Nvud!

moetrout

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New Vintage Uke Day! I snagged an old banjo ukulele off of craigslist yesterday. It is a Luxor Supreme, and says Horenstein New York. It is a soprano scale banjo ukulele with a 7 1/4" pot, looks like the wood is maple. I am wondering if there is any way to age this beauty? From some research I've done it looks like B. Horenstein & Son was in business from 1918 to 1929. They imported instruments and branded them with their own Luxor brand. Mine appears to be similar to a Gretsch Clarophone. Are there any other indicators to tell me what I have and when it was made? It is in bad, but very repairable shape right now. It needs a new head skin, tuners, tail piece, bridge and strings. I think I am just going to clean it up and play it. I won't replace anything that is not required. Tuners are questionable, I could probably keep them original, but they are sloppy. All parts need are pretty cheap, except the head skin. They are 26 bucks at Stewmac, not bad, but what other options are there? Pics later.
 
Here's a question I really need an answer to. I don't have the tail piece. I am going to buy the parts I need from stewmac.com. Do I need a tailpiece bracket? Any suggestions on which tail piece would look correct on this banjo?
 
Appears to need a new nut. This one is made out of wood. It's the size of a normal uke saddle. Would there be anything wrong with using a uke saddle instead of making a new one out of wood. The dimensions of this nut seem about that of a saddle. I think if I got a saddle blank I could make it into a nut. Crazy idea?
 
What a find! It looks like it's had a rough life, but I bet it will sing praises to you when it's fixed! Good on you for bringing it back to life. I hope you'll play it for us on YouTube someday!
 
What a find! It looks like it's had a rough life, but I bet it will sing praises to you when it's fixed! Good on you for bringing it back to life. I hope you'll play it for us on YouTube someday!

I have been wanting a banjo for a while now and to score a cool old piece like this is truly exciting to me. To bring it back to playable condition will also be fun. I know I can do it. I just don't want to dump a bunch of money into it and do a true restore.
 
There are a number of threads at Banjo Hangout. The link is one that might do the job. If not hit the search function with "wooden tailpiece" there are others. Some dealing with how to carve your own.

https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...ds-cse&usg=AFQjCNHVjAd8WfBd5Usd7cm4IWyUidv9VA

You might need to replace the fret wires. The brass one s in the pictures look pretty worn.

Good Luck with your new treasure.
 
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