After the blizzard of high-tech products from NAMM, it's nice to get back to some good, old fashioned, real instruments. I was delighted to hear from Sam Farris: "You might be interested in my Tranjo travel banjo design. I'm the designer/inventor of what I call the 'Ultimate Travel Banjo'".
The Tranjo is a fantastic looking thing: The tuning heads are hidden behind the drum head and the strings pass over what look like handmade wooden rollers to get there. On the back there's a little compartment, sealed by a credit-card sized metronome, for the capo and picks. And the neck comes off, so the whole thing can fit into carry-on luggage. And all for $700. Good work, Sam!