring: none/not visible
Rim: blocks of walnut, cherry, and maple in 2 concentric circles, 8 blocks in each circle
Bracket hooks: 24 nickel-plated brass
Shoes: 24 nickel-plated brass
Armrest: nickel-plated brass
Tension hoop: nickel-plated brass
Resonator: 16 rectangular blocks of walnut, cherry, and maple wood, in 2 rows of 8 blocks; back made of African rosewood, bubinga; nickel-plated brass flange
Dowel stick: nickel-plated metal [observed from photo]
Top nut: bone
5th-string nut: small brass screw
Tuners: 5 traditional Grover nickel-plated brass tension tuners with square black plastic heads
Tailpiece: nickel-plated brass; Waverly
Finish: Constantine’s clear varnish [3 coats applied, hand-rubbed]
DimensionsTotal instrument length: 983 mm (38-11/16”)
Total vibrating string length: 689 mm (27-1/8”)
Vibrating length of 5th string: 520 mm (20-15/32”)
Fingerboard length from top nut: 507 mm (19-31/32”)
Fingerboard length from 5th-string nut: 338 mm (13-5/16”)
Fingerboard width at top nut: 30 mm (1-3/16”)
Fingerboard width at 5th-string nut: 40 mm (1-9/16”)
Fingerboard width at body: 44 mm (1-23/32”)
Head diameter: 279 mm (10-31/32”)
Resonator diameter: 357 mm (14-1/16”)
Rim and resonator depth: 88 mm (3-15/32”)
Credit LineGift of Billy Reed Hampton, 2001
Object number10031
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