+1 (707) 845-9524 Today, Levinger is the proprietor of Players Vintage Instruments, where he buys and sells vintage guitars, mandolins, banjos, and other musical instruments. Length 56.5 cm, diameter of body 20 cm. SC.nb("info", "recordingking.com", "", "", ""); The one-armed banjo maker. Intrigued by what he witnessed and the banjo, in particular, the younger Seeger began learning to play. The banjo is a stringed instrument that is, or has been, prominent in American folk, country, bluegrass, ragtime, and jazz music. However, the nature of the fixed intervals requires some compromise in intonation. They share features that differentiate them from West African lutes, including a flat, fretless fingerboard, wooden friction tuning pegs, and the way the neck enters and attaches to the gourd body. Played in the rural South since the second half of the nineteenth century, the banjo rose to become prominent in folk, country, Enslaved West Africans in the Caribbean created a new instrument by incorporating elements of European instruments into the familiar design of their plucked spike lutes. Box 8190 It has big resonant bass notes that you don't find on a 5-string banjo, and also crisp highs for that beautiful banjo tone. The banjo is frequently associated with folk, bluegrass and country music, and has also been used in . Greenbrier, TN USA 37073 An entirely different approach to pot construction. By the 1850s, the banjo had become an integral part of American culture. Russell Springs, KY USA 42642 These two earliest known white banjo players could both claim Appalachia as "home." I owned an Epiphone long-neck in the '60s and it was an excellent banjo. These banjos can have 10.5, 11 or 12 inch pots; with any rim/ tone ring combination available including Electric Prototype, Bacon reproduction, Whyte Laydie, Tubaphone, Dobson; and a standard 25.5 inch scale length, or a shorter 23.5 inch. Check out our early banjo selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Most banjos today are fretted, though some musicians play fretless. The Banjo Reserve recently contacted Simon Middleton, Founder and Managing Director of The Great British Banjo Company, . +420-603-868120 Carter's Price Guide to Antiques in Australasia is Registered Trademark of John Furphy Pty. Mostly open-back models. Mesa, AZ USA 85201 +420 241 760 704 P.O. In the book, historian Pete Ross concludes, All three banjos differ enough from African instruments while sharing some details specific to later banjos played and made by European Americans to place them at a point in the banjos history where it was no longer simply a relocated African instrument, but on its way to attaining the structure of the well-known antebellum nineteenth-century banjo.. Maker of dance organ orchestrions (early years), piano orchestrions (limited production, early years . Maker: Intermountain Guitar and Banjo Year: 1977 Notes: One of a handful of complete Whyte Laydie Banjos produced by Intermountain Guitar and Banjo. The genre is part of the Americana or American roots music category, which includes elements of traditional folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. Timothy Twiss plays the basic movements described in Briggs' Banjo Instructor. www.epiphone.com PETE ROSS is a banjo maker, researcher, and musician who lives in . S.S. Stewart began making banjos in 1878, and along with others, led the way in developing hybrid banjos banjeaurines (patented by Carlin, Bob. Conway, Cecilia. The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. By the end of the century, banjo repertoire had expanded from plantation and minstrel tunes to include sentimental popular songs, waltzes, mazurkas, polkas, and ragtime. Know anything? 5, circa 1920, maker and model number impressed to the head stock, the fingerboard inlaid with mother-of-pearl. This design was firmly ingrained in the New World, as evidenced by the following instruments found across time and distance: the strum strump observed in Jamaica in the late 1680s, the early gourd banjo in John Roses watercolor (sometimes called. SC.nb("lindsaylewellen", "gmail.com", "", "", ""); www.recordingking.com Urbana: Illini Books, 1994. Seegers 1948 book How to Play the 5-String Banjo taught countless aspiring banjo players. They share features that differentiate them from West African lutes, including a flat, fretless fingerboard, wooden friction tuning pegs, and the way the neck enters and attaches to the gourd body. The most technically advanced banjo of the early minstrel period. University of Tennessee Press, 1995. The Birth of the Banjo: Joel Walker Sweeney and Early Minstrelsy. Any thoughts? Geared tuners and frets are not part of their skill set or among their usual tools of the trade. Philadelphia was a centre of activity for banjo making in the early 1880's and it may be that he was one of the wood workers that cashed in on the banjo craze. Horsefly, BC CAN V0L 1L0 +353 91 796156 Banjo, Mandolin, and Guitar Club at West Virginia University in 1896. Haslett, MI USA 48840 He used European drum technology to attach the head, which provided a mechanism for controlling the instruments tone. The Banjo's Early Days. Uncle Dave Macon: "Take Me Back to My Old Carolina Home". 