Ian Pattison Folkway Custom 11” Open Back
The Pattison Folkway Custom offers open-back players a lot of banjo for not a lot of money. Completely hand-built in Guelph, Ontario, Pattison specs out these instruments with very simple appointments to help keep the pricing low, but doesn’t compromise on the important stuff. Each pot is carefully crafted with a stacked-block wooden tone ring glued overtop the multi-ply maple rim. The neck is hand carved maple finished in a rubbed varnish, and high-end hardware is used throughout. Pao Ferro fingerboard with micro-dot inlays, walnut headstock overlay, bone nut, and no-knot tailpiece.
The neck has a U-shaped carve and a fast feel, with a 1-3/16” nut and 26-1/4” scale.
With its combination of a maple neck, hard Pao Ferro fingerboard and Renaissence head, this banjo has a fair bit of cut and brightness, mixed with the warm focus of the wooden tone ring.
