Clarke County
Custom
Instruments & Turkey Yelpers
James “Winky” Hicks grew up hunting turkeys and listening to his
father play guitar. Naturally, he became a musician himself, learning very
early to play the banjo. Using his “gift of the ear,” Winky first made
turkey yelpers of old cedar and hard rock maple. He saw a direct correlation
between musical instruments and turkey yelpers and a few years ago he decided
to learn to make what he played and his first mandolin was created.
Winky begins his instruments with salvaged wood from the depth of
the Great Lakes. Long exposure to the cold water causes the cell structure of
the wood to expand, which allows sound to travel more evenly. Winky taps on the
wood before using it to test the vibration; better vibration means a higher
quality of tone. Other woods, such as curly maple, are used for the back,
sides, and neck. A Peterson 12-wheel stroke tuner is also used in the tuning
process, but Winky knows that it is his ear that does the most important work.
Winky’s instruments
can also be seen on the musical stages of Nashville and in the hands of
world-renowned musicians.