'Hi Steve, I have received the Planet Tuners yesterday, and fited it today on a high grade artist vega neck repro by W.FAWLEY. It is a copy from a 1906 original 5th string neck ( see photo enclosed).
ARCHIVED TOPIC: Vintage Banjo Identification |
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advanceddumbo - Posted - 04/07/2015: 13:28:47
Can anybody tell me anything about this banjo?
Edited by - advanceddumbo on 04/08/2015 19:01:10
skip sail - Posted - 04/07/2015: 14:27:32
cheaply made, but intriguing , havnt seen those tuners before
jonredmond - Posted - 04/07/2015: 14:57:12
This very banjo was discussed in another collectors corner thread awhile back entitled 'mystery banjo'
beegee - Posted - 04/07/2015: 16:04:09
It looks very Oscar Schmidt-like to me. The tuner buttons are interesting. Is it possible they are Waverly-made? I have never seen any like this. I thought at first it may be Washburn, but I have no clue.
advanceddumbo - Posted - 04/07/2015: 16:30:13
Thanks guys! I thought it'd be hard to pinpoint this one. It sounds pretty good actually and plays well. The person I bought it from had it setup which is nice. Would this banjo have a truss rod? The neck is nice and straight. I'm wanting a resonator banjo so I may throw it up for sale on ebay and see what happens. This would make a good affordable vintage banjo for someone.
Edited by - advanceddumbo on 04/07/2015 16:32:37
mikehalloran - Posted - 04/07/2015: 17:17:28
>Would this banjo have a truss rod?<
No.
If there is a steel reinforcing rod, you can detect it with a strong magnet. I use my old bulk tape eraser from the 1970s.
rcmoore - Posted - 04/07/2015: 19:21:11
My memory fails me more and more; but I have some of those very friction tuners with the W (or maybe M) on the buttons. I seem to remember that they came on an old Weymann banjo; but I would not bet on it. Below are the 3 that I have.
Bob Moore
Bob Moore
Tuners |
G Edward Porgie - Posted - 04/07/2015: 20:01:30
quote: Originally posted by rcmoore
My memory fails me more and more; but I have some of those very friction tuners with the W (or maybe M) on the buttons. I seem to remember that they came on an old Weymann banjo; but I would not bet on it. Below are the 3 that I have.
Bob Moore
Bob Moore
Maybe those tuners only came in sets of three. I once had a banjo with three of those on it. It was not even close to being a Weymann. In fact, the three tuners were probably its best feature. That way I only had three strings that sounded terrible.
davidwigal - Posted - 04/07/2015: 20:23:36
'Bulk tape erasers from the 70's' Wow I remember those; I think Radio Shack sold them- as I recall I once had a plan to take over the world from the stuff that I could order from the pages of the Radio Shack catalog...
Bob Smakula - Posted - 04/08/2015: 04:46:36
quote: Originally posted by skip sail
cheaply made, but intriguing , havnt seen those tuners before
I am amused at all the tuner speculation from this banjo. They are non-original to this instrument, as they were original equipment on Maccaferri plastic guitars. I do not remember any of the model names, but the lowest priced nylon strung plastic guitars used these tuners. The higher level guitars did have geared tuners.
I will admit that the first time I saw one in a parts drawer I was intrigued. W or M. I couldn't tell.
Glad that a little of my useless knowledge can satisfy the curiosity of the banjo-centric universe.
Bob Smakula
Ira Gitlin - Posted - 04/08/2015: 05:39:02
quote: Originally posted by Bob Smakula
quote:
I am amused at all the tuner speculation from this banjo. They are non-original to this instrument, as they were original equipment on Maccaferri plastic guitars. I do not remember any of the model names, but the lowest priced nylon strung plastic guitars used these tuners. The higher level guitars did have geared tuners.
Scroll down a little less than half way: tonefiend.com/guitar/a-high-te...ears-ago/. IIRC, in the 1980s, Mandolin Brothers got a whole bunch of these in NOS condition from a warehouse in New Jersey, or something like that.
bargrasspicker - Posted - 04/08/2015: 09:27:10
heres a closeup of the Maccaferri tuners. Good catch btw!
