Got me a banjolele

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gotta practice your split stroke, fan stroke and triplets!!

Aye ,'appen and that's just the right hand ...the left 'and 'as to "pulse" the strings ...some say tap ...some say 'ammer on/off...eeeee ba gum....
 
Jasperhappy Has a lot of Banjo-leles he sells on Ebay. Think he's in Arkansas. The portholes should be a dead give-away. the holes will project sound outward radially. I don't see much sense in that unless this machine originally had a Resonator. - They project sound forward towards the audience. It might have been a one-off experiment. Lot of that back then. The Uking tailpiece doesn't really signify. Mabe indicates. Midwestern Manufacturer. When you receive this baby check inside the pot for any patent numbers. The headstock and bridge seem reminiscent of a Slingerlands banjo-uke. Looks like a maple neck. CeeJay did they use maple in the twenty and thirties in England?
 
It has a resonator.
The neck looks like oak.
Its not a bitsa - just the paint has been removed. You can see why from my first posted link

There are some beginners tuition bits for split stroke (and the Formby solos) on my site below.
 
Hi! It's a nice-looking banjo-uke! I'd recommend leaving it in as much of its original state as you can, playability is your first consideration. Have you got it yet? What sort of music do you want to play on it? Do you like the George Formby syncopated solos? Lots of questions, sorry! I love banjo ukes, I've got 3 nice vintage ones.
 
I have a Gretsch Clarophone that looks a lot like that one. It has the port holes too. My neck is maple, yours looks to be oak.
 
Taking care of a banjolele is really not much different than caring for a banjo, and definitely different than caring for a ukulele. Suggest reviewing the videos at the below link, as they are succinct and applucable. They also make apreciating and getting the most out of the instrument a lot easier.

http://www.deeringbanjos.com/blogs/banjo-maintenance-tips
 
Hi! It's a nice-looking banjo-uke! I'd recommend leaving it in as much of its original state as you can, playability is your first consideration. Have you got it yet? What sort of music do you want to play on it? Do you like the George Formby syncopated solos? Lots of questions, sorry! I love banjo ukes, I've got 3 nice vintage ones.

No I've not got it yet, Not sure what I want to play just want to learn to play it first!
 


I have a Gretsch Clarophone that looks a lot like that one. It has the port holes too. My neck is maple, yours looks to be oak.
If you indeed have an oak neck you may have an english banjolele. Not much Maple there if any. They have autumn, no red leaves fall there. The porthles are still your best bet At identifying your beast. Many of thelinks folks have given you have lots of pictures. I haven't the time to look at much right now. The picture you found with the portholes a resonator may be a fancier version of what you have. You may have a Montgomery ward model too. They were retailers not mfrs.

Care of banjo family instruments. Think of yourself as a banjo mechanic, not a luthier.
1. First thing with a pencil mark the two corners of the bridge on the head. write this down and stick it in the case. banjos have variable scale lengths. some are better than others.
2.a Do you have a wrench for this banjo? If not get one. If more then one size is required get them all. remove the resonator. Look at tone ring or tone rim if there is one. Find the truss rod adjustment. don't mess with it but know where and what it is and think about how you might adjust it. Take your wrench and tighten the tensioning nuts. not 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 try 1,6,8,2,10,3,8,4,5 but not in order 1-10. Nuts should be snug. Repeat the tightening process when if it squeeks that is more than tight enough.
2.b Consider whether you want to put an old sock between the the neck tang and the head. If you want to do this later you'll have to remove the resonator again. The sock should be cotton, with at least one hole in it for the true Old Time sound. A piece of cheese cloth would do. Don't use a rough material or animal fiber sock. (silk is OK). The rough fibers can be a problem later. I wouldn't put a sock in yet though. I recently bought a Gold Tone BUC. I found some infants skivvies, they were loose. at least wrap them around the tang. The skivvies were fine, cotton. I took em out. BTW strumsilly I love the BUC. I call him BUCaroo Banjolele. Replace the resonator.
3. Strings: If you replace the strings more than once a decade you will be banned from the players union. broken strings don't count.
4. Tuning Always tune up before you start playing. banjos rapidly change pitch because of the head. As a banjolele player you will spend half your time tuning and half your time playing out of tune! - True.
5. Wipe down your instrument and strings after playing. Keep a cotton or cheese cloth rag in the case. A sock with a hole in it works too. Hint, Hint.
6. Check the tension now and again. It helps.
7. Don't worry about wearing through the finish on the back of the neck. This will add to resale value even on a vintage instrument. Get you a cuppa coffee at least.
 
Well it turned up today and it looks to be a bitsa, So far noticed it has a home made bridge piece the neck doesn't match the pot (been modded to fit the shape of the pot and the pot has had some balsa glued into the hole to take the smaller neck and it slighty twisting also the metal has been ground out to stop the strings catching on it.The neck/frtboard has definitely been sanded back as the rub marks are still present. I'll post some pics later little disappointed in it is it worth keeping or get my cash back?
 
Well it turned up today and it looks to be a bitsa, So far noticed it has a home made bridge piece the neck doesn't match the pot (been modded to fit the shape of the pot and the pot has had some balsa glued into the hole to take the smaller neck and it slighty twisting also the metal has been ground out to stop the strings catching on it.The neck/frtboard has definitely been sanded back as the rub marks are still present. I'll post some pics later little disappointed in it is it worth keeping or get my cash back?
Are you on facebook? I recommend you to join the group banjolele underground to chat and share pics with the UK GFS members on there.... meanwhile, how does it play? Can you tune it, does it hold its tuning? A new bridge will cost about £3.... do you know how to place the bridge? Do post some pics on here to show the things you need help on! Maybe you need to ask for your money back, I don't know - you don't say what you paid., or how the uke was described..... :)
 
Hi Some pics as managed to get round to taking some, Paid £84 for it described as in the ad I linked to, You can see the neck has been cut to fit and not very good either, If it was just a bridge I wouldn't mind, Velum also has some holes in it.
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