Nechville Banjos
Nechville banjos are built by Tom Nechville, who reimagined the banjo from the rim out. Tom’s Heli-Mount frame, the Quick-Cam removable neck, and interchangeable Timber-Tronic tone rings set Nechville apart from every other builder. These are instruments designed to be adaptable, letting you change the weight, sound, and feel without buying a new banjo, and the neck comes off in seconds for travel or service.
Nechville banjos are built in the United States. Tom Nechville founded the company in Minnesota and now runs his manufacturing and custom shop, Banjos West, from Sisters, Oregon, where players can meet the maker in person.
We usually have a Nechville in the shop that is not listed here yet. Used Nechvilles reach us through trades and consignment, and they often sell before we get photographs online. Call or text us at (404) 218-8580 and tell us what you are after. We will tell you what is actually on the bench today, and call you when the next one lands.
Every Nechville we sell is set up by our banjo tech Tara before it ships, with free insured shipping in the US and a 7-day guarantee. Return shipping is the buyer’s responsibility, and refunds are the purchase price less $125 to cover our original shipping cost. Financing is available at checkout through PayPal Pay in 4, and through Afterpay on instruments under $4,000.
A used 2008 Nechville Custom five-string banjo with a Nextar pot, a walnut Phantom neck with a speed neck and a tunneled fifth string, a mahogany resonator and a TKL hardshell case.
Why there may be nothing listed above
Banjo Warehouse has been a Nechville dealer in the past. Tom Nechville now keeps very few dealers and builds to order from his shop in Sisters, Oregon, so new Nechvilles do not come through here the way they once did. What reaches us now arrives through trade and consignment, it is never a large part of our inventory, and it tends to move quickly.
That means there is often a Nechville in the building that has not been photographed or written up yet. If you want one, the fastest route is to tell us. Call or text us at (404) 218-8580 and say what you are after, whether that is a particular model, a particular tone ring, or just the next clean one that comes in. We write it down and call you when it lands. A good number of Nechvilles change hands here that way and never appear on this page at all.
Join our email list and you will hear about new arrivals before they are listed.
Hear a Nechville
Geoff has played several Nechvilles on camera here over the years. These demos are the best way to hear what the Heli-Mount and the different tone rings actually do, and they stay useful long after the individual instrument has sold.
Geoff talks through a 2021 Nechville Zeus and then plays it. This is the clearest look we have at what the design actually does: the Heli-Mount frame holding even head tension, a light Timber-Tronic wood tone ring giving a full bluegrass sound at a fraction of the usual weight, and the Quick-Cam neck that comes off in seconds. Flamed curly maple neck and resonator in tobacco sunburst. This one has sold.
The Nechville Phantom, and the two features that surprise people most. The fifth string runs through the body rather than off a peg on the side of the neck, and the tone ring height adjusts with a wrench rather than a trip to a shop. Geoff walks through the Heli-Mount adjustment system at 1:25. If you have ever wondered what you would actually do with an adjustable banjo, this is the answer.
More Nechville demos on our channel:
- A longer six-minute Phantom demo and review, if the clip above leaves you wanting more of it
- The Nechville Eclipse, with a mahogany resonator, and the clearest walk through the Heli-Mount tensioning system we have on tape
- Nechville Diamond Joe, the Sonny Smith model, one of the first ever built, reviewed with its original certificate
- A one-of-a-kind Nechville Custom, specially ordered in mahogany with a radiused fingerboard
Common questions
Is Banjo Warehouse a Nechville dealer?
We have been in the past. Tom Nechville now keeps very few dealers and builds to order, so the Nechvilles we have these days come to us used, through trade and consignment. If you are after a new one built to your spec, Tom's own shop is the place to start. If you want a used one, call us.
What is the Heli-Mount?
It is Tom Nechville's redesign of how a banjo pot goes together. Rather than a tension hoop pulled down by two dozen hooks and nuts, the Heli-Mount uses a threaded frame that tightens the head evenly in one motion. It is why a Nechville looks the way it does, and it is why Nechville's Quick-Cam neck comes off in seconds for travel or service.
What is a Timber-Tronic tone ring?
A lighter, wood-based tone ring that fits a Heli-Mount rim. Because Nechville rings are interchangeable, a player can change the voice and the weight of the same banjo rather than buying another one. That adaptability is the whole argument for the design.
Do you take Nechvilles in trade?
Yes, and it is how most of ours arrive. If you have one you are thinking about moving, call or text us at (404) 218-8580. We will tell you what it is worth and make the process simple.