The Banjo Rehabilitation Center (BRC) is a small workshop located in the heart of the Show-Me State. Its initial mission statement was: All banjos deserve a second chance. In the early BRC days, disparate banjo parts were adapted to each other to produce a unique instrument that was then sold at bargain-basement prices on eBay to beginner banjo pickers. Nowadays, the BRC craftsman constructs designer banjos with modern materials, and these unique 5-stringers are exhibited regularly in art shows. The BRC founder has been playing the banjo for over 60 years. His band “Gainor & Friends” performs weekly at a family-friendly brewpub and donates all tips to the local Children`s Hospital.

 

Learn more about the BRC:

Arts in Health:

The BRC in the Columbia Business Tribune:

Watch the BRC Founder on YouTube

Interesting in donating to our favorite non-profit?

Please send donations to:
MU Children’s Hospital,
One Hospital Drive,
Columbia, MO 65212

Lisa says:
May 4, 2011 at 7:18 pm

I am excited to raise my children to love bluegrass, new grass, country and soul, just like I do because I grew up in a house full of music. All instruments old and new deserve a second chance! And with hand-crafted care, it is truly an American experience. Looking forward to you, and other banjo lovers keeping the tradition of music alive in the Midwest!

 

Marilynn says:
July 8, 2011 at 12:07 am

Love your music and bluegrass! Keep up the good work with the children and families. I’ll try to make it the next time you have a fundraiser. Thanks to Dr. Gainor – there’s sweet music from fingers plucking on the banjo AND his great talent of helping the rest of us with fingers plucking at all the other tasks of daily life.
Bless you all – those who refurbish banjos & instruments; as well as people and their spirits. 🙂
Marilynn

 

Kevin says:
March 6, 2012 at 5:44 pm

Hi there! just picked up one of your banjos never played from a man in california and was wondering if you could tell me about it some? ive heard good things so im excited to get pickin.
Kevin

 

BRC to Kevin says:
March 8, 2012 at 8:06 pm

Kevin- Thank you for the photos and your kind comments. Your banjo is a fun combination of a new stock mahogany Saga neck and a FB 300 Fender pot with resonator. The neck and pot are supported by a Gibson style dual connecting rod system from Stewart MacDonald. The peghead tuners are traditional non geared pegs with black buttons, and the 5th string peg is geared with an ebony button. The flathead sits on the wooden rim, which warms the tone, and it measures 11 inches across. The banjo weighs only 6 pounds, and a small Allen hex wrench is used to remove the resonator. There are RR spikes at the 7th and 10th frets. The peghead has a MOP inlay of “BRC” for my namesake Banjo Rehabilitation Center workshop. I hope you enjoy playing it as much a I did building it. All the best pickin` to you, Barry

 

Aunt Carol on Scruggs says:
March 29, 2012 at 5:53 pm

R.I.P. Earl Scruggs, 1924-2012. He made the banjo a star!!!
Keep on pickin’ bro.

 

BRC about Earl Srcuggs says:
March 29, 2012 at 10:25 pm

Earl Scruggs was the Father of the Bluegrass Banjo and will be sadly missed. A man of very few words, his electrifying three finger picking style was a flood tide of music. Although I was at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival which Scruggs frequented, it is not recollected if he performed that year. While summering in North Carolina in 1967, I faithfully watched the Saturday afternoon 4 pm live broadcasts of the Flatt & Scruggs TV show every week. My wife and I saw his Revue at the University of Florida stadium around 1976. In 2002, we attended a tribute to him at the Wayne State University performing arts center (I still have the original program) where he was presented a framed letter of thanks on stage from the other performers in appreciation for his guiding musical impact on an entire generation of banjo pickers. The letter was signed by banjoists Tom Adams, J.D. Crowe, Rob McCoury, Jim Mills, Joe Mullins, Sonny Osborne, and Bill Evans. An almost painfully modest man, Scruggs received the document wordlessly at the microphone and shook his head back and forth as if to say, “No, no, you`ve got the wrong guy….” He was one of a kind, and there shall not be another.

 

Janice says:
October 6, 2016 at 12:33 am

We have acquired an old Vega banjo. The number on the base is 54016. Reg US pat of .
Some writing on the skin has a lot of well know preppy collages. Harvard, Taft, ’25, Dartmouth, Moses Brown, other names maybe people. Is there any way to find the date of this instrument? What could the value of this be. It does need a little t l c. The case is battered but still able to contain it ok. As you probably can tell I don’t know much about but the base is separate from the neck?? Clean seperation, caused by a fall. Thanks for any information you can share.

 

Mid-Mo Banjar says:
October 6, 2016 at 1:14 pm

Janice- Thanks for your query. Vega banjo SN 54016 was manufactured in 1923. Frequently in those days, owners would put inscriptions on the calfskin head, and yours sound fascinating. As the Vega serial numbers were not coded to designate the model of the instrument, you would need to send me photos to potentially identify the model and condition to estimate its worth. If you could also cite your general location, I might be able to suggest a nearby luthier or collector with information or special interest in restoring vintage instruments. Thanks from the BRC, Barry

 

Later:

Clarence- Thanks for the multiple photos.The pot is probably originally from a “Little Wonder” Vega 4-string banjo, and the hardware looks mighty pitted and tarnished but original. The Vega imprinted calfskin head may be original, so save it for the marvelous inscriptions should it be removed and replaced with a modern plastic head. The neck looks generally straight but is tidy and surely not original. Vega made very few 5-string banjos in that era, and those models were marketed as the “Regent” banjo. The dowel stick/neck break looks like it can be readily restored with good hands, and this conversion instrument might fetch $500 or more when reconditioned. My recommendation is to contact Tommy George in Somerville, TN, who does quality restorations if you elect to do so. All the very best from the BRC, Barry

 

Ken says:
February 16, 2017 at 8:31 pm

I inherited a banjo that was owned by Pete Seger and given to my mother-in-law by Pete when she was a child (early 50s). The skin is autographed, but it is torn at the frame (from tension over the years I assume). I know nothing about banjos so I have not done anything with it other than to loosen the tension on the skin to prevent any further tearing of the autographed skin. Is there a way to repair the skin so that the banjo could be displayed with Pete’s signature? My other thought is to replace the head and display the autographed head next to the banjo. Or leave it alone and display as-is. I appreciate your thoughts, recommendations and wonder if you know someone that could repair it. I live in MI. Thank you.

Mid-Mo Banjar says:
February 16, 2017 at 11:16 pm

Ken- Thanks for the interesting query. I do not know a predictable way to repair a calfskin head that would withstand the tension seen in the material when stretched. At the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City, there is a framed banjo head on display bearing Franklin Roosevelt`s signature. Please refer to the 9-16-15 post on my website entitled “FDR and the Banjo and Eleanor” to see it. My suggestion would be to remove your autographed banjo head and frame it with a picture of Pete, as it makes a good story about a very special guy. A new banjo head could be installed at a local music store, so Seeger`s 5 stringer could be then displayed next to the signed calfskin head and his photo. Lastly, as you live in Michigan, you could consult with the Elderly Music Inc. repair shop in Lansing to see if they have any other suggestions. Good luck and all the best, Barry