billbarol
Well-known member
This is a beautiful instrument in excellent condition. I bought it from a guy in Glendora CA a couple of months ago in the hope that it'd be appropriate for George Formby-style repertoire. Which it would, except that I've discovered I'm really not a banjo uke player. So I'm moving it along. Here's the description the original seller, who's way more knowledgeable than I am, posted with the listing. It's detailed and highly accurate.
"This is an unmarked banjolele built by the Slingerland company of Chicago in the late 1920s. The 8" rim is made of very nice solid birdseye maple as is the resonator. With the tensioning hoop the rim measures 8.5" across. The rim and resonator are in amazingly good shape. The dowel stick and neck are maple as well. An interesting feature on this banjo uke is the presence of a heavy 1/8" diameter steel tone ring that sits on top of the rim underneath the head. This gives the banjo an amazing amount of power and clarity. Many folks feel these Slingerlands rival the Gibson banjo ukes, which are excellent instruments. The fretboard and peghead overlay are dyed pearwood. The fretboard has a pattern of 6 diamond shaped mother-of-pearl markers. Original bone nut. All of the hardware on as well as inside the rim is present, original, and in very nice condition. The calf skin head is original as well and in great shape.
The scale length on this banjolele is 13.75" and the fretboard has 15 frets. The original bridge was missing and has been replaced with a maple and rosewood Grover banjolele bridge. Also, the tuners have been replaced with brand new very high quality Gotoh planetary geared ukulele tuners. These are amazing tuners that turn like butter and hold their tune very well. The neck is straight and the action is perfect. There is room for the action to be lowered some more if desired. The banjolele is strung with Aquila nylgut strings and sounds fabulous."
Please note: The instrument is not labeled Slingerland. The seller's guess, which makes sense to me, is that it was manufactured by Slingerland for resale under the banner of a local retailer. I asked him how he could be sure it's a Slingerland and this was his reply:
"I spent a lot of time looking at old banjoleles trying to figure out just what it was. There are a number of reasons I'm convinced it's a Slingerland. 1) The hardware is identical to what S. was using at the time: the heavy grooved tensioning ring, the tailpiece, the hooks and shoes, the dowel stick hardware, all are spot on for Slingerland. 2) The birdseye maple is another classic S. characteristic. 3) The headstock shape is identical. 4) The 6-diamond MOP fret marker pattern is also identical. 5) The shape/thickness of the resonator and its mounting hardware and the configuration of the mounting hardware are all identical as well. 6) The shape of the neck heel. 7) The heavy steel tone ring that sits atop the pot is another dead giveaway. I've seen many banjo ukuleles and have restored many of them, and the only ones I've ever seen this particular type of tone ring on were Slingerlands."
I'm asking $325 inc. S/H to CONUS only. I hesitated asking this much, but this this thing is HEAVY from all that metal, and will be solidly and carefully packed. If you're in or near Santa Monica CA, I'd be happy to discuss local pickup and a reduction in price. This listing does not include a case.
More photos in first reply below. Thanks for looking.
"This is an unmarked banjolele built by the Slingerland company of Chicago in the late 1920s. The 8" rim is made of very nice solid birdseye maple as is the resonator. With the tensioning hoop the rim measures 8.5" across. The rim and resonator are in amazingly good shape. The dowel stick and neck are maple as well. An interesting feature on this banjo uke is the presence of a heavy 1/8" diameter steel tone ring that sits on top of the rim underneath the head. This gives the banjo an amazing amount of power and clarity. Many folks feel these Slingerlands rival the Gibson banjo ukes, which are excellent instruments. The fretboard and peghead overlay are dyed pearwood. The fretboard has a pattern of 6 diamond shaped mother-of-pearl markers. Original bone nut. All of the hardware on as well as inside the rim is present, original, and in very nice condition. The calf skin head is original as well and in great shape.
The scale length on this banjolele is 13.75" and the fretboard has 15 frets. The original bridge was missing and has been replaced with a maple and rosewood Grover banjolele bridge. Also, the tuners have been replaced with brand new very high quality Gotoh planetary geared ukulele tuners. These are amazing tuners that turn like butter and hold their tune very well. The neck is straight and the action is perfect. There is room for the action to be lowered some more if desired. The banjolele is strung with Aquila nylgut strings and sounds fabulous."
Please note: The instrument is not labeled Slingerland. The seller's guess, which makes sense to me, is that it was manufactured by Slingerland for resale under the banner of a local retailer. I asked him how he could be sure it's a Slingerland and this was his reply:
"I spent a lot of time looking at old banjoleles trying to figure out just what it was. There are a number of reasons I'm convinced it's a Slingerland. 1) The hardware is identical to what S. was using at the time: the heavy grooved tensioning ring, the tailpiece, the hooks and shoes, the dowel stick hardware, all are spot on for Slingerland. 2) The birdseye maple is another classic S. characteristic. 3) The headstock shape is identical. 4) The 6-diamond MOP fret marker pattern is also identical. 5) The shape/thickness of the resonator and its mounting hardware and the configuration of the mounting hardware are all identical as well. 6) The shape of the neck heel. 7) The heavy steel tone ring that sits atop the pot is another dead giveaway. I've seen many banjo ukuleles and have restored many of them, and the only ones I've ever seen this particular type of tone ring on were Slingerlands."
I'm asking $325 inc. S/H to CONUS only. I hesitated asking this much, but this this thing is HEAVY from all that metal, and will be solidly and carefully packed. If you're in or near Santa Monica CA, I'd be happy to discuss local pickup and a reduction in price. This listing does not include a case.
More photos in first reply below. Thanks for looking.
