Sped Man - Posted - 08/31/2019:  13:09:06

Its time to post your favorite banjo vintage or modern. Would love to see what is out there.

Edited by - Sped Man on 08/31/2019 14:38:32

Greg Gilbert - Posted - 08/31/2019:  13:21:58

1978 Ibanez BF-300 Woodsman

Mark Cox - Posted - 08/31/2019:  13:30:20

My favorite is my mid 70’s era Alvarez White Eagle archtop. Absolutely love this banjo. I will have this banjo for the rest of my life. Guaranteed . There is one just like it for sale in the classifieds right now. Great Banjos

CW Spook - Posted - 08/31/2019:  13:48:24

My two favorites are my '94 Deering Hartford and my new LeVan 12" A-scale.

plars - Posted - 08/31/2019:  14:02:18

My favorite bounces back and forth between my :
1)1929 OPF Style 3 Gibson Conversion with uncut rim and blaylock new era conversion ring
2)2005 OME Odyssey with factory original tony pass thin skirt rim

They definitely have different sounds and I don’t think I could pick one or the other if I had to keep just one!

Alvin Conder - Posted - 08/31/2019:  14:03:31

An impossible question.

Changes on a daily basis.

Currently my favorite player is a beautiful Bacon Professional that I recently acquired. Really a wonderful player.

Before that it was a 1925 Gibson RB4.

I just love the variety and differences.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 08/31/2019:  15:40:01

Well, the op asked for photos, so here’s a link to mine, which I bought at Jon and Deirdre Lundberg’s in 1969. Haven’t found one I like better. The neck was attacked by a plectrum player and repaired by Bay Area repair legend Mario Martello (q.v.).

frets.com/FretsPages/Museum/Ba...excg.html

lanemb - Posted - 08/31/2019:  16:24:39

My second banjo purchased in 1985 is still my favorite. It is a Gibson RB250. My first purchase was a nicer Japan made model. It sounded good but boy was it a bear on the fret hand. The Gibson is so much easier to play.

My newer Stelling is the second favorite purchased from Banjo Ben as a retirement gift to myself.

Stelling Master Flower

Stelling Backside

Gibson and Gold Tone

 

rbfour5 - Posted - 08/31/2019:  18:54:13

My Fender Concert Tone Deluxe

 

hbick2 - Posted - 08/31/2019:  19:09:41

I go back and forth between my 1904 Fairbanks Whyte Laydie No. 7 and my 1899 Fairbanks Special Electric No. 1.



The Whyte Laydie has a lot of punch to it and the neck is fairly hefty so it doesn't go out of tune as much when I change tunings. I've owned it for over 40 years. There are pictures of it on my home page:



banjohangout.org/myhangout/pho...mid=10303



The Special Electric has a real sweet, mellow sound to it. It is a much more delicate instrument than the Whyte Laydie.

Of course, my real favorite banjo is my next one.

BanjoKatz - Posted - 08/31/2019:  21:13:53

My S.S. Stewart Special Thoroughbred.

S. S. Stewart Special Thoroughbred presentation banjo Peg head

S. S. Stewart Special Thoroughbred presentation banjo

 

davidppp - Posted - 09/01/2019:  12:04:46

It's a sentimental favorite. The ad copy read "Up to date and a little ahead of its time." That was 1898. From the serial number, this one was likely made a couple of months before Stewart's untimely death.

SSStewart 20th Century

 

banjo_brad - Posted - 09/01/2019:  14:06:23

Chuck Lee Lone Star #342 (2007), and Bisbonian Banjo Works #BW005 Fretless Mountain Banjo (2009). My only other banjo (my first) was a Deering Goodtime I bought in 2000.

(Actually, the fretless is on the left and the Lone Star is on the right in the photo)

Edited by - banjo_brad on 09/01/2019 14:07:34

Lone Star & Bisbonian

Chuck Lee Lone Star

Lone Star Peg Head

 

Ralph Stanley legend - Posted - 09/01/2019:  14:50:40

I find it ridiculously hard to post photo's on this web site, however after many great Banjos over the years.....

My current 1979 Stelling Super Star is far and away the greatest Banjo I have owned or played. 

OOPS, THAT'S NOT RIGHT.



Thanks to Geoff !



Regards

Dave

Edited by - Ralph Stanley legend on 09/01/2019 14:56:42

Sped Man - Posted - 09/01/2019:  17:21:43

Awesome banjos! I see several I would like to own one day. Here is a photo of my 1923 Paramount Banjo. Hope this works.

Paramount Banjo

 

Joel Hooks - Posted - 09/02/2019:  09:27:58

I've posted about this one before but I am pretty much all about it these days.  The head is now a top frosted.

CEParagon124 - Posted - 09/02/2019:  10:54:25

My Clifford Essex Paragon arch top, built like an Orpheum, but more substantial.

It had a concave birch appearing resonator when I got it. I play old time, so it's been removed.

It also has a skin head now.

