jay_banjoman - Posted - 06/23/2014:  10:54:10

There is a "Western King" banjo for sale near me for $125.  Does anyone know anything about them?  I do not find anything when doing a Google search.  The seller says it is from the 1950s.



Thanks,

Jay

beegee - Posted - 06/23/2014:  11:13:42

It appears to be a Stewart-MacDonald kit banjo from the 70's. One should seldom believe the folklore that sellers offer. Western King is likely a personal choice of whoever assembled the banjo. $125 seems like a reasonable price. 

RioStat - Posted - 06/23/2014:  11:39:30

Any other photos? Does it have a wood rim or aluminum?

Looks like a Stewart-MacDonald (Athens, OH) kit banjo from the 1970-80's, to me.

If it has a wood rim and a brass archtop tone ring, for $125.00 I'd be jumping on it for dang sure.

If it is an aluminum bodied Asian banjo from the 70 - 90's, $125.00 is still a good price for a solid beginners banjo.

Either way, no matter what it is, I'd fork over a buck and a quarter for it, no questions asked.

jay_banjoman - Posted - 06/23/2014:  11:47:51

Hi Beegee and RioStat,

I have not seen the banjo yet.  I do not know about the rim or tone ring yet, but from the front photo it looks like it has an archtop ring of some sort.  What makes you think it is a Stewart-MacDonald kit banjo?  Do you know any of the specs of the old SM kit banjos?  Were they good?  What should I be looking out for?  If it was a kit, what could the maker have screwed up to make it not usable?

Thanks,

Jay

RioStat - Posted - 06/23/2014:  12:24:39

Judging from the wear and tear on the head, I'd say this banjo is very "usable".

What to look for.... take the resonator off, see if it is a wood rim with a brass (nickel-plated) tone ring.

Even if it happens to be one of Stew-Macs metal bodied banjos, they were still pretty good sounding instruments

Look to see if the neck is straight, not twisted or bent. The neck should have a very slight bow in it,when sighting down the fretboard,  this is known as relief.

As far as the builder screwing anything up....banjos are as much "machine" as they are musical instruments. The old Stew-Mac kits were all pre-cut, pre-fit, etc.... all anyone had to do was bolt it together.

Usually where Stew-Mac kit banjos are "weak" was in the finishing, lacquer, inlays, stuff like that. This one has "dot" inlays in the fretboard, so inlays probably won't be an issue.

It will probably need new strings, possibly a better bridge, depending on what kind of bridge is on it now.

As I said earlier, for $125.00 jump on it! Even, if you have to put a few bucks into it, you will still end up with a decent "player".

beegee - Posted - 06/23/2014:  12:47:24

It appears to have the cast aluminum 1-piece integral arch-top tone chamber. The neck and flange plates are very much Stew-Mac.

WildJimbo - Posted - 06/23/2014:  18:30:19

I'm going to guess that "Western" might actually be "Weather" and the seller couldn't read it because it's obscured by the tailpiece.  

jay_banjoman - Posted - 06/23/2014:  20:23:28

Hi Beegee and RiaStat, Thanks for the possible identification of this banjo.

WildJimbo, I think you are probably right about "Weather King", on the head, not "Western King". since the seller said "The only marking I can see without taking off the back is under the strings and it says "Western King"."

Here is somemore info from the seller. "With the back off there is a mirror facing the interior of the banjo which seems a little strange to put a beautiful mirror inside a box.. The interior rim is metal with a dull gray finish like zinc or aluminum. Obviously poured metal, not cut punched out by a machine.   I don't see any metal rods in the interior.  The tuning keys are planatoinc or something like that. The wood is walnut colored but I do not know what kind of  wood it is?"

and "My neighbor noticed there is more space under the strings by the banjo end then there is near the tuning end of the neck.  It would be hard to show in a photo, I would guess there is less than 1/8 inch difference between the top of the neck and the strings and the bottom of the strings  and the neck.  There were no visible stamps or marks in the interior.  There are no scratches in the back of the wood but there are a few scratches in the varnish.  The varnish has a dull spot like a sticker was once pulled off, about 1 inch by 3 inches in the center of the back."

So, it sounds like the cast aluminum rim and tone ring.  Were these made without coordinator rods?  Wouldn't you still need at least one to adjust the neck angle?

Any idea why there is a "beautiful mirror" inside the pot?

I currently have a GoldTone CC-100R+ banjo, and I am looking for a second banjo to keep at work.  How good, or bad, are these cast Al rim banjos?

Thanks,

Jay

RioStat - Posted - 06/24/2014:  03:27:41

Maybe the mirror is to "reflect" the sound back out of the resonator !! 

As I said earlier, for $125.00, I'd jump on it. Especially for an "office" banjo.

Neck is probably just bolted on. I'm sure a co-rod (or 2) could be put in there.

The cast aluminum integral rim / tone ring, as BeeGee mentioned, that Stew-Mac used was comparable (many say) to the ODE aluminum pot. 

An 1/8" difference in string height? If that's a description of the action, sounds about right to me

A little bit of set-up, I'm sure that will be a decent little 'jo.

Edited by - RioStat on 06/24/2014 03:29:27

grm405 - Posted - 06/24/2014:  05:29:45

From what accounts I have read about ODE, StewMac bought the surplus Al ODE pots when ODE stopped making those banjos so the pots are the same as the ODE, which is a very good thing.  These pots have a very good reputation.  For that price I would buy quickly, sort out the details later.

Gerry