My Banjos
Zither Banjo by Temlett, 1906, The Apollo Model, No.6
For info on the ZB, visit The Art And Times Of The Zither Banjo
Gourd Banjo by Nate Calkins
The American 'plantation' banjo, as it is sometimes called, developed from the African Akonting.
This model has five strings, but earlier versions such as the one in the following picture had four
- three fingered strings and one short drone string:
Luke Mercier Fairbanks copy with Dobson Tone Ring, LM - F75, 2008
Luke is a high-quality violin maker and restorer, with a passion for 19th-century banjos.
His banjos are free of excessive decorative inlay, (thankfully), and exude quiet confidence in superior craftsmanship.
I had been giving a lot of thought to getting a newly-made banjo that would be suitable for the music of Frank B. Converse's 1886 Analytical Banjo Method, containing some of the most advanced 19th-century banjo music played in the finger-picking, 'classic' style. The banjo needed a wooden rim, gut strings tuned to eAEG#B, frets, and was looking to the future yet still steeped in the past. It was hard to find a luthier who could do that. Many makers would adapt a later design, usually by just putting nylon strings on their existing models...and some makers specialised in earlier periods such as the wonderful Ashborn and Boucher instruments.
I finally found a luthier in Canada, Luke Mercier, who makes high-quality violins, works for a historical instrument museum as a restorer, and plays and has a passion for historical banjos. He had an instrument available which was a copy of an early Fairbanks model, with minimal wood decoration on the peghead, to which he added a Dobson tone ring. Both the model and the tone ring date from a couple of years either side of Converse's publication, and even if the great man didn't play this exact model of instrument, it is of the general aesthetic of the period. So I took a gamble (I live thousands of miles away from his workshop) and ordered it.
I guess I got lucky. Ordering a musical instrument online is not the way I usually do things, but there was something about Luke’s professionalism that spoke to me. Besides, I told myself, I could always return it. As it happens, it’s a keeper!
The sound is soft and sweet, and seems to suit both the music and my way of playing - it is perfect for me. It's not for hammering out songs on a minstrel stage, or for loud rag-style orchestras, but is 'at home in the parlor', so to speak. The perfect parlor banjo.
It is a very subtle instrument indeed. It can be incredibly mellow for a banjo, but has strength as well. It's a sound I haven't really heard before from a banjo, but it's all meticulously researched - construction, strings, technique. I'd like to think that, for a while, after the minstrel period and before the orchestra/ragtime craze, this is what the homely parlor instrument sounded like.
Thanks to Luke's exemplary craftsmanship, it looks like an old original, not a modern copy, which is inspiring. Both my other banjos are 19th-century originals, and this one feels and looks the part. Tone-wise it sounds great. The fourth string has an almost double-bass-like thud to it. It certainly sounds like the bass string. I just love its thumpacious thumpocity!
The neck feels great for playing on - beautiful fretting from first to last. The pegs and peg holes are perfect, as you would expect from a respected violin maker. It already feels like an old friend.
Every note on the bass is very clear and well articulated. The balance across the strings is very even and the warmth of the bass is carried right up into the higher positions on all strings. The more I play it, the more I love it. It fills the gap between the Boucher and Ashborn on the one hand, and the SSS, later Fairbanks and Cole on the other; before the metalic pop became the norm, and a more focussed sound than the old ‘tubs’. I think it perfect for 'parlor-style' playing, and 100 per cent perfect for Frank Converse's 'Analytical Banjo Method' of 1886, which is what I wanted it for.
I've never heard a sound like this from any banjo before. There are the earlier minstrel specialists, and then early 20th-century ragtime players, but to me the really interesting repertoire is on the bridge between the two. It would be nice to think that my videos might influence some others to look more closely at the period. And now - thanks to Luke Mercier - I have the perfect instrument for the style.
See and hear this instrument on the videos page...
English classic banjo by Parslow, with a neck by Temlett
- both great English makers.
Note the early metal perch pole in the back:
Banjeaurine
Elias Howe Superbo!
A banjeaurine with 12 inch rim and 19 inch scale length; made by Cole with typical Cole hardware and attractive, snail shell inlay; ivoroid tuners and real ivory tailpiece, ca. 1890s, Serial Number: sn. 1544.
Banjeaurines were popular during the early craze for the banjo in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are generally tuned a fourth higher and used as per the violin in the banjo orchestras.
Other Non-Classic Banjos
Vega Professional Tenor (4 strings)
All original including non geared tuners; 4 piece flanges with pie sectioned resonator with tortoise side wall; classic Tubaphone tonering; unusual, with original, low tension 4 string no knot tailpiece instead of Grover Presto. The strange contraption on the front is a pick guard, which I don't use.
Modern Banjeaurine
My daughter's banjeaurine started life as an Ozark, but as that was utterly useless it has been heavily
modified by the good folks at Andy's Banjos, and is now a killer wee beastie!
I found that my instrument sounds best in Bb, just a minor third higher than normal.
Here is a list of the modifications:
tuners: planet geared set + geared 5th string peg
co-ordinator rod: 2nd (upper) rod [to stabalise tuning]
tone ring/head: heavier tone ring + Renaissance head
armrest
nylon strings & higher bridge
These simple mods have transformed it into a musical instrument - not sure what it was before...
I cannot give enough praise to Andy Perkins of Andy's Banjos.
If you want to buy a banjo or discuss
buying one - he is VERY knowledgeable, and gives a great price.
No banjo leaves his warehouse in less than tip-top condition.
See and hear this instrument on the videos page...
Gone But Not Forgotten...
These are some of my old banjos, all beautiful things, but not quite right for the repertoire I am playing.
They have been traded for other things.
SS Stewart 'Orchestra' Fretless, No. 2903, Philadelphia, c.1880
Samuel Swaim Stewart was a major force in the 'elevation' of the banjo in the latter part of the 19th century.
This is an early transition model. It retains the fretless fingerboard and large 12 inch pot of the old minstrel banjo,
but has modern features too, such as the full-spun rim of German silver covering an inner wooden rim.
See and hear this instrument on the videos page...
Thompson and Odell, 'Artist', No. 3323, Boston, c.1890
Thompson and Odell never quite reached the level of Fairbanks or Stewart, but they made fine banjos at a lower price point.
Their finest model was named after the virtuoso player, John Luscomb, with their 'Artist' series (above) coming close behind.
See and hear this instrument on the videos page...