Guitar Studios
Franzke 5-String Art Deck Resonator Banjo 2013
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Mahogany neck and resonator
Rosewood fretboard with art deco Mother of pearl and Abalone bowtie inlays
Birch block wood rim with curly maple bottom
Curtis McPeake tone ring
Kirschner tailpiece
Keith D-tuners on the second and third strings and Keith standard stainless steel tuners on one and four
Superior rigid foam case with built in hygrometer
The banjo is crisp and clean sounding and made from all premier parts. Shows some very light wear, but overall excellent.
The tone ring was removed from another banjo that had some rim damage, and the tone ring has some abrasive marks on the lower part of the inside and is purely cosmetic and does not affect the tone.
Mark Franzke; Artist, Luthier
Mark Franzke, artist and luthier, built his first mandolin in 1978 while a Fine Arts student at the University of Kansas. After graduation, Mark began a career in graphic design and illustration, creating some highly detailed airbrushed illustrations.
In 2005, Mark decided to focus seriously on mandolin building under the name "Flinthills Mandolins." After several requests from customers for mandolins with Mark's signature in place of the Flinthills logo, Mark decided to replace the Flinthills name with "Franzke" to emphasize that each instrument is hand crafted by an individual luthier, not mass produced in a factory setting.
Each instrument is a unique artistic expression based on the whims of the artist and desires of the customer.