After moving to Humboldt
County, I found a banjo
and bought it on the spot. Hours were spent tinkering
with it, trying
to make it sound the best that a cheap,
import banjo could. This led
me to spend time with
an instrument repair guy at our local music store.
He
informed me of Lutherie, and this sparked the
prospect of a career.
In 2001, a life-altering car
accident gave me the courage to choose a
career
path I was truly passionate about. I proceeded to
knock on every
instrument maker's door in Humboldt
County. Mark Platin is the one who
let me in. Mark
owned Wildwood Banjos as well as Wildwoods, an
OEM electric
guitar parts manufacturer. There I spent
seven years making countless
electric guitar parts, and
at the same time, working with Mark on his
banjos. My
notion of a glamorous instrument building job
was quickly
overshadowed by the production of guitar
parts, which consisted of lots
of sanding, filing,
more
sanding, routing, and more sanding. Along with
Mark's training, Jason Romero, with whom I worked
alongside at Wildwood,
influenced me greatly, as did
the fine inlay work of bass maker Ken Lawrence.
Phil
Crump, local bouzouki builder, oversaw the finishing
of Wildwood
banjos. From him I learned the intricacies
of fine finish work as well
as acoustic guitar building
practices. With these collected skills I
am building my
instruments in the true fashion of a tradesman. Having
honed my skills with prominent builders in the industry,
I am putting
my own artistic vision and inclinations
into Vance Banjos.