My good buddy found me a great deal on a Bart Reiter A flat scale a couple of weeks ago and I jumped on it immediately and was able to purchase it. Since I received it I have been playing the daylights out of it and noticing many cool things about it. I have never noticed any of Bart's standard 2 ply pots being curly maple but the pot on #3333 is infact a curly maple one. The curly figure is fairly subtle and can't be seen under direct bright light. Instead, I was walking by it as it sat on the couch and the curls slowly came to appear under dim light as I was walking by, know what I am saying? I cleaned the ebony fretboard with that GHS Fast Fret and wiped it down before putting medium gauge Vega strings on her. With just the standard 5/8 bridge that Bart sets up his banjos with, these medium Vega strings, and the Bill Miller vellum processed calfskinhead this banjo has a much desired sweet, plunky tone. I got out the measuring tape to see what the exact scale length is. From the inside of the nut to the middle of the 12th fret measures a hair under 12". Does that make my Reiter A flat scale 24" in scale length rather than 24 3/4? This banjo that Bart made for me is the finest of the previous 4 of his that I have owned. In my opinion, for the money, no one makes a higher quality, lightweight, structurally and sweeter sounding banjo than Bart Reiter.

BART REITER STANDARD A-FLAT SCALE OPENBACK BANJO Short (~24 3/4") scale neck works well for either A or standard G tuning - Mahogany 2-piece neck, 11" maple rim (mahogany stain) with walnut rim cap, rolled brass tone hoop, Five Star frosted ..more... - on order, expected arrival date unknown sku: STANDA .. list $1460.00 ours $1095.00 Elderly lists it at 24 3/4". How do they determine scale? I measured from the nut to middle of the 12th fret and I get about 12". Does anyone know how these numbers are determined?

Scale length is nut to bridge but because the bridge is moveable the most reliable way to determine scale length is to do what you've done, measure nut to 12th fret. The nut to 12th should give you exactly half the scale length. You don't have any recordings of the banjo do you? I'd love to hear it.

I'm going to do a video here this weekend and hopefully get it posted by Sunday afternoon on to my homepage.

Congratulations on the banjo. I agree regarding the quality and value of Bart's instruments. I jus received a new Bacophone-plus that is another awesome instrument.

Edited by - jbalch on 02/16/2012 18:34:10

congrats to RW and JB!! John, you got that banjo surprisingly fast for a special order, I bet it's sweet!

Does that make my Reiter A flat scale 24" in scale length rather than 24 3/4? 

Yup.  Musicophilia's recommendation of measuring the the 12th and doubling the result is the best way to check the actual scale length.  If the resulting scale seem a bit odd or doesn't work out to be a nice even number or even a common fraction it's usually because the builder has used an existing template for a longer scale length and just started at fret 1 or 2 to derive the required shorter scale.  As long as the chosen section of template results in a close approximation of what the intended scale is, that's OK for most builders.

As another example a friend of mine has a banjo from another well known small shop maker that has a 23-7/8" scale length.  My main player a an A scale that I built with a 23" scale length for tuning to A & D.

I couldn't have been more fortunate to obtain a 24" Reiter A scale. I am more comfortable with a scale length between 22" and 24". I am going to post some pics of the curly maple pot. John, congratulations on your new Reiter and feel free to post some pictures!

Thanks Tim(rubicon) for making me aware that this Reiter was available ! If not for you I wouldn't have been able to get this Reiter!

Congratulations!

I love my Reiter A-Scale. 

I learned "West Virginia Girls" from you and played it on my Reiter A-Scale.

Edited by - Ho C Ying on 02/17/2012 06:24:06

Nice job on that WVA Girls!

Being a builder, and having experimented with shorter scales years ago,  I'm interested to know what the reasoning is behind wanting shorter scale banjos.  weight? portability? physical limitations?  I'm very curious since it comes up frequently.

I have a couple of banjos with a 24 3/4 scale and they feel a bit more comfortable. I don't use a capo and they have a bit less tension when I'm tuned up to A or D. And they feel good in G and C which is where they're usually tuned unless I'm playing with a fiddler. I probably like this scale better than 25.5 which I have on a few other banjos. Weirdly usually when I'm playing out I play a banjo with a 26.25 scale. I have a couple of banjos with that scale. They are set up to be less plucky. I guess I like different kinds of banjos. Weight and portability aren't a consideration for me.

