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Help identifying tenor banjo
I have an older 19 fret Tenor Banjo that someone gifted to me a few years ago. I finally decided to take it to my luthier and get it fixed up and playable. I have looked eveywhere and there are no names or markings to be found. I was hoping that someone might be able to indetify it or age it? Here are some pics I snapped of the headstock, resonator and metal trim ring before dropping it off. Any help would be appreciated
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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot Last edited by LewisBrookshire; 10-16-2018 at 05:14 AM. |
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Hi Lewis.
There are savvy folks at the Bangohangout forum who could help you. . |
#3
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Lewis, the flange on the resonator and the decal on the back of it indicate to me that the banjo was American-made. There's a different appearance to the British-made banjos from the same period. But more than that, I can't tell you.
It might be useful if you could post some photos of the tone ring and rim: point the camera at the inside of the banjo underneath the drum head. There might be a metal tone ring that rests on top of the wooden rim, and depending on how it was made and what it's made of, we might be able to learn some more. But don't get your hopes too high. There were a LOT of manufacturers who attempted to cash in during the tenor banjo craze of the 1920's, and many of them didn't stay in business very long. One thing will help us date it: count the number of frets on the neck. The earlier tenor banjos had 17 frets, but then as jazz music became more popular, around 1922 there was an abrupt change to 19 frets. I will say that the pictures we've seen so far indicate to me that this was an inexpensive instrument, possibly sold in a mail order catalog. But more photos will help. Wade Hampton Miller |