Fishcoy - Posted - 02/05/2022:  11:29:12

I have an old fretless, 5-string, having a 27.5 scale with 17 flush (inlaid) frets and a 13-inch diameter pot. Having done research, but still confused, bear with my questions.

Historically, what does this this banjo scale mean relative to banjo history, why this scale  and limited number of frets? Is this a common scale for minstrel banjos and why?

Edited by - Fishcoy on 02/05/2022 14:06:52

csacwp - Posted - 02/05/2022:  12:17:00

Could you please share some photos of the banjo? That way I can tell you more about it and address your question.

Dan Gellert - Posted - 02/05/2022:  13:47:39

If you're talking about what I think of as "minstrel era" (pre~1870), extensive fingering above the 12th fret was pretty high-level virtuoso technique. 17 frets wouldn't have been considered limiting.

Measurements weren't standardized then. Scale lengths were all over the place. 27.5" seems pretty average to me. It's still within the range of what's considered a standard modern banjo scale.

The Old Timer - Posted - 02/05/2022:  13:58:23

VERY generally, it's often true that larger pot diameter banjos have longer scales. I suppose for volume in per-microphone days. So a 13" pot, which is on the larger side, would tend to have a longer scale -- 27.5" is on the slightly long side, but not at all unusual. Vega/Fairbanks banjos with around 12" pots had 28" scales (with complete set of frets) for fine "classic" playing. 27" scale on 11" better model banjos. But there were no hard and fast rules on scales, nor "standardization" like you see today.

Fishcoy - Posted - 02/05/2022:  14:08:59

Long scale is the term.

Fishcoy - Posted - 02/05/2022:  14:12:07

Thank you all for the comments. I am new to this Hangout. I appreciate everyone's views.

csacwp - Posted - 02/05/2022:  19:53:25

There's really no such thing as a minstrel banjo. There are banjos, and then there are banjos. Some were played by professional minstrels, and some weren't. Minstrelsy peaked in popularity during the 1880s, and a banjo from that decade that was played by a minstrel isn't any less a minstrel banjo than one from the 1850s.



By the 1870s, banjos with 12" pots were starting to become the norm for professionals, although some players still played larger instruments. Scale lengths continued to vary for most of the decade, although many professional instruments had long scales (28" and longer). 27.5" on a 13" pot is not long - in fact, it is quite short for a pot that large, although not unheard of. In the 1840s - 1860s, banjos were were more variable in specifications Without. Without photos however I can't tell you what you've got.

Edited by - csacwp on 02/05/2022 19:55:49