Bart Reiter Whyte Laydie Deluxe (1996)

Description

There's been a real flood of Bart Reiter's superb open-backs here at the Denver Folklore Center in recent months, and the latest is this gorgeous 1996 Whyte Laydie Deluxe, which shows off some of the Michigan luthier's very best work as a builder. As the name obviously suggests, this one's got a massive Laydie-style tone ring under the head for the bright, clarion tone that made Fairbanks' early 20th century instruments so sought-after. But while Reiter took the style, sound, and aesthetics of pre-war New York banjos as his departure point, he applied exceptional modern craftsmanship and an incredibly consistent attention to detail to his instruments, and is in many ways directly responsible for the modern approach to open-back luthiery. The Whyte Laydie Deluxe features arguably a warmer and more three-dimensional tone than its vintage forebears, and the premium appointments stand among the best work we've ever seen come out of Bart's build shop. This is a banjo that's just as easy on the eyes as it is on the ears, and it's hard to imagine any modern builder combining a respect for the past with the precision of the present in quite the way that Reiter did in this model.

This instrument arrived in our store in very good condition, with low action and a very playable neck that responds well to old-time frailing. This instrument dates from a range of just under a year in which Reiter was building with a bad supply of nitrocellulose, which began to check and chip off almost immediately after application. As such, there is significantly more finish crazing than one might expect on a 30-year-old banjo, and some of the finish on the headstock over the inlays has chipped off entirely. While the finish did not bond to the wood properly at the time of its initial application, the effect has tapered over subsequent decades, and we do not expect it to get significantly worse or for this banjo to be a candidate for immediate refinishing. Other wear includes a small filled hole on the side of the fingerboard at the 11th fret, indicating that a fifth-string capo had been installed at some point in the past, then removed. All parts are original, including the calfskin head, which would have been ordered as a custom upgrade. Included in the price is the original hard-shell case.

*Please note, per our return policy, all sales on used and consignment instruments are final.*