I was at IBMA a few months ago, and I stopped by Sam Farris’s booth where he was selling his invention, The Tranjo. The Tranjo is a travel banjo, i.e., a banjo that can be hauled around with you in a suitcase anywhere you go, and yet still sounds and plays like a banjo. This is a tall order, believe me.

I ordered one right away. This was primarily because 1) this was a full scale instrument, allowing practice of intricate “up the neck” playing, and 2) it sounds amazingly good.

What you do is you loosen the strings a little, slip the bridge out, capo at the 6th fret to hold the top half of the strings tight to the neck, and then just unscrew a wooden knobbed bolt to take the neck off, with the strings still attached! Then you can lay the neck side by side with the body, set the whole thing in a suitcase, and off you go.

When you arrive at the home of the victim(s), you unpack the innocent looking suitcase, extract the Tranjo, lay the neck in the slot, and bolt it tight, pulling the strings tight. Slip the bridge in, tune up, and off you go, charming your hosts with some sweet banjo playing! The Tranjo is an amazingly efficient bit of craftsmanship.

So here’s a quick one-take demo of the thing. I start with it disassembled (put it together off camera, but it only takes a few minutes), then play a couple of tunes - the mildly jazzy Panhandle Rag, and then Four Leaf Clover. I hope it’s enjoyable. I have no financial interest in the Tranjo, I am just a very satisfied customer.

When I posted this on YouTube, a related video came up of Bill Knopff playing Stars & Stripes Forever. He plays the high part in the middle on a Tranjo! It’s great. Be sure to check it out!