Everyone knows that every single part that goes into the production of an instrument contributes something to the final sound. That's no less true in a banjo than in any other instrument and in a banjo it is particularly important that everything is solid and rigidly fixed together. The virtual "heart" of the banjo is the 'pot' - the circular body which consists of the rim, tone ring, and metal hardware that holds it together.

Bill Stokes and one of his banjos

The wood of choice that has been used to make the rims and resonators since the pre-war years has been Rock Maple, a species of wood that has proven it's acoustic qualities, especially after 50 years or so when the wood finally stabilizes. Fairly recently, one Bill Stokes of Showcase discovered the source of a new wood that allegedly endows a banjo with superior qualities: 'Timeless Timber'. I asked Bill all about it.

In the late 1800's, a vast number of logging operations sprang up on the shores of Lake Superior. During this logging boom, hundreds of sawmills dotted the area and virgin trees, many of which are over 500 years old or were saplings when Columbus discovered America, were felled and floated onto the Lake for retrieval. Many of these became waterlogged and, due to their increased density, sank to the bottom of the Lake where they lay for up to 150 years in very icy and oxygen-deprived deep water.

"It's amazing what all is going on with this old wood!" said Bill. "I continue to get calls from magazines, luthiers, and any number of interested inquiries about not only the wood itself, but also the acoustic results of the instruments. I've had calls from piano companies as well as some of the better known luthiers in the States who are interested in using the old wood in their craft." Bill explained that it was discovered in the early 1990's but is only now beginning to create a renaissance in lutherie. "This is probably the most 'acoustically perfect wood' on the planet," he exclaimed.

According to Bill "This 'old wood' differs from any other normal old, seasoned wood in that it is up to 30% more open than standard old seasoned woods. More 'airy' if you will, due to the unique anaerobic effects that takes place in the cold, oxygen-depleted water at the bottom of Lake Superior. The open cells also dramatically enhance the velocity of sound through the wood." The bacteria, which can only exist in very low oxygen content, metabolise certain substances in the cells that would ordinarily impede optimum resonance but leave the cells in their pristine open shape. "This is the key to the acoustic qualities of this wood," said Bill. "Remember, that in 'stump cut' wood, you know, wood that is normally cut and sawn to be stacked and allowed to naturally air dry over an extended length of time, the cells have a tendency to close and deform as the moisture leaves the wood. So the result is a wood that does not have as much resonance as the 'Timeless Timber'."

It all sounded amazing to me, so I asked where he got the ideas. "Three years ago, I learned of the 'Timeless Timber' through an obscure article that reported on the project of Timeless Timber® in Ashland, Wisconsin, pulling these logs up from the bottom of Lake Superior. I was intrigued with the story but even more so with the properties of the wood from the anaerobic effect that had been created. My thoughts at the time were, "How will this wood compare to that of the old pre-war instruments?" Bill explained how he contacted the Company and was sent information about the wood and reports from other luthiers who had already begun developing instruments on a small scale. "The results were eye opening" he went on. "I got some of the wood and began doing some sound tests to see how it might differ from standard old wood. Again, there were some eye opening results. The next step was now to build a few prototypes to determine how the wood would react in a finished product."

In building the prototypes Bill contacted the people he considered to be the 'best in the business' - Jimmy Cox for the rim and resonator construction as well as the pot metal flange (as in the pre-wars) and other hardware; Curtis McPeake for his pre-war duplicate tone ring and bridge, not to mention his thorough knowledge of pre-wars and their construction; and to finish out the completed banjo itself, Robin Smith, who is one of the finest craftsmen in the country.

Curtis McPeake is considered by many to be the foremost authority on pre-war banjos. He has the ear for pre-war tone and has probably owned and played more pre-war banjos than anyone in the business. A few years ago, Curtis developed his tone ring patterned after his 1937 RB75 ("Old Betsy") that reproduced the tone of the golden era of banjos.

Bill had the banjo played by some such as: Scott Vestal, Curtis McPeake, Alan O'Bryant, Sammy Shelor, Larry Perkins, Steve Sutton, Jeff Davis, Jens Kruger, Little Roy Lewis, Gary Price, Ned Luberecki, Gerald Jones, Alan Munde, Bill Keith, John Hickman, and a number of others. The feedback was overwhelming... "'amazing balance across the strings'; 'tremendous presence'; 'true pre-war tone'; 'great dimension'; 'big bottom end and balance'. It went on and on," Bill said happily.

"The traditional 3-ply rims are used in the Showcase 'old wood' pot assemblies" stated Bill, "however, block rims were an experiment some years back designed to produce a stronger rim that would resist warping, I'm not sure that the final results were ever validated, but we are testing some block rims now that are, so far, giving the same tonal results. We plan on making these available for the open back and frailing model banjos as soon as we finish our testing, and I am working with Tony Pass on the building of these. They will be available in several sizes and diameters to fit the old Whyte Ladies, Paramounts, and other banjos of that era."

Bill said "We discovered that, because the 'Timeless Timber' is totally stabilised wood, it was somewhat difficult to work. Jimmy Cox told me that it was like sawing through rock and as for bending the wood to make the rims and resonators, well, it required about 6 or 7 times longer to steam it to the point that it was workable. Even then he reckoned he experienced about 40% waste from wood snapping and breaking." Apparently Jimmy will only build these rims during the winter months because he insists they sit out in sub-freezing weather for 2-3 weeks.

(Continued next time...)

Showcase is the only authorised licensee for 'Timeless Timber' in the construction of banjo and banjo OEM products. Bill expects Showcase will be making these pot assemblies available for a long time to come; the only question at this point is how many he will be able to offer each year.

Showcase Contact information: P.O. Box 1660 Rowlett, TX 75030
phone (972) 475-0633, Fax (972) 412-5862
Write to Bill  Showcase Website

1st July 2001