301 Church Street SC.nb("fiddlintim", "gmail.com", "", "", ""); Chuck Lee Banjo Company, Inc. Every Bad River Banjo is built one-at-a-time at a deliberate pace, with tools and methods from the late 19th and early 20th century. Hendersonville, TN USA 37075 SC.nb("phopkins", "united.net", "", "", ""); I have absolutely no information for this brand at all other than having seen several McKinley banjos, which impressed me. Titusville, FL USA 32780 Earl Scruggs and His Blue Grass Boys with Earl Scruggs on banjo: "Why Did You Wander". SC.nb("zachary_hoyt", "yahoo.com", "", "", ""); 118 M Mid Town Court dphopkinsbanjos.com +1 (339) 219-3047 Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and others carried country-rock into the 1970s and beyond. Dubois, Laurent. . SC.nb("greg", "buckeyebanjos.com", "", "", ""); Rostislav ?apek 1922 West Banta Road Inclusion is at my sole discretion. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. www.deanocraft.com Saga Musical Instruments SC.nb("phopkins", "united.net", "", "", ""); A division of Gibson. The Desert Rose website is no longer reachable. Also see the SHS online store at www.shop-shs.comand the SHS main site at www.shsint.net. Historians refer to these new instruments as early gourd banjos. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press, 2016. John Tyler was US President, slavery was not going to be abolished in the USA for another 23 years . Hickler Banjo LLC was established in 2007, but founder Mark Hickler began building musical instruments as a teenager. SC.nb("banjobart", "aol.com", "", "", ""); Rob Bishline Hirata- Nishi 1-2-16 1F +1 (303) 449-0041 They also composed new songs on the banjo, often devising unique tunings for the instrument to achieve the desired tonalities. While it was released with little fanfare in early 2009, it has proven to be one of the year's long-fuse albums, its subtle charms and subtle melodies creeping up and working their way . These "Minstrel Era" wooden rim banjos are the result of those years of study. Asheville, NC USA No banjos currently in production, a sad condition for a past great name in instruments. Every Bad River banjo is crafted one at a time in the old-time . The akonting, ngoni, molo, and gurmi are among the African relatives of the banjo. Ovilla, TX USA 75154 First introduced to the United States by African Americans in southern slave communities, the early banjo was construed with a gourd head and four gut or vine strings. $1,850.00 USD - Used - Excellent Condition. The earliest instruments came to our shores as part of the slave trade. New Lost City Ramblers: "I Truly Understand" (1958). Many details of these early gourd banjos are evident in the instruments built by European American banjo makers in the mid-nineteenth century. When Earl Scruggs replaced original Blue Grass Boys banjo player David Stringbean Akeman in 1945, the bluegrass sound fully emerged. SC.nb("sales", "SHSAudio.com", "", "", ""); Frank Neat Length 92.5 cm, Tenor/Plectrum banjo, c1970 in as new condition. www.chuckleebanjos.com James established his mechanized instrument factory in Connecticut in the late 1840's Ashborn was the first to apply mass production principles to banjo and guitar making, transforming the homemade artifacts to commercial products. Farris Travel Banjo Company This period in America played a pivotal role in the history of the Dixieland banjo by fostering technological advances to the instrument, which would allow it to be adopted by many musical genres and eventually jazz. The strings are attached to the neck with leather or cloth rings. Welcome to the Vintage Banjo Maker, please do sign up for email updates to keep in the loop about new additions to our research coming soon! This is surely a disturbing trend. Plus, great banjo makers craft long-lasting instruments! Some localities in the Appalachians developed distinctive designs for homemade banjos. SC.nb("manbdawson", "frontier.com", "", "", ""); Founded by Lo Gordon, now in the hands of his son. Until the 1840s, banjos were homemade gourd-bodied instruments. Blue Lake, CA USA 95525 The, was a set of six long-playing records that compiled eighty-four songs initially released on, Realizing the recordings were made only a few decades earlier, disciples of the. Modeled on the designs of William A. Cole's 1890s banjos, this instrument has the highly-ornate inlays of the Boston banjo makers but designed with a lower action and steel strings for contemporary five-string players. began seeking out some of the performers. Virtuosos like Bela Fleck have continued to extend the range of what a banjo can do. South San Francisco, CA USA 94080 By the early 1940s, musicians introduced electric guitars in jazz and blues. Many details of these early gourd banjos are evident in the instruments built by European American banjo makers in the mid-nineteenth century. A Mozart