BANJO - FAIRBANKS VEGA TUBAPHONE FOR SALE. Unbranded 5 String Unbranded 5 String Banjo W/Eagle inlays and Case. Bart Reiter Special Bart Reiter Special 5 String Open Back Banjo. Deering Goodtime Solana 6 Banjo 6-String Acoustic-Electric Banjo (Used) $596.88. 5 String Banjo 5 String Banjo w/ Closed Back 24 Brackets.
Posted -: 14:57:02The things you describe are VERY easy to fix. What you have to look deeper for is mismatched parts, repairs/replacements to anything that was ever broken, that kind of thing. This may require some expertise.If you can get lots of detailed photos, put them here on BHO and there are plenty of Fairbanks experts who'll help (I'm not a Fairbanks expert). Take a tape and measure the head diameter, distance from the nut to the 12th fret, etc.Photos of the inside are crucial. Serial # on rim and neck stick (they should match), model number, other stampings. Get good detailed photos of the metal parts on the outside of the rim, close up of the peghead front and back, tuners, condition of fretboard/frets, etc.5th peg, head and bridge are literally the least of your concerns.You're on a good quest!Oh yeah, go on line and find photos of similar banjos and familiarize yourself to the minutest detail!Edited by - The Old Timer on 14:57:37. Posted -: 17:22:05Well!
This photo looks fairly exciting!!!The serial number is stamped on the inner face of the wooden hoop/rim, also on the squarish 'dowel stick' that spans the back/inside of the rim. The 2 numbers hopefully will match. See especially if there is a 'number' after the banjo model name like Special Electric No 2, or something like that.The case is nearly as exciting as the banjo, by the way!Everything 'appears' more or less right from the front. Inspect the neck from the back, carefully looking for:cracks, unrepairedcracks, repairedis the black fingerboard on the front loose or unglued from the brown wood of the neck? (hopefully not)is the peghead (up where the 4 white tuners are) split lengthwise in any spots?Ahem, presuming you don't find anything broken, if you like this banjo BUY IT and hotfoot it out of there. This is a quite collectible instrument if all original.Don't try to clean it or do anything to it.
Find a friend or banjo expert to put a head, bridge and 5th string tuner on it, or resell it for a profit. Depending on what part of the country you live in, you'll certainly find someone who can help you.Be advised this banjo is so old it should not be played with steel/metal strings. Those white ivoroid tuning pegs were made for gut strings. Modern versions are under the brand name 'Nylgut'. Easily available. This banjo would be played for old time music, or old fashioned 'classical' banjo from around 1900.Do you play?
If not, you may want to sell this banjo (it may be QUITE valuable) and spend some of your earnings on a more beginner oriented instrument that can use modern metal strings.If you decide not to buy, I would appreciate it if you send me an email with the details of this offering, I might follow up on it.Good luck.Edited by - The Old Timer on 17:25:38.
Posted -: 07:34:24The following is based upon information I have obtained from banjos I have owned, have seen in person or have viewed in various photographs. It is by no means complete or authoritative. I would welcome any and all comments, particularly if they are constructive.There are no hard and fast rules regarding the various “Electric” designations of Fairbanks banjos but there are some generalities. Unfortunately, the only catalogues found to date are from around 1906, after the fire and the Vega buyout. To date, no one has seen fit to reproduce one of those catalogues so most of us have only bits and pieces gleaned from various Ebay offerings.The “Electric” banjo utilized the revolutionary scalloped tone ring that was patented on December 30, 1890. A few were probably produced in 1890 but the bulk of production began in 1891.
The “Electric” remained the mainstay of the Fairbanks Company until 1901 when the Whyte Laydie was introduced. Most, if not all, Electric banjos had a full-spun pot and an upright tone ring.
Full-spun means the outer part of the shell is covered in metal and the inner part is wood. Upright means the points of the scallops point up, away from the rim.The Imperial Electric banjo dates back to the very beginnings of Electric production.
