Meet the Maker: Robert Anderson

by John Calkin

Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021



Robert Anderson took the long road to banjo building, just as so many of us have approached lutherie. The instrument first came to his attention during a TV appearance by Eddie Peabody, but the desire to play came from Earl Scruggs via the movie Bonnie and Clyde.

“My first banjo was a tenor because I didn’t know any better.”

That’s a mistake many beginners have made. Once set on the right path, he acquired a cheap 5-string banjo just before starting college at Kent State in Ohio. As luck would have it, as he moved into his dorm room he heard bluegrass-style banjo being played in the room next door. His dorm neighbor, Ken Serger, became his first banjo instructor.