Testing Wood Tonerings

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.75" depth
- 0.6" wall thickness
- PureTimbre™ maple
- African blackwood

My Judgement:
Made with PureTimbre™ one-ply maple rim blank. Compared with a rim made from a Cooperman 3-ply rim. An outstanding rim.See Article.

Cripple Creek*
Flop Eared Mule*
Run Johnny Run* 
Arkansas Traveler* 

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.75" depth
- 0.6" wall thickness
- Cooperman 3-ply
- African blackwood

My Judgement:
Very good rim tested against the PureTimbre™ rim above. See Article.

Cripple Creek*
Flop Eared Mule*
Run Johnny Run*
Arkansas Traveler* 

- 12" outer diameter
- 3.0" depth
- 0.7" wall thickness
- Soft maple rim
- Grenadilla tone ring**

My Judgement:
Moderate power. Balanced and very sweet.

Arkansas Traveler*
Flop Eared Mule*  

- 11" outer diameter
- 3.0" depth
- 0.6" wall thickness
- Cherry rim
- Cocobolo tone ring
- Purfling: brown and white

My Judgement:
Surprising variety of voices. Clawhammer and three-finger styles sound balanced. Dobson-like sweetness.

Arkansas Traveler
Flop Eared Mule
Run Johnny Run
Katie Hill



 
 

-11" outer diameter
- 3.0" depth
- 0.6" wall thickness
- Cherry rim
- Cocobolo tone ring

My Judgement:
Moderate power. Dobson-like sweetness.

Flop Eared Mule
Arkansas Traveler
Cold Frosty Morning

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.75" depth
- 0.75" wall thickness
- Walnut rim
- Cocobolo tone ring
- Purfling: curly maple

My Judgement:
Warm, full tone. Some of my favorite rims are walnut/cocobolo rims and this one will not disappoint.

Sandy River Belle (sounded so good I had to add guitar and bass!)
Soldier's Joy 

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.75" depth
- 0.6" wall thickness
- Maple rim
- African blackwood tone ring
- Purfling: black and white

My Judgement:
This rim exhibits the punchy tone typical of some African Blackwood tonerings. From a light touch to a very strong attack, this rim can project with amazing clarity.

Arkansas Traveler
Soldier's Joy

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.75" depth
- 0.75" wall thickness
- Maple rim
- African blackwood tone ring

My Judgement:
This rim has all the strength and response you expect from an African Blackwood-topped rim. The power is enhanced by an extra-broad leading edge.

Arkansas Traveler
Flop Eared Mule
Soldier's Joy
500 Miles

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.75" depth
- 0.75" wall thickness
- Maple rim
- African blackwood tone ring
- Bolivian rosewood botom cap

My Judgement:
Punchy and full tone.

Arkansas Traveler
500 Miles
Sandy River Belle

- Outer Diameter: 12"
- Wall Thickness: 0.61"
- Depth: 2.54"
- Tonering: Tea Tree
- Body: Curly Walnut
- Internal Resonator: Partial

My Judgement:
Rich tone. Lots of presence. Balanced and warm..

Arkansas Traveler
500 Miles
Sandy River Belle

- Outer Diameter: 12"
- Wall Thickness: 0.61"
- Depth: 2.54"
- Tonering: African Blackwood
- Body: Curly Maple
- Purfling: black and white

My Judgement:
Power and presence abound in this rim. Plenty of cutting power. Overall bright as you expect from African blackwood.

Arkansas Traveler
Coal Creek March
Soldier's Joy
Pretty Polly

- Outer Diameter: 11"
- Wall Thickness: 0.75"
- Depth: 3"
- Tonering: Grenadilla
- Body: Timeless Timber Birch
- Flange: Prucha

My Judgement:
Credible bluegrass tone. Inspired by the Deering John Hartford Model Banjo.

Angeline the Baker
Fireball Mail

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.7" depth
- 0.6" wall thickness
- Soft maple rim
- Grenadilla tone ring**

My Judgement:
Responsive. Overall bright, Good mid tones. Lots of sustain.

Arkansas Traveles*
Flop Eared Mule*  

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.9" depth
- 0.75" wall thickness
- Soft maple rim
- Grenadilla tone ring**

My Judgement:
Good balance. Overall medium bright. Brightens after 7th fret. More brightness sustain would bring it closer to typical bluegrass tone.