The earliest one I know of is Serial Number 1212. It is based on the earlier Imperial banjos offered by Fairbanks & Cole during the 1880s. Imperials and Imperial Electrics are characterized by a half-spun pot, usually painted black or “Ebonized” at they often called it. A half-spun pot means that all of the inside of the rim and most of the outside of the rim are wood.
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The top edge of the outside of the rim is part of the metal tone ring and extends down about a fourth of the way. In addition, all of the earlier Imperial Electrics I have seen have an inverted tone ring, meaning that the points of the tone ring face down, toward the rim, rather than up as in the Electrics. They usually have an unbound fingerboard.Somewhere round the turn-of-the-century the Imperial Electrics began to change. The tone ring became upright and the neck and pot were made of unstained maple, like the Whyte Laydies and Regents.
Sometime after that, they seem to have reverted back to the painted rim and the mahogany stained necks although the tone rings in most remained upright.The Special Electric Banjo began production somewhere in the early 16000 serial number range, which means they are a somewhat later model addition, probably beginning sometime in 1897. For the most part, they seem to be slightly more elaborate versions of their Electric counterparts. They all have a full-spun pot and most that I have seen have a significantly higher than normal “electric” tone ring. Many of them have a bound fingerboard and a large percentage of these have the frets extending through the binding. When I first obtained a Special Electric No.
1, I thought someone had done a sloppy job of refretting, but Jim Bollman said about 3/4 of the ones he had seen were like this. Many of the Special Electrics have several layers of colored laminations under the fingerboard, peghead overlay and heel cap. Since they are a later addition to the lineup, most of the lesser models (No. 1) have the teardrop and crescent moon inlays which were in vogue then.
There are a lot of No. 6’s which are very elaborate. I have not seen any No. 3 Special Electrics. (There were no No. 4 Electrics of any designation)Now the problems come.
A lot of Fairbanks banjos were not stamped consistently. There are banjos with all of the characteristics of an Imperial Electric or a Special Electric that are simply stamped Electric. There are banjos with no model designation at all.
There is at least one banjo stamped Electric that has no tone ring. Many Fairbanks banjos are stamped with a model number but a lot that are not, particularly in the early days.
There are also Custom banjos that incorporate various other, special order decorations. Part of the fun is trying to figure out exactly what you have.I hope this helps. I also hope that others who have more knowledge about Fairbanks banjos will chime in. I have photographs of several of my Fairbanks banjos posted on my home page and plan to post more.
I would also suggest that you look at the following web sites to see some beautiful examples of the various Fairbanks models.Also check out the website of the late Michael Holmes at Mike has several research articles on Fairbanks/Vega banjos.Sincerely,Harry Bickel. Posted -: 08:15:33quote:Originally posted by Cullodenquote:Originally posted by DIVI love how the 'electric' models have NOTHING to do with electricity!Remember that when these banjos were new indoor electricity was a pretty new concept that was becoming the way of the future. Maybe the name Electric was meant to suggest that it was the banjo of the future?Electric was a buzzword for 'cool' at the time, just like it was in the 1960s. The popularization of electricity in the 1880s/90s led to the term being used widely. When set up in a period style with ultra-thin gut strings and a super light, all-maple bridge, the Fairbanks Electric has a truly electrifying tone.Edited by - csacwp on 08:16:33.
Posted -: 14:46:49Thanks everyone for the feedback. Harry I really appreciate all of your input, it is both informative and very interesting. I have no idea what has gotten me so hooked on Vega and Fairbanks banjos. I think it goes back to one day in the eighties when I picked up a Whyte Laydie in a local shop and strummed it.
It was truly 'electrifying.' The $850 price tag at the time was way out of reach for me, but I never stopped wanting one. Now over the years I have gathered several Tubaphones, a Senator, a Little wonder conversion, and a 1974 Vega Martin VIP. Still no Whyte Laydie, but based on my love for my 1895 Baystae with a full spun over rim, the idea of the Special Electric is very appealing.