Banjos

While I am looking at the neck, I check for a silky finish which allows a smooth sliding finger action. I also check that the frets are smooth and round. Rough frets are hard on both strings and fingers, and a fret of the wrong height can cause a wrong note even when you play the right one. I file and shape the frets until they're perfect.

I make sure that the pegs turn smoothly and that there is no slippage. Alvarez banjos use either sturdy geared-offset pegs, or, for extremely high accuracy, planetary pegs with a four-to-one gear ratio.

I check that the brackets work smoothly, so that I can quickly and easily adjust the tightness of the head. Alvarez banjos have 24 heavy-duty chrome plated brackets. I also check the tailpiece. I prefer a Kirschner-style tailpiece because it doesn't have a tendency to rattle the way a clarnshell tailpiece does. The 4289, 4293, 4300 and 4310 have adjustable chrome plated Kirschner-style tailpieces.

The most important part of any banjo is the sound-amplifying tone ring and flange assembly. Ordinary iron simply doesn't provide enough ring or volume, so Alvarez tone rings, flanges and tubes are made of either solid bell brass or resophonic alloy.

Alvarez laminated shells are machined to fit precisely to the tone ring.