banjo, length 100 cm with hard case, stand and book, An antique five string banjo, John Grey & Sons, London, early 20th century, the brass rim and back cast with Eastern inspired decoration enamelled in red and black, with engraved mark to the armrest and metal label to the head, length 95 cm, Cuckoo vintage English four string banjo, late 19th early 20th century, 27 cm drumhead, 75 cm long, A vintage banjo mandolin, early 20th century, 61 cm long, English ukulele banjo, by John Grey & Sons, model George Formby, serial no. Mills River, NC USA Conway, Cecelia. The 1890s brought the dawn of recorded sound with Thomas Edisons phonograph and Emile Berliners gramophone. models. Old-time banjo players Clarence Ashley and Dock Boggs enjoyed new opportunities to record and perform on stage at folk festivals, coffeehouses, and college campuses. SC.nb("ballardbanjers", "yahoo.co.uk", "", "", ""); Bart Reiter The builder must make and sell at least 12 banjos per year or have a history of having done so. Its loud, bright sound cut through jazz bands and dance orchestras, providing a solid rhythm. The brand focuses primarily on creating high-quality acoustic stringed instruments, with options available to all ability levels, styles, and budgets. www.levanbanjos.com www.grundybanjos.com While Briggs' tutor includes guitar-style playing in addition to downstroke, he was more interested in promoting his invention, the banjo thimble. +1 (951) 486-1456 The genre is part of the Americana or American roots music category, which includes elements of traditional folk, country. As products from mail-order companies like Sears & Roebuck became available in the late nineteenth century, rural Americans increasingly purchased inexpensive manufactured instruments. Thomas Dartmouth Rice started the minstrel craze in 1828 with his song and dance Jump Jim Crow. Joel Walker Sweeney was the first minstrel performer to play the banjo. I have a particular love for early banjo toys, which includes makers such as Jerome Secor, Ives, Guntermann, Reed, Courier, Phalibois, Vichy, etc. An impressive list of artists. Most experts Leon Ballard SC.nb("info", "cbguitars.com", "", "", ""); Mike Dawson, Luthier These books demonstrate a transition in playing technique from the African-rooted downstroke, utilized by Black musicians and. The banjo clock was developed at the beginning of the 19th Century by renowned clock maker Simon Willard in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Ltd. trading as CARTER'S Publications. Laemouahuma Daniel Jatta with an akonting (photo by Chuck Levy). Jim has had access to a vast array of surviving early banjos through the generosity of banjo history experts, collectors of early musical instruments, and museums. Spike implies that the neck passes over or through the body of the instrument. Mazow, Leo G. Picturing the Banjo. Some 5-strings are made each year. Box 132 which was documented in its early days by an English settler within the same rural region . They were instrumental in bringing bluegrass to a wider audience through television, radio, and live performances. When, Through the 1920s and early 1930s, the guitar gradually replaced the banjo in, As the banjo made inroads into middle-class American parlors during the second half of the nineteenth century, it also became integral to the music of the rural South. Players formed banjo orchestras out of these family members as well as related instruments like mandolin and guitar. Now owned by Geoff Stelling. I have worked with world renown banjo maker Kevin Enoch since 2004, collaborating on the design of his esteemed Dobson line, and creating much of the design and inlay on his most ornate banjos. 3563 Highway 231 North Pollock Pines, CA USA 95726 The first banjos were used by African American immigrants in the deep south. The Earl Scruggs Deluxe five-string banjo made for Scruggs by Vega in 1960 bore more of a resemblance to their ultra fancy tenor and plectrum banjos than the austere five-string banjos typically associated with folk and country musicians. The tenor banjo lacked the short fifth string, which provided a single-note musical drone. Franklin, TN USA www.tranjo.com James Hartel has been making and playing banjos on and off since 1973 when he made a banjo for his 2 year old daughter. The banjo is patterned after detail from "The Old Plantation" painting. Zachary Hoyt He had led the progress of the 5 string banjo to its peak, both as a piece of 1873 two Johns, Dallas & Brewster, were making banjos in Oxford Street, London but after a few years they split and Dallas went out on Was something wrong with the basic Sweeney design? +1 (417) 839-5951 Putting that aside, the early paragraphs are informative; banjo's African roots and early American incarnations in 19th century are . SC.nb("hatfieldbanjos", "scrtc.com", "", "", ""); Allen & Monte Hendricks www.ballardbanjers.com He has published detailed research into the banjo rim construction. +1 (503) 568-3044 University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2006. American Banjo