Custom Rickard 11" 5-String with Bacon Tone Ring & Maple Neck and Rim #1875
Handcrafted in Canada by Rickard Banjos, Serial #1875 is a custom open-back instrument that fuses vintage aesthetics with modern luthier precision.
Why It's a Custom Build Rather than following a standard production template, this custom 5-string incorporates a suite of premium, antiqued brass hardware and historical design:
Bacon Tone Ring: A specialized tone ring not found on standard Rickard production models, providing a distinct vintage voice.
Rickard WL Peghead Shape: Styled in the classic White Laydie peghead silhouette, crowned with an engraved brass magnetic truss rod cover and high-gear Rickard 10:1 Cyclone tuners with faux tortoise buttons.
Bullseye Ball Shoes & Belly Style Tension Nuts: Period-accurate hardware appointments that mirror the refined craftsmanship of golden-era banjos, paired with an 18-notch tension hoop and No-Knot tailpiece.
The Bacon Tone Ring: History & Sound Patented by Fred Bacon in the early 1900s for his famous Bacon "ff Professional" banjos, the Bacon tone ring features an internal, doughnut-shaped metal ring resting over the rim.
Tone Character: The Bacon design produces a warm, rich, and full-bodied tone with smooth sustain and a sweet midrange. It bridges the gap between the subtle warmth of a simple rolled brass hoop and the bright, cutting brilliance of a Tubaphone or Whyte Laydie "Electric" ring.
Tone & Benefits of a Maple Neck & Rim Constructed with a 1/2" thick maple rim and a hard maple neck featuring a 25.5" scale ebony fretboard and "S" curve frailing scoop:
Structural Strength: Dense hard maple offers outstanding stiffness, stability, and energy transfer.
Clarity & Attack: Maple provides a bright, crisp attack with ringing sustain, ensuring excellent note definition so your playing never sounds muddy.
11" Rim Platform The 11-inch rim remains the most versatile rim size for open-back banjos. Compared to larger 12-inch pots, an 11-inch rim delivers tighter note focus, faster response, and exceptional note-to-note separation up and down the neck. It strikes a balanced frequency spectrum—combining clear highs with sufficient low-end warmth—making it ideal for clawhammer, old-time frailing, or fingerstyle playing.
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