What I have heard is that Kel Kroydons had Gibson necks with a truss rod except the truss rod access was covered up by the pegheard veneer (so there was no access at all to the truss rod). My KK plectrum neck is like this, or at least it has a big piece of metal running down the length of the neck (I tested this with a magnet).
I believe that because Gibson had a patent on the truss rod adjustment, they could not say it had a truss rod (and so covered it up).
I recently converted a KK-10 and was amazed to find the original sales receipt from 1933 in the case. $55 (inflation!) Robin Smith took a photocopy of it , in order to send it to Joe Spann.
Joe, I hope it was of interest to you. Your research has been a great thing.
Thank you Joe Spann and Greg Earnest ! Fascinating stuff!
If a man only had a time machine and about $5000.00 dollars to take with him.....
One other comment.....what did the Kel Kroydon mandolins and guitars look like?
When I was searching the internet for information about the KK10 I wanted to buy, i did come across a number of references to the KK guitars. Like the banjos, they are sought after by some because they were Gibson made. Apparently they are quite fragile and carry a fairly hefty price tag now. Considering they were $20 and $30 guitars, they sell for more than the banjos today.
Okay, was Jenkins a distributor or a store? I ask, because I can't imagine how my wife's grandmother bought one of these in SF in the early thirties otherwise. (Never mind why a 4' 11" teenage girl working as a seamstress in Chinatown would choose a Plectrum Kel Kroydon as the instrument to play.)
With approximately only a couple hundred Kel Kroydon Tenor & Plectrum banjos made by Gibson will Joe's documentation make my 1930 Kel Kroydon 11 banjo worth more than a Gibson 11 due to rareity? I never cut the rim.
Okay, was Jenkins a distributor or a store? I ask, because I can't imagine how my wife's grandmother bought one of these in SF in the early thirties otherwise.
Hello Mark,
J.W. Jenkins Sons Music Company was a large chain of retail music stores based in Kansas City, Missouri. They had many branch locations throughout Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas. I have written more about them on pages 197-198 of my book "Spann's Guide to Gibson 1902-1941."
It would be very interesting to find evidence of other large retailers selling Gibson's Kel Kroydon line of product in 1930.
There might be a very simple explanation. In 1930 Gibson was also making an instrument practically identical to the KK-10, but with the "Truett" brand name on the peghead. These instruments were distributed exclusively in the San Francisco area. Could your banjo be a Truett and not a Kel Kroydon? They are extremely similar in appearance. Here's a link to more information: earnestbanjo.com/truett_plectr..._9971.htm
If your banjo really is a Kel Kroydon I would like to learn more about it. Does it have a rim-stamped FON? Does it have a FON penciled on the heel? Do you have the original bill-of-sale? If purchased new, does anyone in the family remember the name of the store where it was purchased?
Joe -- I'm the current owner of the Fawley/Truett described in your link. The original Gibson tone ring had been swapped out and replaced with a Huber. It's still mighty fine.
...and I just noticed that, indeed, on the original tuning head, the MOT facing is just a little sunken in right where the truss rod access was filled in. (And, in case I didn't make it clear, the swapping out of the original tone ring happened long before I got the banjo.)
If your banjo really is a Kel Kroydon I would like to learn more about it. Does it have a rim-stamped FON? Does it have a FON penciled on the heel? Do you have the original bill-of-sale? If purchased new, does anyone in the family remember the name of the store where it was purchased?
Thanks for any insights!
Joe Spann
Sadly, no bill of sale, and my wife's grandmother passed on about 12 years ago, so what little we know is all we will know.
The banjo was purchased in the early 30's. Edna and her friends wanted to start a band so that they could meet boys. There is no receipt, and I just have no idea why a 4' 11" girl would choose such an instrument to play. We don't know where she got it from, and there are no stickers to help us out. I imagine it is possible that it had a previous owner, but not for very long, Edna would likely have had it before 1934, she said she bought it as a teen.
The instrument is a Kel Kroydon, FON 9796-4, plectrum neck, no evidence of ever having an armrest. The resonator is particularly interesting, because not only is 9796-4 written in chalk there, there is an older number that has been painted over, 9744. I've got a collection of photos on the hangout at banjohangout.org/myhangout/pho...umid=8506 , and would be happy to post more. I also have to send photos to the banjoearnest site as well. When I get around to a complete disassembly, I'll see what else is going on, including anything penciled in on the neck joint.
BTW, I neglected to say thanks for the excellent research. It is interesting that, in the catalog page, the model numbers are B10 and B11. I love the pictures.
This documentation demonstrates how the 23" scale tenor dominated the market at that time. There is no special product code at all for plectrum or 5-string.
That plectrum KK of Mark's is a special rarity. I would love to hear why his grandmother chose a special order plectrum... I know plectrum playing was more popular on the west coast, but tenor was still the standard there. My grandfather, a Seattle resident, played tenor.
BTW the steel rod in the neck is still a truss rod, just not an adjustable one. As the wood ages and twists, the steel provides tension.
My wife's grandmother, actually. She was Chinese, living in Chinatown in SF, and working as a seamstress (actually, a presser, who the seamstresses love because the presser fixes their mistakes). I assume that she bought the banjo on recommendation by a teacher, or something like that. I can't imagine that it was custom ordered, but more likely just available at the time. It is a dreadful choice for a small woman with small hands.
I've seen pictures of at least one other plectrum KK, but haven't found any others with the same FON. I would certainly love to see any others with the extra painted-over number.
It is a fun instrument to play, although some work is needed - the tailpiece has been soldered once, and just isn't quite strong enough for heavy strings. I have another that is busted, and might convert it to a much stronger setup that can handle the tension.
Since there seem to be just a few of us, maybe we should start a KK Plectrum club.
Mine is a KK10 (maybe the one you saw before). No FON or any markings at all on mine. Mine had no armrest when I bought it last year. And it had an old, but not original Waverly tailpiece. And a previous owner had painted huge ugly fret markers on the side of the neck...
I wish I had some history for it but all I got from the seller was "It belonged to a friend's grandfather..." Right. Odd that it would turn up in Quebec though.
I now have it with a Robin Smith 5 string neck. Hopefully one day I'll be able to make it sound good!
Have any of you Kel Kroydon fans ever heard of an old KK with a tone ring? I have such a ring that a previous owner said he took off a KK in the early 1960s. I'm wondering how
The forementioned KK-10 I had converted recently has a batch number pencilled on the heel of the original tenor neck. 9891. I hadn't looked it up in your book until today, but interestingly I noticed the 9891 batch is unaccounted for. This is indeed one of the 9891 batch. As I said, Robin Smith has a photocopy of the original sales receipt from 1933 (Harry Brooks Music) for you.
Hi, I'm new to the banjo hangout, but a devote of all things Gibson. You may know me from my book "The Other Brands of Gibson", which came out about 3 years ago. Anyway, I found this entry in Gibson's shipping ledgers date 5/4/1937 for a "KK-12 made into a TB". My theory is that Gibson made a Kel Kroydon Model KK-12 5-string banjo and this entry represents a later conversion to a tenor. What do you guys think?