Makersby Stuart Cohen Recomposed by Steve Trussel This list first appeared in an article in Volume 7 Number 1 of Mugwumpsmagazine of which Michael I. Holmesis publisher and editor. +1 (260) 657-5486 Matsumoto, Nagano Japan 399-0015 Between the 1930s and 1960s, American roots music enjoyed successive waves of interest. In the 1830s, a man named Joel Walker Sweeny was one of the first minstrels to play the banjo on stage. Prominent players today include Jake Blount, Otis Taylor, Corey Harris, and Taj Mahal. While some continued to play the instrument, there was a steep decline in the presence of the banjo in Black music. Gura, Philip F., and James F. Bollman. On June 19, 2022, I finally removed Gibson from the list. However, bluegrass incorporates jazz influences and emphasizes instrumental virtuosity and improvised solo breaks, which were not prevalent in old-time music. Tommy Jarrell and string band with Ray Chatfield on banjo: "Sally Anne" (1983). Not all brands have been created . www.hatfieldbanjos.com In the late 1930s, mandolinist, singer, songwriter Bill Monroe formed The Blue Grass Boys, the band primarily responsible for developing bluegrass music. Plucked means that it produces sound when the strings are struck or plucked. www.stellingbanjo.com Council (FSC). SC.nb("tom", "banjo.ie", "", "", ""); Jeffrey P. Kramer The sound of the banjo became commonplace with their theme song for the television show, (1962-1971) and the prominent placement of their instrumental Foggy Mountain Breakdown in the 1967 film, Other prominent bluegrass banjo players, including Don Reno, Sonny Osborne, and Bill Keith, followed in Scruggs footsteps and broke ground of their own. For all custom orders, I ask for a $300 non-refundable deposit, 1/2 of the total estimated cost of the banjo when I begin building, and the remainder upon completion. Unique, clever, a must-see. SC.nb("info", "deeringbanjos.com", "", "", ""); Scott also heads the Recording King custom shop in Japan. property of those builders. The folk music revival took a turn towards folk-rock in the mid-1960s, as Bob Dylan plugged in, and the Byrds played folk songs with electric guitars. 18124 Bull Rapids Road 1739 South Sheridan Rd. . Association with these genres, and the diminished presence of the instrument in twentieth-century African American music, led to the banjo becoming a representation of rural White culture. +1 (650) 588-5558 Length 63 cm. Mark Hickler Temlett Maker/ London', 89 cm long, English zither banjo, by Windsor, no. 1026 W. 6th Place SC.nb("info", "omebanjos.com", "", "", ""); Scott Phillips By the mid-1800s, the banjo had become a popular instrument in Europe and America, and quickly became a staple of folk, bluegrass, and country music. error? P.O. Greg Galbreath gourd banjo. Your donation to Ballad of America, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, will teach America's music to children and adults, develop resources for teachers, and build a free online library that promotes appreciation of the ways in which different cultures have contributed to America's musical landscape. Does the peg head profile really tell you the maker? While musical tradition runs strong in bluegrass, a generation of younger players started taking the music in new directions in the 1970s. One of two makers of the Encore Automatic Banjo, incorporated in 1896. He soon dispensed . We are always interested in purchasing clocks by any of the clock makers listed below. In the 1920s, record companies discovered and nurtured a market for Southern rural music. During the late 1920s, he recorded for various companies race record lines, which captured African American blues, jazz, and gospel music and marketed to Black record buyers. won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. +1 (901) 517-5867 to answer this question you have to relate banjo manufacturing in both the USA and the From the cubby box of a JA Turner "Alvey" 5 string, how about this little collection, probably cost about six and thruppence ha'penny in Two top-of-the-line instruments from two top makers plying their trades across the pond. Banjo maker Jim Hartel on the African heritage and American history of the banjo. Bryson City, SC USA Most colleges had banjo orchestras (sometimes calling them "banjo clubs") by the 1890s [29]. +1 (615) 456-5486 Fretted instruments, such as guitars and mandolins, are generally easier to play in tune than unfretted instruments, such as violins, violas, and cellos. SC.nb("info", "bishlinebanjos.com", "", "", ""); Moreno Valley, CA USA 92552 Baltimore City . Virginia Minstrels spawned many imitators, and the instrumentation and general format of the skits and music became somewhat standardized. Starting in the 1840s, blackface minstrel performers began popularizing the banjo among middle-class Whites who purchased manufactured instruments and learned to play. Black musicians played the banjo to accompany singing and dancing, sometimes with percussion or hand clapping. 