Meet Tom Nechville
Tom Nechville
Developer and owner of Nechville Banjos. Tom designs, builds, sells, services and teaches from his Tom Nechville Custom Shop at Nechville Banjos West in Sisters, Oregon.
Tom is the creator of the unique Nechville Helimount system, a radical reinvention of banjo design and technology.
Replacing more than seventy parts of a traditional banjo, the Nechville Helimount body tightens together much like a jar on a lid; greatly reducing the assembly time and improving the banjo's sound.
Banjo players who have embraced Nechville’s cutting-edge designs include Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, Noam Pikelny, Alison Brown, Tim Carter, Emily Robison (Dixie Chicks), Enda Scahill (We Banjo 3), Claudio Parravacini, (Milan Italy) and Billy Failing (Billy Strings).
Forty years ago, Tom Nechville followed his dream to create a better banjo. In 2019, Tom headed west to open a retail store in Oregon. In 2020, Tom found the perfect location on Main Avenue, less than a block from Preston Thompson Guitars, in the charming mountain town of Sisters, the home of Sisters Folk Festival. In 2022, Tom opened Nechville Banjos West & Tom Nechville Custom Shop, where today he designs & builds banjos himself, at the foot of the Three Sisters Mountains.
Tom is a member of IBMA Leadership Bluegrass Class 2011, and is a sponsor of Sisters Folk Festival, Wintergrass and the Oregon Bluegrass Association.
More About Tom Nechville
Links
Shop In-Stock Nechville Banjos
Tom Interviews Nechville Player Billy Failing
PBS Profile: Tom Nechville takes MN Original around his workshop
The Picky Fingers Banjo Podcast
Fretboard Journal Podcast: Tom Nechville
Bluegrass Today Interview with John Lawless
Bluegrass Today Video: Banjo Building's Mad Scientist
Dynamics of Banjo Sound (book)
Linda Leavitt
Meet Linda Leavitt
Meet Linda Leavitt
Linda Leavitt is a musician, writer, educator, and event producer with a passion for bluegrass music.
For nearly a decade, Linda co-coordinated Taborgrass, an adult bluegrass education program in Portland, Oregon. Linda teaches bluegrass singing and how-to-jam workshops at festivals, camps and at Nechville Banjos West in Sisters.
She has performed with Mountain Honey, John Montgomery Band, Big Dickens, Porch Cats and The Square Root Rounders. Linda currently performs with banjoist Tom Nechville in The Lois & Clark Expedition. She is onsite coordinator for American Banjo Camp. Linda is a member of the 2024 IBMA Leadership Bluegrass Class, serves on the board of the Oregon Bluegrass Association and is the editor of the association’s quarterly journal, The Oregon Bluegrass Express.
Find Linda on Facebook
and on Instagram @lleavittmusic.
Meet Linda Leavitt
Meet Linda Leavitt
Meet Linda Leavitt
Nechville Banjos West
Embrace Your Passion
At Nechville's Banjos West, your imagined banjo dreams can be realized. Whether choosing from our unique stock or custom designing your own creation, we can make it happen.
Live Life in Music
In 1986 I followed my dream to create a better banjo, Today the revolutionary Nechville banjo is found everywhere from the back porch to the center stage of popular music.
Get Inspired by the sound
At Banjos West, Inspiration comes from great design that is tailored to your specific needs and desires.
Mission
Banjos West fosters and supports the community rooted in the Bluegrass tradition by providing excellent products, services and musical experiences.