Cripple Creek*
Fireball Mail* 
Home Sweet Home* 
Katy Hill*  

- 12" outer diameter
- 2.99" depth
- 0.66" wall thickness
- TImeless Timber maple rim
- Grenadilla tone ring**

My Judgement:
Warm overall. Brightens as you go up the neck. Moderate sustain. Almost perfect. A little more punch down the neck would be nice.

Arkansas Traveles*
Flop Eared Mule*  

- 12" outer diameter
- 3.0" depth
- 0.6" wall thickness
- Maple rim
- Cocobolo tone ring
- Partial internal resonator

My Judgement:
Throaty and deeply resonant. Very pleasing timblre. Nicely balanced.

Arkansas Traveler *
Flop Eared Mule *  

- 11" outer diameter
- 3.0" depth
- 0.75" wall thickness
- Maple rim
- Cocobolo tone ring
- Partial internal resonator

My Judgement:
Responsive. Bright, but slightly throaty. Balanced. Excellent treble up the neck. This is a superior rim.

Arkansas Traveler *
Flop Eared Mule *  

- 12" outer diameter
- 2.8" depth
- 0.7" wall thickness
- Maple rim
- Grenadilla tone ring**

My Judgement:
Great bsss in double C tuning. Fun to play.  Reminiscent of minstrel tone, but not quite that deep. Plunky and resonant. 

Arkansas Traveler *
Flop Eared Mule *  

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.7" depth
- 0.75" wall thickness
- Maple rim
- Cocobolo tone ring

My Judgement:
Bright treble notes. A little lacking in the midtones. Good note separation. Not perfect, but still a good rim.

Arkansas Traveler *
Flop Eared Mule *  

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.67" depth
- 0.6" wall thickness
- Soft maple rim
- Grenadilla tone ring**

My Judgement:
Bright yet with sweetness. Great sustain, great balance and power  Wonderful clawhammer banjo with three finger-style potential. Sweet!

Arkansas Traveler *
Flop Eared Mule * 
Three-finger medly * 

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.8" depth
- 0.56" wall thickness
- Timeless Timber birch rim
- Grenadilla tone ring**

My Judgement:
Responsive with a rich, full voice. The bass does not quite match the presence of the mid and upper tones. A different setup (bridge, etc.) might solve this. Great rim!

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.7" depth
- 0.75" wall thickness
- Cooperman three-ply rim
- African Blackwood tone ring

My Judgement:
Perfect sustain, excellent balance, moderate power. Good round peak rim.

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.7" depth
- 0.75" wall thickness
- Birch block rim
- Blackwood/Brass tone ring

My Judgement:
Like rolled brass but warmer. Bright, loud. More sustain than ideal..

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.7" depth
- 045" wall thickness
- Curly Maple rim
- Padauk tone ring

My Judgement:
Acceptable tone, but a little anemic. Perhaps lack of mass is the cause.

- 11" outer diameter
- 5/8" wall thickness
- Walnut rim
- Cocobolo tone ring
- Herringbone Purfling
- Cocobolo bottom edge

My Judgement:
Spectacular warmth and presence.

 Soldiers Joy

- 11" outer diameter
- 3" depth
- 0.71" wall thickness
- Timeless Timber Birch
- Padauk tone ring

My Judgement:
Good all-around response. A little lacking in power. Walls to thick?

Arkansas Traveler
Flop Eared Mule

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.75" depth
- 0.6" wall thickness
- Timeless Timber Maple
- Black and white purfling
- Ebony tone ring

My Judgement:
Bright and responsive. It'll be a good, dependable rim.

Run Johnny Run
Johnson Boys

- 11" outer diameter
- 2.75" depth. .625"  thick
- Timeless Timber Maple
- African Blackwood tone ring

My Judgement:
A joy to play. 
Clawhammer: All the cutting power you'd ever want without the harshness of a metal tonering.
Three Finger: Nice, but no substitutre for bronze. Treble notes are more credible than bass notes.

Clawhammer
Arkansas Traveler  
Flop Eared Mule
Three-finger
Fireball Mail
Home Sweet Home