david@varian.UUCP (David Brown) (02/05/85)
I have just acquired an plectrum (four string) banjo that I wish to
convert into a five string (this is a common practice, as there are
a lot more good quality old 4 string banjos than 5; many of these were
made during the 1920's, when 4 string banjos were very popular in
jazz bands). I wish to have a new neck made, as I want to preserve
the original neck (it seems a waste to destroy beautiful old necks,
and who knows -- maybe 4 strings will come back into vogue again!).
Does anyone have any recommendations for makers or had any experience
dealing with them? If there is any interest, I'm willing to post
the results to the net, as usual (so let me know in your response if
you don't want your reply to appear in my summary). The banjo is
a Vega Tubaphone, so I'm primarily interested in makers who work with
Vega-type banjos -- though I'm interested in hearing about experiences (good
& bad) with Gibson-type makers (hints & warnings, etc.). The new neck
doesn't have to be an exact duplicate of the original Vega neck, but I
would like it to have pretty much the same feel and the decorations to
be in the same spirit.
(Alternatively, does anyone just happen to have a Vega 5 string neck lying
around that they don't need anymore since they converted their 5 string
into a tenor? ;-) ).
Thanks in advance
--
David Brown (415) 945-2199
Varian Instruments 2700 Mitchell Dr. Walnut Creek, Ca. 94598
{zehntel,amd,fortune,resonex,rtech}!varian!davidmickey@cca.UUCP (Mickey Levine) (02/13/85)
There are a number of people that would do justice to a new neck for your banjo. On the East coast, I would first reccomend Mike Allison at Providence Guitar and Banjo in Providence, R.I. In the Midwest, my recommendation would be Richealu (sp?) Banjos somewhere in Wisconsin. (Specializes in 4 string banjos only). Salt Lake City has Leonard Coulsen (sp?) at Interlake Banjo. I'm sure there are at least a dozen other recommended luthiers. Note that Mike Allison has done 3 instruments for me, an ODE 5-String (Aluminum rim), an Orpheum 5-String (from a tenor) and an 'Gibson' RB-3 copy from a pre-war tone ring. Mickey Levine decvax!cca!mickey