Welcome to Nashville Banjo Company
I’m Dave — banjo builder and long-time player here in Nashville.
I build hand-crafted open-back banjos one at a time in my workshop. Each one is made slowly, carefully, and with a lot of listening along the way. My goal is simple: to build a banjo that feels good in your hands, sounds warm and inviting, and makes you want to sit down and play for a while over and over again.
My dad encouraged me to pick up the banjo in high school, and it set my life on an interesting course. After earning a mechanical engineering degree from Clemson, I loaded up my banjo, fiddle and mandolin into my red Chevy pickup and drove to Nashville — chasing music and adventure.
Not long after, I found myself on stage with musicians I had worn out on records — Vassar Clements, Kenny Baker, Josh Graves, and more. I didn’t know it then, but those years were laying a foundation — shaping how I listen, how I play, and how I care about the sound an instrument can make.
Banjos that sound like memories
For many of us, an open-back banjo carries stories in its voice — porches, campfires, friendships, laughter, and seasons that seem a little undone at the edges. Even if you didn’t grow up with that world, the sound invites you right into it.
Warm. Woody. Round at the edges. The kind of sound that feels familiar the moment you hear it. That’s the tone I fell in love with… and the tone I set out to build.
Wood, skin & strings
Goat-skin heads, tone wood, rim sizes — all the little decisions that shape the voice of an instrument. The more I learned, the more fascinated I became. After building my first banjo… I was hooked for good. It still amazes me how wood, brass, skin, and strings can come to life in your hands.
I build every Nashville Banjo Co. instrument here in Nashville — carefully voiced for rich tone, smooth playing, and a personality all its own. No two are ever the same — because no two players are the same.
Where the music feels like family
Hand-in-hand with building, I love helping others find their voice too. I teach at music camps, host Nashville Banjo LIVE, and share workshop moments with folks who enjoy being part of the journey.
Nashville moves fast these days — but there are still quiet corners where the old-time spirit lingers. My workshop is one of those corners. If you’re passing through, drop me a note — I’d love to show you around and maybe pick a tune together.
Thanks for being here,
Dave