First pictures of Shackleton banjo rims from The Great British Banjo Company
Norwich, Norfolk, UK (PRWEB UK) 20 September 2013 -- The Great British Banjo Company, which is producing banjos in bulk in the UK for the first time in over 60 years has released the first photograph of its prototype Shackleton banjo rims.
The new banjo from The Great British Banjo Company is named after British Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and will be the only mass-market banjo to be actually manufactured in Great Britain.
The just-released photograph shows prototype rims in a variety of possible woods and finishes. The company has not yet announced which wood will be selected as the standard for The Shackleton banjo, which will retail at £300.
The rims are designed and manufactured in the UK using advanced drum-making techniques, and hand finished. They will join necks also manufactured in the UK.
The company, which last year launched a high-end handmade banjo called The Islander Ash Leaf (made for the company by craftsman builder Malcolm McLeod), is raising funds to develop its new Shackleton product with the Kickstarter online crowd-funding platform.
The company has already raised half of its £30,000 target and still has three weeks to go in its campaign.
Managing Director of the company Simon Middleton explained why the company is manufacturing in Britain: "Partly it's out of a spirit of defiance. People told us it couldn't be done – so we're doing it. And partly because we are committed to playing a small part in the revival of British musical instrument manufacture.
"The banjo is experiencing a worldwide renaissance at the moment, led by British artists like Mumford & Sons. So we are joining that movement by building a genuinely British-made and genuinely affordable banjo," Middleton added.
Company Information:
The Great British Banjo Company Limited, which also owns online specialist store Banjos Direct, is based in Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
The company works with local craftsmen as well as instrument manufacturers in other parts of Britain.
The business was founded by brand adviser, business author and musician Simon Middleton and has grown rapidly to become the UK's best known banjo specialist retailer and manufacturer.
In 2012, the company launched the Islander Ash Leaf banjo, hand-made for the company in England, which has received glowing reviews from professional players in the UK and the USA.
The Great British Banjo Company is a private limited company, owned and managed by a small group of family and friends in Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
For further information, visit: http://www.thegreatbritishbanjocompany.com/.
Simon Middleton, Simon Middleton, http://www.simonmiddleton.com, +44 7890260312, [email protected]
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