Paul Gorman - Posted - 05/23/2010:  21:16:32

I had the opportunity to repair and set up an early Japanese '75 Iida 5-string for a friend who wanted to preserve it as an heirloom for his grandson. The budget was "whatever is reasonable". So I checked what Iidas were going for and decided it might bring about $350 if it was in top shape. Assuming it cost about $125 in 1975, I had about $200 to work with.

Assessment: The banjo was a simple one, perhaps a model 227 with a cast aluminum body, flange, and mastertone style tone ring, all very precisely cast, turned and fit. The walnut wood on the neck and reso and the finish were really nice. The rim body was well designed and cut, and finished in black lacquer. The nut was 1 3/16', and the 22nd fret was 1 1/2" wide, the fretboard 1/8" thick rosewood. It was complete with original case and had not had hard use. The plastic head was split from uneven tension. The original tuners had broken and been replaced with Grover sta-tite tension tuners. It was unplayable as it stood but had good bones.

Plan: the owner and I elected to replace the head with a Renaissance head "warm and bright" ($18) and I ordered a high crown because the original setting of the tension ring was about 1/6" higher than the fretboard and this lowered it 1/8". The .04" difference was unoticeable.

The original cast tailpiece had a mouth so narrow (1") it constricted the strings a full inch from the 2 " bridge spacing. I replaced the tailpiece with a Gold Tone straightline ($24). Aiming high I replaced the ruined Grover bridge with a 5/8" historic old floor Sullivan, Crowe spacing ($25). As a result the new strings did indeed pull straight down over the bridge and out across that wide fretboard slightly more than 5/8" apart. The owner, stands 6' 2" with big fingers and hands.

With a few cranks on the single tension bar I was able to get a perfect 3.5 degree neck angle, 12 degree bridge angle and 1/8" action at the 12th fret. I did have to correct the nut spacing for the 3rd string and refile all four down to correct depth (.070) and cant. The head was tuned to E. The overall result was very rewarding. Reminded me of my Whyte Laydie in tone and responsiveness. BRIGHT AND WARM. And I think that Sullivan historic bridge is awesome in this arrangement.

The original case was too tight and had no padding. Putting the banjo in and out stressed the lining and the peghead had no support to protect the tuners. These were replaced with a new decent set of 5 Gold Tone planetary tuners ($65) from Janet Davis and $14 shipping for everything. The owner got himself a new hardside Guardian case for it locally for about $50. So the total outlay was $195. I would say this banjo is worth $350 easy when you play it and hear it. It is 45 now and should still be playing well at 100.

Bottom line: An Iida can be a good solid intermediate banjo. The ones I see on EBay have not had the necessary work but still sell for close to $300. The early Japanese Iida was a very solid banjo made by a fine guitar maker who was a little lost in the art of banjo making. With thoughtful work and ordinary off-the-shelf parts it can be made a very decent and durable instrument, a keeper.

xnavyguy - Posted - 05/24/2010:  05:06:05

Paul,
If that Iida is like the one in the attached photo, then you are right that it is a very finely crafted instrument. The upside is that, at 5 pounds, it is easy on the back. I took these photos the day I bought it for $30. I dismantled it, cleaned it up, changed the friction 5th string tuner to a geared tuner, added 5th string spikes and a strap, & bought a gig bag for it. It's a fine sounding banjo and a nice player and will make a fine banjo for your friend's grandson. Depending on the market, I don't thing you could expect it to ever be worth much over the $200-250 range, if you can find the right buyer.

Iida Aluminum Integral Flange 5 String

Paul Gorman - Posted - 05/24/2010:  10:54:22

xnavyguy:
Your banjo is very similar to the one I worked on. You're right about the market. No one expects these babies to sound as good as they are able. In this case, it was not going to the market; it was simply grandpa's old heirloom banjo. In your picture, see how the tailpiece pinches the tail of the strings so the tension goes sideways instead of down. With so little invested you might think about a 1) Price repro,2)a Crowe-spaced bridge and 3) a high crown Ren head. Under $50 total, especially if you will go through BHO or Ebay. I would if it were mine.

Paul

xnavyguy - Posted - 05/24/2010:  11:08:29

Paul,
If you heard that little 5 pound banjo I think you would be shocked at how good it sounds with all the original parts. The only thing that I did was put a shim in the neck so that I could put a taller bridge (one of mine) on it. I do not believe in using the coordinator rods to set the action on a banjo, preferring either to shim or re-cut the neck to set the action. Besides the flat top that I have, another friend of mine has an Iida archtop of the same vintage that I set up and it is also a pretty spectacular little banjo.

Paul Gorman - Posted - 05/25/2010:  12:57:25

xnavyguy:

I read your fascinating piece on the bias cut asymetrical bridge. You seem to have a meta-theory about how sound transmits from a vibrating string through a chip of wood to a skin stretched over a drum. i am a retired research psychologist-physiological type- so I really enjoy watching the process unfold of experiment to theory to further experimentation..what the human brain does best. What kind of bridge did you put on your Iida? Plastic head flat top I believe. Am I diverting the string?

xnavyguy - Posted - 05/25/2010:  14:24:18

Paul,
Originally, when I first got that banjo and set it up, I put a Purpleheart over Yellowheart Nerdgoogles bridge on it and that worked very well. I've since installed a Dam Hybridge that has a 60% Bubinga horizontal grain top over vertical grain Mahogany that makes up the other 40% of the bridge. It is one of the ones in the 3rd row in the attached photo. When I glued these up, I didn't cut the tops long enough else there wouldn't be shoulders on them. I built 8 of these in all, out of several materials and this style bridge is what both Art and I found to be the best, overall, performers of what I built up until that time. They seem to give the best of both worlds, that is the filtering of the horizontal grain and the power & focus of the vertical grain.

The bias cut bridges and the plywood bridges I'm working on now will be yet another little chapter in this little story.

Hybrid(ges)