Charlie Noyes

Edited by - CEParagon124 on 09/02/2019 10:55:31

RB3WREATH - Posted - 09/03/2019:  04:43:57

My go to banjo 1936 RB75 518-3

Joe

 

TriMD180 - Posted - 09/03/2019:  11:00:42

My 1900 A.A. Farland Concert Grand complete except for a rim cap I’ll be adding soon. Farland worked during the summer of 1900 with some craftsmen and came up with his first banjo the Grand Concert with the beveled top rim which he marketed in the November issue of 1900 Cadenza magazine. In the December issue, just in time for Christmas, Farland came out with the first ad with a picture and Changed the name to the Concert Grand. It was the only model he made until he cane out with four more models, the Artist Grand, the Artist Grand 2, the Black Beauty, and the Baby Grand which all joined the Concert Grand which then became the third from the top of the line behind the two Artist models in1902. Originally when mine came out it was the only top dog.

maryzcox - Posted - 09/04/2019:  09:44:01

My newest banjo is the Goldtone Missing Link baritone banjo. Soo very fun and wonderful low tone. :)

carolinacountry.com/extras/car...banjo-man

maryzcox.com

 

mikehalloran - Posted - 09/04/2019:  11:33:09

My mid-late '20s Vegaphone plectrum converted by Mr. Reiter around 1991 according to Gryphon Strings.

When I received it, there was a repro Kershner but I found a period engraved Vegaphone Presto and put the cover onto a modern repro body instead of drilling out the 4-string body.

I call it my Reiterphone 3000. 

I need a new picture. I broke a string at the post during a gig and didn't want to have a new string stretch. I aged the body the old fashioned way—laid a sweaty palm on it and didn't wipe down.

mikehalloran - Posted - 09/04/2019:  12:09:01

The headstock in greater detail:

Noah Cline - Posted - 09/04/2019:  20:22:01

The Lyon and Healy Mystic would have to be one of my favorite vintage banjos. There are a few versions of these (main differences being inlay patterns), with this version being my favorite. I restored it a couple months ago.

Edited by - Noah Cline on 09/04/2019 20:23:00

Lyon and Healy Mystic Resto

 

jun3machina - Posted - 09/04/2019:  20:46:38

love seeing that mystic so happy Noah Cline !

my favorite has got to be the custom built long neck by the mysterious Jon Hume i picked up and reassembled a few months back. Everything about it from the sound, the build to the tiny neck and playability I just love. and realizing I need to snap some decent pictures!

Kevin B - Posted - 09/05/2019:  03:19:18

My favorite is my '87 RB3. I'm done looking for anything else.

 

PrairieSchooner - Posted - 09/05/2019:  07:44:49

Some awesome banjers shown here! My faves are the only two I own: my Bacon Professional FF and my "Old Timey-ized" RB-220!

 

MoJoBanjo - Posted - 09/05/2019:  07:53:56

The holy grail. Don't own it, but want it...like everyone else. Once I win the lottery, it's all mine.
earnestbanjo.com/gibson_banjo_...557-8.htm

maryzcox - Posted - 09/05/2019:  16:03:51

Hard not to love my John Bowlin 1865 fretless :)

maryzcox.com

Old Banjo Shoes :)

 

waystation - Posted - 09/06/2019:  11:57:13

My original 1929 PT-6 flathead with Marty Lanham conversion RB neck. Formerly owned by Mike Kropp.

Jbo1 - Posted - 09/06/2019:  12:36:45

waystation : Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmnnnnnnn!

PrairieSchooner - Posted - 09/08/2019:  09:33:11

Obviously my banjo is an RB-250, not the ultra-rare and previously unheard of RB-220 :-(! But then you knew that, in spite of what some two-finger typist told you!

mikehalloran - Posted - 09/08/2019:  17:30:07

quote:

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Originally posted by Jbo1

waystation : Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmnnnnnnn!

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waystation - Posted - 09/08/2019:  18:23:50

quote:

---

Originally posted by mikehalloran

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jbo1

waystation : Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmnnnnnnn!

---

---

Kinda how I feel when I open the case.

Sped Man - Posted - 09/13/2019:  13:12:07

A S.S Stewart Champion managed to sneak into my house and mount itself on my living room wall. How it got there is a mystery. I plan on getting down to the bottom of this. This is the story I plan on telling the warden today.

Edited by - Sped Man on 09/13/2019 13:14:48

Polle Flaunoe - Posted - 09/14/2019:  05:18:26

My favorite(s) - OME Rosewood Silver Mogul - I´ve owned, worked on and/or played professionally all sorts of brands and models - at values well up in the 5-digit figures - mind you tenors - this early OME model does IMO beat them all.

Made of Rosewood and with a STROM made replica of the B&D Silver Bell Type III tone ring - rebuilt/optimized by yours truly for soloist/virtuoso playing - with e.g. a 2 mm neck elevation, a re-fretting with narrow/low fret wire, an extremely tight Renaissance head and a Farquhar bridge.

But why have only one example?  For now I have three - dating to ´75, ´77 and ´83 - lucky me - LOL!

Edited by - Polle Flaunoe on 09/14/2019 05:24:35

OldFrets - Posted - 09/14/2019:  08:49:40

I went "this one... no, this one... no, this one..." through half the collection before I gave up and just took this picture instead. I guess my favorite is all of these:

Sped Man - Posted - 09/16/2019:  11:28:16

This one followed me home ;-) It is a S.S Stewart Champion.

 

Jbo1 - Posted - 09/16/2019:  13:40:58

OldFrets, that is a really nice collection. But aren't most of them missing a string? ; )