Scott Vestal's Stealth BanjoScott Vestal's Stealth BanjoScott Vestal's Stealth BanjoScott Vestal's Stealth Banjo

                                                                                                                     

 

                                                                                                              

 

 

Specifications

If you have seen Scott perform recently, you will surely have noticed the striking profile of the neck on his banjo. The 5th string goes into the neck at the 5th fret, travels through the neck in a small tube and emerges at the headstock where it is attached to its tuner like the other four strings.

stealth banjo - 5th string emerges behind the nut stealth banjo - 5th string enters at the 5th fret

Another innovative design change is the shorter scale length (measured from the nut to the bridge). Scott has found that this scale - the same as is used on the guitar -both improves intonation and moves the bridge closer to the center of the head, resulting in enhanced lower frequency response. This shorter scale also makes those tough stretches a bit easier - especially if you have average to small size hands!

The compound fingerboard radius - also common in the guitar world - is yet another reason why the Stealth banjo feels so much better under your fingers.

Scott chose a radiused fingerboard for his banjo because it matches the natural curved shape of the fingers - making it faster and more comfortable for closed position fingerings. Using a compound radius allows you to have lower string action without buzzing and cleaner string bending up the neck. The overall design of the Stealth banjo - the neck position onto the pot, the neck angle, and the tall bridge - gives you the best of both worlds: low string action on the neck for ease of playing, and high action on the head for punch and volume.

Stealth banjo bridge

NEW The Stealth banjo bridge is specially designed to Scott's specifications to optimize the tone of the Stealth banjo. Because of the radiused fingerboard on a Stealth, the bridge must also follow this arc. Other radiused top bridges only applied the arc to the ebony top strip and Scott found that this disproportion between the maple and ebony across the bridge had a detrimental effect on the tone. Designed and hand made by Bryan Hooper, the bridges are made so that the radius is first applied to the maple base and then both the top and bottom of the ebony strip are cut to fit. The result is a bridge where the proportion of maple to ebony is constant across the strings for a more consistent tone from string to string.
The third string slot is notched for improved intonation up the neck. Available in natural maple/ebony or solid black. The Stealth bridge comes standard on all Stealth banjos.       

 



                                                                            Email us at: scott@scottvestal.com