D
dhoenisch
Guest
Well, I guess it was NUD over a week ago for me.
Ever since I joined the ukulele meetup in January and we played from our Tin Pan Ally song book, I have been wanting a banjo uke. Some of those songs just screamed for one. I can't afford a new one, and all the decent ones on eBay end up going for more than I can currently afford.
I saw this little uke on eBay with a starting bid of $39.95, and $14 shipping, though it needed some work. It was missing one peg, one was broke, and one didn't belong. The head looked like it was ready to tear as well, plus a few nicks and scratches here and there. I had a few extra bucks, so I put in my max bid of $55, assuming I wasn't going to win it as I've seen them in much worse condition going for a lot more.
Well, to my amazement, I received an e-mail that I won the auction at the starting bid. I sent payment, and four days later, I got it.
This banjo needed a little bit more work than I thought, but not bad. All the above mentioned work was needed, along with a refret and new nut.
So, I started by removing the rim to replace the head and a chunk of wood fell off. apparently a screw from the tension hoop was holding it in. A little hide glue and the repair is virtually unnoticeable. Installed the new head, performed the refret, added ebony nut, added a bridge, a new set of violin tuners (3/4 sized that I shaped and cut down to fit) and a new set of Martin Fluorocarbon strings, this little banjo uke is playing all over again. Tin Pan Alley sounds more period correct with this little instrument.
And my research turns up that this is almost definitely a LaPacific banjo from the 1920's. I've found others that are 100% identical to this one, all pointing to the same brand and era.
well, that's enough of my story on this, so here she is:
Dan
Ever since I joined the ukulele meetup in January and we played from our Tin Pan Ally song book, I have been wanting a banjo uke. Some of those songs just screamed for one. I can't afford a new one, and all the decent ones on eBay end up going for more than I can currently afford.
I saw this little uke on eBay with a starting bid of $39.95, and $14 shipping, though it needed some work. It was missing one peg, one was broke, and one didn't belong. The head looked like it was ready to tear as well, plus a few nicks and scratches here and there. I had a few extra bucks, so I put in my max bid of $55, assuming I wasn't going to win it as I've seen them in much worse condition going for a lot more.
Well, to my amazement, I received an e-mail that I won the auction at the starting bid. I sent payment, and four days later, I got it.
This banjo needed a little bit more work than I thought, but not bad. All the above mentioned work was needed, along with a refret and new nut.
So, I started by removing the rim to replace the head and a chunk of wood fell off. apparently a screw from the tension hoop was holding it in. A little hide glue and the repair is virtually unnoticeable. Installed the new head, performed the refret, added ebony nut, added a bridge, a new set of violin tuners (3/4 sized that I shaped and cut down to fit) and a new set of Martin Fluorocarbon strings, this little banjo uke is playing all over again. Tin Pan Alley sounds more period correct with this little instrument.
And my research turns up that this is almost definitely a LaPacific banjo from the 1920's. I've found others that are 100% identical to this one, all pointing to the same brand and era.
well, that's enough of my story on this, so here she is:
Dan