uncle.fogey, being a short person with "bad carpal tunnel syndrome" (MD quote) in both wrists, plus a few arthritic fingers, the shorter scale banjos do ease the strain to some degree. One banjo has a 10-1/8" rim with a 24-1/2" scale neck, the other is an 11" rim with a 22-7/8" scale neck; both almost the same total length (roughly 33-1/2"). The latter one fits nicely in a Gold Tone tenor case which makes little difference when loading the car and weight is not a concern with me. I am quite comfortable with these banjos and the reach is definitely easier.

quote:

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Originally posted by Cottonmouth

uncle.fogey, being a short person with "bad carpal tunnel syndrome" (MD quote) in both wrists, plus a few arthritic fingers, the shorter scale banjos do ease the strain to some degree. One banjo has a 10-1/8" rim with a 24-1/2" scale neck, the other is an 11" rim with a 22-7/8" scale neck; both almost the same total length (roughly 33-1/2"). The latter one fits nicely in a Gold Tone tenor case which makes little difference when loading the car and weight is not a concern with me. I am quite comfortable with these banjos and the reach is definitely easier.

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Cottonmouth, thanks!

Would a thicker neck profile be more comfortable to you? what about a wider neck?

\Ken

Here's the pictures of the 2 ply curly maple pot that Bart put on this A-scale standard !!!

curly maple pot w/rolled brass tone ring

beautifully scooped w/elegant rich brown stain

quote:

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Originally posted by RWJones1970

Here's the pictures of the 2 ply curly maple pot that Bart put on this A-scale standard !!!

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Nice!  2-ply - what does it look like from the bottom?

The pot is just painted black with no rim cap. The pot isn't super curly but nonetheless it is subtley curly , which is rare on this model!  The reason I prefer shorter scale banjos is for comfort reasons because of my fairly small hands. The reach and stretch as far as fretting, picking and chording notes is minimal and comfortable. There is no capoing and moving to a different position up the neck. After owning 26 1/4" scale banjos, I don't understand the long reaching and stretching when owning a short scale banjo eliminates these issues. 

Edited by - RWJones1970 on 02/17/2012 15:36:27

uncle.fogey, the two 5-string necks I have are both Vega-like reproductions (by Wyatt Fawley and Roy L. Smith), same profile and I have no problem negotiating them. I very seldom use chords at all, so that takes away a lot of the finger stretching.

Rob, a recording would be nice! Maybe "WVA Girls"? :)

Well I will try to get a video up here in the near future. I just couldn't because we are way too busy with raising children and trying to lead a normal life too...which is turning out not so normal ;). This banjo sounds great too with the current setup : bill miller vellum processed calfskin head, Vega medium gauge strings, 5/8 Sampson rosewood bridge and cheap no knot tailpiece. I never heard a Reiter Standard sound better. I will get a video up soon.

Edited by - RWJones1970 on 02/19/2012 17:10:31

quote: Youre very welcome  ,It was quite interesting that the banjo ended up not only being an actual 24 inch A scale , but it was also lovingly assembled  with the curly maple pot .! Thank You for teaching me the boatman I love to play it 

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Originally posted by RWJones1970

Thanks Tim(rubicon) for making me aware that this Reiter was available ! If not for you I wouldn't have been able to get this Reiter!

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Your welcome too ! You picked that tune up rather quickly. We will get together again sometime to learn another tune. I would like to teach you West Virginia Girls as you mentioned wanting to learn how to drop thumb and that is a favorite G-modal tune of mine ....or.....maybe something in GCGCD because you already tunes in G and G-modal. Maybe Billy in the Lowground or Soldier's Joy?

Edited by - RWJones1970 on 02/26/2012 16:15:40

congrats on your Reiter A-scale!

I just ordered and recently received a Reiter A-flat scale (#3578), and am loving it!

-bob

Rpmilius, sorry I did not see your post sooner or I would have responded more quickly. Congratulations on your new Reiter. What serial number is yours? Also, would you mind measuring from the inside of the nut to the middle of the 12th fret and giving me that measurement ? You can set this banjo up to produce a sweet,warm, clear, bell like tone with a skin head, nice bridge and tailpiece. I was unaware of setup when I owned my previous Reiter Standard and so I failed to get the tone I was after....until now ! I have to find some time to get a video up on my homepage with my new Reiter....stay tooned !

My serial number is 3578. The distance from inside of nut to 12th fret is 12 3/8 inches, so it's the newer design (25 3/4 inches scale).

I haven't made any changes to it except tightened the head a bit. I'll play it as is for a while, at least until I decide I want a somewhat different sound. I've only been playing for a little over a year, so I'm still learning what I like. In any case, I'm really pleased with it so far.

Looking forward to your video!

-bob