Frank Proffitt 5 String Fretless Banjo (1960s), made in Vilas, North Carolina, natural finish, walnut neck and body with skin head, black gig bag case.
This beautiful instrument is a completely handmade "Mountain banjo" by the celebrated maker and player Frank Proffitt of Vilas, North Carolina. This style of handmade fretless "Mountain banjo" was a specialty of the region of North Carolina where the Proffitt family lived. When Frank Proffitt Sr. began making banjos and dulcimers some of the area folk could not afford commercial banjos, no matter how basic, so he sold them locally. Proffitt's design was functional and economical; using hand tooling and locally sourced materials he crafted instruments well-suited to the traditional songs and ballads still played in the mountains.
At first these instruments saw mostly local use, but by the later 1950s Frank did begin selling a limited number of his handmade banjos and dulcimers to players outside the region seeking their unique character. Sadly Frank Proffitt passed away at age 52 in November 1965; his son Frank Jr. continued building after his father's death in 1965, but most enthusiasts feel the original Proffitt Sr. instruments are the finest specimens. This is a genuine Proffitt Sr. with his signature and ink-stamped "Thumbstring North Carolina" mark under the head, with a dedication to the original owner.
This banjo is built with a one-piece walnut neck with a comfortable deep "U" profile. The body is built of sections of walnut, with a piece of 6" stovepipe inside to hold the possum skin head. It is fretless with no markers on the fingerboard and hand-carved wooden friction pegs and tailpiece. There is a traditional school of playing that these banjos excel at; the sound is more intimate than a more standard factory instrument, with less overring but surprising volume when played hard. Authentic examples of these banjos rarely come up for sale; this hand-wrought "Mountain banjo" is playable Americana at its most basic and beautiful.
Frank Proffitt Sr. is not only renowned as a builder, but as a folk performer who made a major contribution to American musical history. Collectors Frank and Anne Warner traveled to Beech Mountain in 1937 and recorded Proffitt singing the local ballad "Tom Dula" and other tunes on the banjo and dulcimer. Subsequently Alan Lomax published the song in his "Folk Songs of North America". It was through this that the Kingston Trio found the song, which as "Tom Dooley" became a massive hit and effectively kick-started the folk revival of the early '60s. Proffitt himself ironically never profited from this, and in interviews allowed he "felt he had lost something" seeing clean-cut young performers proffering their streamlined versions of the old mountain ballad. While Frank Proffitt himself rarely performed far from his home of Vilas, NC, his music and instruments have left an indelible mark on American folk culture.
Overall length is 36 7/8 in. (93.7 cm.), 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm.) diameter head, and 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 26 1/2 in. (673 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/16 in. (33 mm.).
This folkloric banjo remains in excellent playable condition, with only minor cosmetic wear. It has been lightly played over the years; there are small scratches and scuffs, mostly to the back, but the finish is organic enough to make any but the heaviest wear relatively inconsequential. The skin head is original with some wear on the face but preserving Proffitt's signature, dedication and stamp on the back.
The bridge is more a modern Grover piece. The neck is quite straight and the fingerboard has very little wear. While some modern players might prefer gut or nylon strings on this style of instrument, Proffitt banjos were originally built for and fitted with steel strings. The banjo plays very well to the standards of these instruments; with steel strings and hand-made friction pegs it is not the easiest to tune, but rewards the effort with a beautiful and uniquely evocative sound. It is supplied in a modern gig bag.
