Written by Joe Garinger - used by permission

  For years I had been to the Tranjo website. I didn't think Sam Farris would ever build the Tranjo, so I was about to take his ideas and make my own full-scale travel banjo. I went back to his web sight, and to my surprise, found that he had started to produce them. I bought Tranjo #8. When it arrived, my wife rolled her eyes and said, "Here we go again." I took it out of the box, tuned it up and it played pretty nice. Plus, it sounded like a banjo! I had a trip the next day, so I took it apart according to the directions and stuffed it in my suitcase.
  When I got to my hotel room the next night, I pulled the Tranjo out of the suitcase and put it back together according to the directions. It's held together with one bolt and the neck slides neatly into its slot. My first assembly attempt was a success! I tried to use the supplied tuner/metronome to tune it up, but with the tuning pegs on the back of the banjo, I gave up and used a clip on electronic tuner. I also noticed- maybe some one can explain it -that as I tuned each string to pitch, any other string already tuned became sharp instead of flat- the opposite of a traditional banjo. It must have something to do with the tuners being behind the bridge. After about a half hour of tuning, I finally got it to where I was happy. Now it takes me about five minutes to tune it up.
  I put the supplied strap on, which is very cleverly attached and perfect for the banjo's weight, and I started to play. The first thing I noticed was that the thumb stop was further up the neck, and when I went back to the first position I always came up short. Well, I got used to that after playing for awhile. The thumb stop is moved up to facilitate the string pegs and truss rod adjustment. It also took a while to get used to not having the peg head there.
  I was amazed at the playability of the neck. The action was nice and low with no buzzing and I had no problem setting the bridge for proper intonation. The fret work is as good, or better, than most banjos. I was amazed at the volume for such a little banjo head and plastic tone ring. It doesn't have a real big low end, or upper end for that matter, but it sounds like a banjo. I ended up buying a rubber wedge mute to quiet it down for the hotel rooms. I also turn on a foreign TV station to drown out the noise/music.
  The Tranjo's neck is as thick as my Ome, but it is a little bit more round. It's not clubby like an import or some Gibsons. It feels most similar to the neck I have on my Martin guitar. Maybe that's because it's made by a guitar luthier. It has standard pearl dot fret board markers on a rosewood fingerboard. It also has standard side markers with no binding. The fit is very nice without overdoing it on detail. It has a satin finish, which is perfect for the banjo. I believe Sam was trying to keep the price down and a high polished lacquer would drive up the price. Most of the problems I've have had with it I have now overcome. For dismantling, there is an elastic band capo supplied. I ended up getting an elastic guitar capo to put higher on the neck to keep the strings in place in addition to the one lower on the neck. When I'm putting it back together I'm very careful to make sure the strings are on the pegs and rollers. I've broken a lot of strings for those two reasons, so I always carry an extra set. They quite often get a kink in them and end up breaking when you bring them up to pitch. I buy the electric guitar strings since they have the bead on them and work best for the way the banjo is set up. Putting a string on can be a little tricky since the tuners are inside the body of the banjo. I also keep an extra bridge handy since I have broken some through traveling.
  The banjo travels with me about five or six times a month to Japan or England. I have made a kind of sock-cover out of a flannel pillowcase (my wife almost killed me for that one!) for the neck and the body to protect it in my suitcase since it now has a few dings in it. I try to pack it near the top so security can find it. Security has only asked to see it three times so far and I've had it for about two years now. If my Tranjo ever got stolen I would buy another one since there is nothing else that I have found to compare. My hat is off to Sam. He has helped me become a better player with his product. It's kind of the silver bullet I was looking for.

-Joe Garinger

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