ralphbrand - Posted - 11/25/2022:  06:58:07

I have come across a very nice no name banjo.  It screams Vega with a Tubaphone tone ring, sitting in an original Vega case and having a simple star on the fifth fret.  It has one coordinating rod instead of the wood dowels I've seen on other Tubaphones or Whyte Ladyes.

     The mystery about this banjo is the fact that there is no serial number or identifying markings saying it's a Vega!  Also odd is the ornate inlaid and etched peg head which is unaccompanied  by any other inlay on the finger board except for the aforementioned star

     Is it possible for Vegas to be original without any serial numbers or any identification. It certainly looks unaltered !

     Thanks for any help

Mystery Vega

 

TheLastWord - Posted - 11/25/2022:  07:41:07

I doubt it. You will need to post more pictures showing front and back of neck, and rim, inside and out.

Dan Gellert - Posted - 11/25/2022:  08:10:01

Vega/Fairbanks open-back banjo designs are exemplary classics. Not quite as universally imitated as, say, Stradivari's violins or Martin's dreadnought guitars, but close.

If it looks like a Vega, (even WITH a Vega brand!), it's safest to assume that it is NOT one.

I'll second the need for more photos-- (front, back, and side views of the rim, neck, and peghead, close-ups and full-length shots)

The Old Timer - Posted - 11/25/2022:  08:54:52

All I can tell from that single photo is, that's not a Vega nut.

TLG - Posted - 11/25/2022:  09:27:25

Other modern makers made Vgea look-a-likes, with dowel & co-rods
no sn # means not real Vega, unless a 1950-60's which would have been a yellow lable with model & sn #. Also check the size of the Tubaphone ring. Real Vega is 10-15/16" , modern is full 11"
We need to see the rim

ralphbrand - Posted - 11/25/2022:  09:34:54

I think the mystery haas been solved! It turned out the owner had another banjo that also resembled a Vega but had the same lack of Vega ID, turns our the name “W Fawly” was on the wooden center dowel. Does that name ring any bells. He was a very accomplished copier and talented builder and the banjos sound great!

TheLastWord - Posted - 11/25/2022:  10:19:18

Yes, Wyatt Fawley is well known for his banjo necks. Not sure if he is still in business.

TLG - Posted - 11/25/2022:  13:03:30

I almost mentioned Wyatt, Enoch, Chuck Lee, Doug Unger, Ramsey, a few others that would do inlay & ingraving like the Vega flower pot

AndrewD - Posted - 11/25/2022:  13:43:12

We'd need more pictures. Vega's are the go-to for a lot of old time players. But we don't all want to play antique banjos (or can't afford to) so there are many makers using old Vegas as the pattern for new banjos. Another possibility is that it is a repro neck by Wyatt Fawley mounted on an original Vega body that started life on a tenor or plectrum banjo. Which is why we'd need more pictures (although the lack of a serial number in the rim and the co-ordinator rod rather than dowel stick make this less likely). I play a banjo by Dave Stacey that could be easily mistaken for a vintage Fairbanks Electric - until you take it apart and notice the adjustable truss rod. A friend has virtually the same neck on an original Vega 'Little Wonder' tenor body.

mikehalloran - Posted - 11/26/2022:  09:51:27

Wyatt was well known for the superb workmanship and detail on his Vega repro necks but he believed in the 26" scale and rarely went with anything else, even on 10 15/16" or 11 13/16" Vega pots where the correct scales were 27" and 28". His Pete Seeger necks do have the correct 32" scale.