7 years earlier was the Well built in Philadelphia (note the rosewood pot) around 1886 this 130 year old Samuel Stewart Piccolo travelled the world and ended up except Samuel S Stewart was not a well man. In 2019, Giddens, in collaboration with Black banjo players Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell, released the album, . Danny Moloney Banjo Roots and Branches. Bluegrass, both progressive and traditional, old-time, and Americana music are still going strong in recordings, concerts, and gatherings of musicians and fans at festivals. Between 1893 and 1917, he made more than 500 recordings of ragtime songs, marches, and minstrel material. The ensemble included banjo, fiddle, tambourine, and bones, a percussion instrument made from animal rib or shin bones. Born in 1865, W. E. Temlett left school at the age of 14 and entered his father's factory and it was not long before he was appointed manager. Huber Jim Mills 5 string Banjo Rare Gold Plated . Cannons output included bluesy and jazzy music, and he played banjo with both downstroke and up-picking styles. made exclusively for Elderly Instruments and can be found on their website here. SC.nb("theboss", "sloanbanjos.com", "", "", ""); Scott Vestal 791 Burton Ridge Road Today, the banjo can be heard in virtually every genre of music. 5680 Valmont Road www.wildwoodbanjos.com, The Banjo Loft +1 (570) 924-4080 Type of wood 1.4 4. thanks, George James Hartel has been making and playing banjos on and off since 1973 when he made a banjo for his 2 year old daughter. Carlin, Bob. Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 2016. Early Baltimore Banjo Manufacturers Pete Ross and Greg Adams will revisit the Baltimore Museum of Industry exhibit on William Boucher and what we've learned about Baltimore banjo manufacturers since then. 3 special model, New York, circa 1915, the fingerboard intricately inlaid with abalone shell along with the Company logo to the headstock, with an open back, the label to interior of rim, 78 cm long, American banjo, by Samuel. Length 76 cm, A Windsor Premium No. Bluegrass is rooted in the rural music of Appalachia as captured on the, Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt left the Blue Grass Boys to form Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1948. Ltd. trading as CARTER'S Publications. Eggleston, VA USA 24086 If you know of any builders not on this list, please let me know. The pairing of fiddle and banjo, which integrated Celtic American fiddle and African American banjo styles, became central to song and dance traditions. Zubatho 9, 150 00 1870-Uncle Dave Macon born in Tennessee 1878-Henry Dobson produces 5 string with frets (made by Buckbee) 1880-1890 Fairbanks and Cole of Boston. Ken LeVan Progressive bluegrass, or newgrass, draws from a wider pool of musical influences than traditional bluegrass and might include more rock and, , which prompted tremendous interest in the raw, rural sounds of the banjo. The vast archives of 20th-century recordings of African American banjo players and Haitian banza players, recorded by John Werk III, Alan Lomax, and others for the Library of Congress and Smithsonian, capture what people who otherwise were relatively voiceless were singing, and therefore what they were saying and thinking about in different In its earliest form, the banjo can be traced as far back as 1620. . I am obsessed with banjo as a tool of reclamation for African American artists.. Pete Seeger, son of musicologist Charles Seeger, first heard the 5-string banjo in 1936 at the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in western North Carolina, organized by Bascom Lamar Lunsford. 2 - First Staghorn and first Stelling designed, built for Brian Welchel, also a student. He's done ground breaking research on early banjo makers William Boucher Jr. and Levi Brown, and was co-curator with Greg Adams and Bob Winans of the exhibit Making Music: The Banjo, Baltimore and Beyond. In 1855, Tom Briggs, a minstrel banjo player and teacher, published Briggs Banjo Instructor, the first in a series of banjo tutors published over the following decades. Lacona, NY USA 13083 The efforts of the Gretsch, Vega, Stewart, Gibson and other banjo companies standardized the commercially manufactured 5-string: 11 inch head, 22 frets, 19 inches from nut to shell, position markers at designated frets. Though there is little documentation, some may have picked up the instrument before the rise of, Musicians adapted various genres to the banjo, including, In the 1920s, record companies discovered and nurtured a market for Southern rural music. In the early twentieth century, manufacturers introduced the four-string, or tenor, banjo. Although the early history of the banjo is not really clear, most people believe the origin lies in instruments from Africa (see ngoni and akonting on the page Africa). William Boucher, Jr., the earliest known commercial manufacturer, started building banjos around 1845 from his shop in Baltimore, Maryland. Dorset, VT USA 5251 It features 100 "milestone instruments" with in-depth coverage, including model details and beautiful photos.