For the last 30 years, banjo designer Tom Nechville has pushed the limits of the 5-string template to maximize its sound, playability, and overall potential. The Nechville Aries combines Tom's most celebrated cutting-edge features with beautiful tonewoods, tortoise binding, and high-end details that are fresh (instead of another generic copy of classic examples).
The Aries starts with Nechville's Heli-Mount design and Cyclotronic system. The Heli-Mount revolutionizes banjo setups by allowing for even, uniform tension adjustment of the head. Adjusting with the Heli-Mount is not only fast, but it’s extremely accurate so there's no need for endless tapping and back-and-forth guesswork. The Cyclotronic system facilitates the easy setup of the Heli-Mount by using brass ball bearings as the rim/tone ring interface.
On top of that, Nechville offers by far the most effective neck adjustment on banjos. Unlike traditional banjos which use alignment rods, the Nechville Quick-Cam Neck Connection uses a simple hex-key adjustment on the neck heel to adjust the neck angle and action. When you add a radius fingerboard for improved playability and a compensated saddle for proper intonation, there’s no question the Nechville banjo is a superior instrument for 21st Century banjo pickers.
This Nechville Aries (#2747) features a Walnut neck, Walnut Resonator, Renaissance Head, and Nechville's new Hybrid Wood/Brass tone ring. The Hybrid is Nechville's newest design, and it looks like the familiar all-wood Timber-Tronic ring with a soft metal hoop on the edge that comes into contact with the head. This adds a familiar metallic chime and just enough mass to increase the depth of sound. Overall, this Aries is a wide-open, resonant banjo that can cover a lot of sounds. Its tone can be warm, pushing beyond the classic bluegrass sound. But if you need it to cut and push a string band, just pick by the bridge and this banjo will take off!
This 2020 Nechville Aries is gently used. Nechville installed 5th string spikes at the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th frets at the factory, so if you want to capo up the neck, this banjo is ready to rock. It shows some minor playwear on the head, but it is otherwise in "like new" condition. It includes all of the necessary tools for setup adjustment, as well as its original paperwork and original hardshell case. Used Nechvilles don't come around too often, and this one is practically new. Regardless of what you're playing now, this is a banjo that will push your banjo picking to the next level.