By Ericka Kastner
Fire-singed Douglas fir deadwood, collected at the base of Mount Shavano, makes up the soundboard of the steel-stringed baritone ukulele crafted by luthier Kurt Snyder. For every instrument that he makes, Kurt’s intention is to reflect the beauty and grace of the Rocky Mountains, both in styling and in sound.
Seven years ago, the Salida native grew tired of being one of eight guitar players jamming together, so he decided to move on to the banjo. 
Never one to just go out and buy something he’s decided to try, Kurt had to make a banjo before playing one. (Similarly, before he learned to paddle on the river, Kurt constructed a kayak out of layered blue Styrofoam insulation skinned with fiberglass. He later ran it 56 miles down the lower San Juan River, and the kayak still hangs from the ceiling of his workshop.)
Kurt’s inspiration to build a banjo came from a book in the Foxfire Book series, dedicated to preserving the traditional folk culture of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. He’d been exposed to the books as a boy, and one of the chapters provided step-by-step instructions on how to assemble an old-time banjo.
That was in 2008, and 14 banjos, three mandolins and one ukulele later, Kurt’s “fledgling side project” of making entirely wood banjos for himself has expanded a bit. Other musicians are now strumming away on his handiwork in homes as far away as Pullman, Washington and Belfast, Maine.
In order to avoid producing the sawdust generated by power tools, Kurt meticulously crafts each instrument by hand. In addition to fir, Kurt utilizes Engelmann spruce and Rocky Mountain juniper to fashion the soundboard, or the top, of each Kutthroat instrument he builds, harvesting and milling the wood himself. These tone woods produce warm, inviting notes when used in an instrument.
Locally grown hardwoods, used for necks, sides, backs and the hoop of a banjo, are a little more challenging to come by, Kurt says. Recently, he’s begun incorporating urban black walnut harvested from diseased trees in Cañon City into his instruments. When hardwoods are in short supply, Kurt uses walnut from near his wife Janine’s childhood home in eastern Washington. He shapes the necks using a spokeshave, a tool originally designed to carve wooden spokes for wagon wheels.
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Kurt only recently began to market his Kutthroat instruments beyond his friends and family. At the Salida SteamPlant Guitar Expo in March of this year, he made a connection with Kent Viles, owner of Castle Creek Guitars in Gunnison. Kent (affectionately referred to by Kurt as “the man”) generously agreed to accept Kurt’s instruments on consignment, and his first sale, a long-necked banjo, went out the door in five days. Kurt also credits Jeff Bamburg with loaning him tools and offering woodworking advice along the way.
Salida artist Stephen Smalzel has a custom Kutthroat neck on his familiar banjo. Kurt himself plays banjo in the whiskey-grass band Old Mose, and fellow band member, guitarist Josh Rogers, has a custom Kutthroat neck on a banjo that he owns.
Kurt says his open-backed banjos are designed to play old-time music well. “I offer resonators, but bluegrass is not my forte.” His baritone ukulele can be strung with either steel or nylon and subsequently can be played like a four-string tenor guitar. In his home, Kurt proudly displays and plays his one-of-a-kind double-headed fan-fretted banjitar, or “Dubbelheader.”
Since building that first instrument years ago, Kurt continues to play the banjo, and “just enough mandolin to be dangerous. What is it that they say? All you need is three chords and the truth.”
kutthroatstringworks.com
email: drawnwild@gmail.com
Word-lover and ukulele neophyte Ericka Kastner writes and strums from her loft in downtown Salida. View Ericka’s work online at erickakastner.com.
