Tenor & Plectrum Banjos

We present to you one of the highest grades of Vega banjo known to exist – the Number 7 Whyte Laydie.   Fancy of appointment and aristocratically ornamented, and touting the world renowned scalloped brass tone ring that bears its name, this is the type of banjo plectrum players yearn to find their entire lives.    That’s the good part.   In reality, however, this banjo has a number of issues – one of the most important of which is that somebody has refinished the back of the neck in glossy sunburst, another of which are the small sections of missing binding.

The tenor banjo is the most popular member of the four-string banjo family. It is tuned C G D A just like a mandola, a viola or a tenor guitar. It provides the alto voice to the jazz band and excels at both rhythm and lead functions About the banjo our beloved friend, Wikipedia, says: “In almost all of its forms, banjo playing is characterized by a fast arpeggiated plucking, though there are many different playing styles.” Did you know that? I didn’t know that.

This banjo, suitable for any tenor banjo work but especially Celtic, has a 10 ½” diameter skin head – likely original – a scalloped slide-down tailpiece cover, a maple and ebony Grover bridge that is likely a replacement, an unbound ebony or stained pearwood fingerboard hosting 18 frets and 6 mother of pearl dotmarkers in 5 positions, a black overlain pickguard that comes to a point at the top and displays a “The Gibson” logo in silver silkscreen. 

This banjo is a complete mystery – the mystery part being “How in the world could somebody have owned this instrument and treated it this poorly?” This was one of the 3 top of the line Gibson banjos – every other example of this level Gibson banjo we have ever seen was in “excellent plus” because the people that owned it knew they had something valuable and so they treated it with kid gloves. It is SO improbable that somebody would beat up this banjo, made at such a lofty level in the Gibson hierarchy, to the extent that they did.

The Little Wonder is one of Vega’s prewar open-back models. It has a “rolled bead” of brass that acts as a small yet effective variation on a tone ring providing the instrument’s sound more punch and drive. It has 28 brackets, shoes and nuts (the sign reads “no brackets and shoes, no service”) and, guess what, 28 screws and washers. It has the standard Vega internal tensioner device holding the maple wooden dowel firmly to the underside of the heel, and the nickel-plated brass cube at the bottom.

in very good plus condition with worn and taped hard shell case whose hinges are broken apart. The Bacon Banjo Company of Groton,Connecticut was founded around 1906 by Fred Bacon and in the original period many of their banjos were made for them by Vega and William L. Lange (Paramount/Orpheum).

The prestigious and gold-plated Aristocrat Model Paramount sports three headstock banners – one reads “Paramount,” one reads “Wm. L. Lange” who was the company's owner and one that reads “Aristocrat Model.” 

NOW ON SALE!  OUR PRICE WAS $1129 BUT NOW: 

This example has the fairly standard 11 15/16” diameter head, which has been replaced with a frosted-on-the-face Mylar mama. We don’t see very many resonator-backed Whyte Laydies and we don’t see many full scale ones either.  This is, then a fantastic opportunity for some lucky future owner since it’s both clean, capable and affordable. 

This is an extremely handsome, and tastefully decorated, middle-of-the-line Paramount (“William L. Lange”)  tenor banjo; a fine looking professional quality performance tool, and one that, properly cared for, can likely provide its new owner another 80 years of stage, screen and radio use.  

A short scale tenor banjo has 17 frets; it was made for semi-professional musicians with small hands.  Nowadays the players of Scots and Irish music prefer this type of banjo.   

This is a semi-custom order (see More Info) Granada 40-hole archtop plectrum with some interesting features. Its gold plating is slightly dulled from time and oxidation; it shows light normal scratches and minor signs of use. It has the modestly figured maple resonator with the white-black purfling on four borders and the serial numbers written in chalk near the center back of inside resonator and also painted (with chalk for the last two digits) near the neck opening.

We present a tube-and-plate flange banjo having a refinished mahogany resonator that may not be original to this banjo rim since the serial number painted into the back of the resonator is #9113, but the serial number on the inside rim is #8826-2. The back of the neck and the headplate are refinished as well. This comes in a prewar (period) Paramount Banjo case that’s been painted and taped up. 

The ball bearing tone ring, which this banjo has, is known for its sweet, mellow response – some people say that it produces a welcoming sound that one’s significant other can listen to for hours without complaining (unless he or she likes to complain) since there is no stridency or wince-causing shrillness. For this reason it is referred to as the "poor man's flathead." Its sound is solid, stentorian, lovely and professional.  THIS WAS $3603 BUT IS NOW ON SALE!

This banjo, which started life as a 19-fret full-scale tenor, has been converted to the bluegrass paragon it always yearned to become. It not only has the greatly desired one-piece flange that fans-of-the-prewar love to find, it also has the McPeake bell bronze tone ring that makes the Welkin vibrate unceasingly. This was tagged at only $6,443 but in an effort to please you we cut the price again.  Your superb super discount price is now: 

This banjo, which bears the illustrious Whyte Laydie tone ring, has a generous head diameter of 11 7/8".  This is the perfect head size for conversion to a Round Peak old time clawhammer banjo, and this is easily obtained by simply adding a 5-string replica neck. This example has the pie plate flat resonator with one screw at the center inside back; said resonator shows a few normal scratches.THIS WAS $3087 WITH A CASH PRICE OF $2995 BUT IT IS NOW ON SALE (BIG TIME - A THOUSAND DOLLARS LESS):  

Deering 20 hole bronze tone ring, mahogany 3-ply maple rim, mother of pearl & maple inlays, the slender Deering neck shape, a zinc flange, nickel plated metal parts, and a fine satin finish makes for an exceptional full-scale tenor banjo at a reasonable price. The Deering List Price is $2,779.