Help Please ...Banjo Mandolin

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It is a Slingerland May Bell 2021 with an Elton resonater
I'm guessing mid 20's
I can"t seem to find much about it.
Thanks...Sean
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Agreed...what would you like to know about it?

The stars denote the grade of calfskin used in the head - the more stars, the higher the quality (in terms of more even thickness, color, absence of blemishes...)
From my own experience, quality doesn't much matter in an instrument that, in my opinion, sounds pretty horrible at its best (like a mandolin banjo) but I'm sure somebody loves them, somewhere.

I believe they originally hail from a brief period when the banjo was replacing the mandolin as the primary rhythm instrument in bands...so they thought a hybrid was a good idea (?)

The Slingerland company churned out far more inexpensive banjos than most...so much so that we used to joke in a certain banjo forum that, when asked what such and such a vintage banjo was, we'd say it was a Slingerland until proven otherwise.

The Maybelle moniker comes from "Mother" Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family.
Slingerland did make a vast line of banjos, many of which were higher line and more costly, but the Maybelle series like that one typically were mid level or lower.

That is not to say they were not well made. In fact, I would not be surprised that if you took the head off and looked beneath the tone hoop (most of which were made of steel, IIRC), you might find the pot was made with one thick ply of rock maple with thin veneers of more figured maple on the outside and inside. This when most makers were bending three or more plies of maple or some other wood to make a banjo pot.

As far as value is concerned...they're not all that much in demand - but a lot depends on the pot size since a lot of them are purchased for conversion into 5 string banjos. Most open back 5 string banjo players want a pot size that's 11" or bigger in diameter, in my experience of buying and selling vintage banjos...and lots of these mando banjos fall short of that diameter.

If I had one laying around, I'd see about setting it up as a banjo uke ;)
 
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Swamp Yankee, I couldn’t agree more with your post. I’m battling with a Gold Tone Mando-banjo now and having a heck of a time with it. The strings are too tight and close together for my old fingers, but . . . I’m gonna beat it!

Added to the above, I don’t care for the hinky tinky sound of mandolins. I prefer a deeper sound. Don’t ask me why I bought it. I have good (my opinion) reasons, but I bought it and, now, I got it.

I’ve thought about converting it, and I still might do it. Would I need a new nut? I’ve read that the strings, singled, might be hard on one’s fingers. I think trying to sell it would be more difficult than learning to playing it. :eek:ld:
 
Gentleman, Thank You for the information. I was thinking of parting it out and wanted to make sure it doing a disservice. It does have an 11" pot.
Thanks again...Sean
 
Gentleman, Thank You for the information. I was thinking of parting it out and wanted to make sure it doing a disservice. It does have an 11" pot.
Thanks again...Sean

11" pot? Cool! Them Slingerland pots make good clawhammer banjos. Have you got any pics of the sides? The back of the pot looks to be in fine shape - many of them have pieces of the overlay missing from the bottom of the rim.

Back in the day when I was buying and selling that kind of stuff - captioning the skin head something like "Prewar calfskin head - would fit a Gibson" might yield quite a bit in the final bid. I made a few killings parting out banjos of no historical importance because they had parts that were the same that Earl Scruggs had on his pre-war Gibsons - for example, I had a few 5 string "Presto" Ideal tailpieces that netted me $600 or more apiece, even though they had some cracks and came off banjos that cost me less than $300. :rolleyes:
 
Swamp Yankee, I couldn’t agree more with your post. I’m battling with a Gold Tone Mando-banjo now and having a heck of a time with it. The strings are too tight and close together for my old fingers, but . . . I’m gonna beat it!

Added to the above, I don’t care for the hinky tinky sound of mandolins. I prefer a deeper sound. Don’t ask me why I bought it. I have good (my opinion) reasons, but I bought it and, now, I got it.

I’ve thought about converting it, and I still might do it. Would I need a new nut? I’ve read that the strings, singled, might be hard on one’s fingers. I think trying to sell it would be more difficult than learning to playing it. :eek:ld:

I'd think you'd want a new nut, yeah...also, what's the nut width? Might find it a little tight for a uke...dunno.
I've seen a few of the older 4 string mando/banjos - they used to call them "Tango banjos" - that are mistakenly advertised as tenors or even ukes...

My favorite player banjo - and one of the few that I still own - is a 17 fret tenor banjo from the 20s that I've strung with nylguts and tuned as a uke. But even that is a little spare in the nut width.
 
I'd think you'd want a new nut, yeah...also, what's the nut width? Might find it a little tight for a uke...dunno.
I've seen a few of the older 4 string mando/banjos - they used to call them "Tango banjos" - that are mistakenly advertised as tenors or even ukes...

My favorite player banjo - and one of the few that I still own - is a 17 fret tenor banjo from the 20s that I've strung with nylguts and tuned as a uke. But even that is a little spare in the nut width.

Well, thanks for the info. I played it today; I’m workin’ on tremolo so I can play Italian as well as Irish music. It sure is loud. I had to take my hearing aids out.

I have a Gold Tone Irish Tenor banjo and love it. Even with all the mistakes it makes, it’s my favorite banjo.

I’ve been thinkin’ about changin’ my clawhammer banjos to nyglut. My ol’ fingernails crack and chip and wear out with clawhammer. Right now I’m usin’ 2 finger/thumb or index.

I’m also workin’ on finger-style ukulele again. I guess I seem over busy, but it’s either that or sit and stare at the wall.

One can only take so many naps . . . :eek:ld:
 
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