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christill1 - Posted - 06/26/2014: 18:02:18
Folks, Please pardon me picking your brains, but... I've got another mystery banjo. Well, it's a five-string Alvarez and a real beauty, a true looker, never played much, fabulous condition. The original owner, a retired milkman (it was cool talking to him about the old milkman trade) and cabinet maker, bought it new around 1972. I cannot find any online resources to identify vintage Alvarez models or years of production. Any of you fine fellows (and fellow-ettes) have a notion of the model and year? Many thanks, Chris
FiveStringPop - Posted - 06/26/2014: 18:30:48
Hey Chris,
I have some literature from 1977 on Alvarez banjos. It looks like the Minstrel, Model 4289, due to the bowtie inlays on the fingerboard and the rosewood resonator with distinctive pearl inlays. If you look at the price list, you will see the Minstrel in both a tenor (4291) and a 5-string configuration. It looks like the peg head shape for the tenor was used on the 5-string version, while keeping the peg head inlays of the 5-string, at some point. Hope this helps. This is as close as I can get you. I am unable to get you to a year.
Edited by - FiveStringPop on 06/26/2014 18:31:53
RioStat - Posted - 06/26/2014: 18:31:15
This Alvarez (and a multitude of similar / identical) banjos were made by a Japanese company named Kasuga, thru the 70 - 80's.
The Kasuga company was one of the first Asian companies to mass produce banjos (and other instruments) and brand them with whatever name the "customer" wanted on them.
You will see identical banjos branded Kasuga, Aria, Alvarez, Epiphone, Conrad, etc...
The shape of the headstock is a very distinctive identifying mark of the Kasuga company.
These were the first generation / wave of "Masterclone" banjos, so named because their construction was based on the construction of Gibson Mastertone banjos. That construction being 11" wood rim, 1 or 2 piece flange, tone ring, "fancy" inlays, resonator banjos. Most of these Kasuga banjos had steel or zinc die-cast tone rings, whereas Gibson's had bronze, "bell-brass" tone rings.
These things are fairly common and usually sell on Ebay for $199.00 up to maybe $350.00.
Set up properly these things can be fairly decent sounding banjos.
A lot of Bluegrassers started out on these in the 70 - 80's (I know I did) because you could buy one of these for $150.00 - $200.00 back then, as opposed to $500.00 + for Gibson banjos.
The Japanese refined their banjo making skills from these and ended up putting out some very nice, high quality instruments, basically thru the 1980's.
Get on Ebay and look thru "Banjos", you'll find several of these every day
RioStat - Posted - 06/26/2014: 18:37:35
I should also mention that Kasuga's were "famous" for having multi-ply (11 or more) rims as opposed to high quality 2 ply maple rims.
The elaborate ( and in my opinion) gaudy inlays on the resonators were also a feature of Kasuga banjos.
I 've often wondered why they took those beautiful pieces of rosewood and walnut and put those hideous inlays on the resonators.
They aren't actually inlays,(on the resonator) but usually "stickers" covered with about 4 - 5 coats of some sort of indestructible finish!
Where is Yellow Springs? Come up to Akron, I'll give you a "lesson" on banjos. I have a couple of these Kasugas and several Gibsons, and everything in between.
Edited by - RioStat on 06/26/2014 18:39:23
RioStat - Posted - 06/26/2014: 18:45:57
quote:
Originally posted by FiveStringPop
Hey Chris,
I have some literature from 1977 on Alvarez banjos. It looks like the Minstrel, Model 4289, due to the bowtie inlays on the fingerboard and the rosewood resonator with distinctive pearl inlays. If you look at the price list, you will see the Minstrel in both a tenor (4291) and a 5-string configuration. It looks like the peg head shape for the tenor was used on the 5-string version, while keeping the peg head inlays of the 5-string, at some point. Hope this helps. This is as close as I can get you. I am unable to get you to a year.
Damn, Hugh!! You and I are the same age, but....I don't remember these things selling for $400.00 to $700.00 back in the day !! I bought one labelled Aria for $225.00 in 1977
It's cool to see that old advertising literature from a year after I graduated from High School !!
Edited by - RioStat on 06/26/2014 18:46:46
beegee - Posted - 06/26/2014: 18:50:06
I thin this may be a little earlier than 1977. I'd date it to 1973-74. By 1977 as the catalog shows, the headstock was changing on the 5 string models.
christill1 - Posted - 06/26/2014: 19:10:26
Mr. Beegee, You may be right. The codger I got it from thought he'd gotten it in the early 1970s, maybe '72. He and a buddy had picking dreams, but, after a couple lessons, it just sat tight in the closet for 40+ years.
Texaspaul - Posted - 06/26/2014: 19:49:35
I have a really nice catalogue from 1976 that has sheet music between the pictures of the instruments I can look it up tomorrow and scan a page or 2 if someone is interested. I have often wanted a Denver Belle shown, but one if the best looking in the catalogue is an upper end guitar with 3 piece back Brazilian rosewood outsides and light Curley maple inside panels.
The banjos also look great.
christill1 - Posted - 06/26/2014: 20:31:26
Hey TexasPaul, Those Denver Belles look sweet. If any one the banjos match this'n, I'd love to see a scan of the listing. Thanks everybody, You are all truly Geniuses of Banjo, Chris
desert rose - Posted - 06/26/2014: 22:26:49
Scott gives some good background.
One thing I will point out, the pearl designs, always the ones on the resonator and very often the ones on the headstocks of Japanese instruments around this time were not stickers. They were REAL pearl cut wafer thin like 0.1 or 0.2 mm. A wet coat of finish was sprayed and while still sticky the wafer thin pearl was layed on top, then further finish coats were sprayed on to build up the finish. Korea continued this and some Chinese companys do it, its a huge cost savings in production
Scott
RioStat - Posted - 06/27/2014: 03:36:56
quote:
Originally posted by desert rose
Scott gives some good background.
One thing I will point out, the pearl designs, always the ones on the resonator and very often the ones on the headstocks of Japanese instruments around this time were not stickers. They were REAL pearl cut wafer thin like 0.1 or 0.2 mm. A wet coat of finish was sprayed and while still sticky the wafer thin pearl was layed on top, then further finish coats were sprayed on to build up the finish. Korea continued this and some Chinese companys do it, its a huge cost savings in production
Scott
Thank you, Scott !
I thought they were stickers because they appear to be suspended in the finish. Now I know why...they are suspended in the finish!!
beegee - Posted - 06/27/2014: 05:11:41
I discovered thi "overlay" thing back in the late 70's when I sanded the peghead and resonator of one of mine. Sanding was the only convenient way at the time to remove the polyester finish.
Texaspaul - Posted - 06/27/2014: 08:28:20
I will attach 2 pages from the 1976 Alvarez catalogue/music book
Texaspaul - Posted - 06/27/2014: 08:56:35
One more page from 1976 catalogue and the guitarI spoke of
beegee - Posted - 06/27/2014: 09:35:11
Notice the gold-plated Montana is the only 5string with the old style headstock by 1976
Texaspaul - Posted - 06/27/2014: 09:54:31
I noticed that too. I like the changes better.
