About

It was the summer of 1974 when 13 year old Rob Bishline first heard “Dueling Banjos” come on the radio and everything changed.
He spent the rest of that summer mowing lawns to save enough money to buy his first banjo at Service Merchandise.
When his dad would get tired of hearing him practice he relegated Rob to playing on the front porch. When the neighbor kids had heard enough they began to throw rocks and even once turned a garden hose on him.


Despite these humble beginnings, Rob’s passion for the banjo has carried on for over 35 years. He has become an accomplished player, teacher, repair specialist and luthier.

Rob builds every banjo with playability in mind. That is evident in the attention to detail he gives each of his hand-carved necks. Whether you prefer a fast, thin neck or one with a thicker profile, Rob will custom build your neck to fit your hands perfectly. Proper fret placement, leveling, and polishing are crucial to how the banjo performs and Rob is a perfectionist in that area. The ease of play on a Bishline banjo neck is like no other.
Tone is another area where Rob does not compromise. Bishline tone rings and rims are of the highest quality and Rob sets up each banjo to deliver the purest possible tone.

When you buy a Bishline you can choose from several custom options including: Laminated necks for strength and stability, tunneled fifth string necks, short scale necks, and radius fingerboards for ease of play, and decorative options such as engraving,  plating, powder-coating, traditional or original inlay.

When it comes to banjos, one size does not fit all.  If you want a banjo that is truly built to perform the way you want it to, let master craftsman Rob Bishline build your next banjo!

More about Rob
Ben Liggett

Ben is a talented young luthier who, like Rob, graduated from the Roberto Venn School of Luthiery. In addition to his banjo building skills, he has created his own line of  high quality electric guitars and amps, Liggett Guitars

Not only does Ben bring a lot of talent and fresh perspective to Bishline Banjos, it’s great having a young guy around to show us how to use the computer.