![Vintage Banjo Identification Vintage Banjo Identification](http://www.hangoutstorage.com/banjohangout.org/storage/attachments/archived/photos/large/10/108462-12323162792015.jpg)
Ira Gitlin - Posted - 04/08/2015: 11:26:14
Yeah, Bob knows his stuff!
aulddawg - Posted - 04/08/2015: 18:30:22
And so here it is on ebay: ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Open-Back...amp;rt=nc
I haven't seen that strap across the pot instead of a dowelstick. Is that an Oscar Schmidt feature? I have a Stella made by Oscar Schmidt and while the neck is similar (heel, peghead shape) the rim is nothing like this one.
advanceddumbo - Posted - 04/08/2015: 19:11:10
I looked at pics of vintage Oscar Schmidts and didn't see any with that feature but there could've been some, maybe somebody here knows.
Edited by - advanceddumbo on 04/08/2015 19:13:29
rcmoore - Posted - 04/08/2015: 19:41:40
Ah! Now I remember. Those three tuners that I posted earlier came on an old Beltone banjo that I acquired. The Beltone is almost exactly like the one in the original post. The Beltone also did not have a dowel stick; but it did have a wooden brace fastened across the bottom of the rim just like the one in the original post. I find it interesting that both of these banjos had those tuners. Below is a picture of the Beltone with replacement tuners installed.
Bob Moore
Bob Moore
Beltone Peghead | Beltone Banjo |
advanceddumbo - Posted - 04/08/2015: 20:10:54
That is interesting! And the headstock does have a similar shape to the beltone.
Edited by - advanceddumbo on 04/08/2015 20:12:31
Roy Marchbank - Posted - 04/11/2015: 12:43:27
Hi all, first post here a complete banjo novice and probably on the wrong thread so bare with me.A friend of mine has come into ownership of a restored 1861 Henry Dobson which somehow has found its way from the states to a shop in Calcutta where it was picked up and brought back to Scotland.Is there anyone that could tell me more about its history?Not sure of its value but i assume if guitars are anything to go by it should at least be insured
Thanks in advance
Slainte!
Thanks in advance
Slainte!
Edited by - Roy Marchbank on 04/11/2015 12:46:44
We will start with the pre war Gibson banjo. This means that these banjos were made prior to 1947. The models during this time frame were the RB-1, (Straight Maple) RB-2, (Walnut) RB-3, (Mahogany), RB-75 (Mahogany) RB-4 (Burl Walnut) and the Granada (Curly Maple). These were also available in Tenor & Plectrum as well. which would be TB for Tenor and PB for Plectrum. They were produced with two different tone ring styles, the arch top (raised head) and the highly sought after flat head.
Metal was in short supply during World War II, so production was suspended during this time, although a small number of banjos were produced using the parts already made. Also in April 1947 Gibson changed their logo from script to block lettering for identification purposes. This was also the beginning of the Bowtie banjos, which lasted until 1969, but with a peg head change in 1968. The Bowtie banjos were available in arch top or flat head, and some of the flat head tone rings had 20 holes and some had 19 holes. Also the resonators were sunburst with concentric rings.
After this period Gibson reverted back to the two-piece flange banjo that they had used prior to 1930. These banjos are not favored as much as the one piece flange models. This lasted until the mid 1980’s.
In 1988 Gibson started the one-piece flange models again. Between 1988 and 1994 the banjos are referred to as the Greg Rich era banjos. This design remained in place until Gibson stopped banjo production right after the flood of the Cumberland River in 2010.
The models during this time frame include the RB-250, RB-3, RB-75 (JD Crowe), The Earl Scruggs Standard, RB-4, Granada, and the RB-7, RB-12, & RB-18, which are top tension models. They also had some specialty models like the RB-5 and RB-6, Earl Scruggs deluxe and the Blackjack Model.
The inlay patterns on these banjos were the RB-250 with leaves and bows, the RB-3 was available with the wreath pattern, leaves and bows and the flying eagle Reno pattern. The RB-75 (Crowe) had the flying eagle pattern, the RB-4 had the flying eagle pattern, the Earl Scruggs Model had hearts and flowers (also had an ebony fret board). The Granada was available with flying eagle or hearts and flowers. All had rosewood fret boards except the Scruggs model.
The Gibson banjo has had a strong legacy with bluegrass musicians. It seems that when you attend a bluegrass festival or convention, mostly what you seen are Gibson banjos or Gibson look a like banjos.
There are many Gibson look a like banjos. Many built by very good builders, and some have the Gibson logo and some have the builder’s name. Also, you can find some that are not so good.
Many other companies with slight changes have copied Gibson here and there. There is probably more Gibson style banjos made by other builders than any other banjo style.