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Mikegivney - Posted - 05/27/2026: 08:43:14
I’m looking to find out what type / brand of bridges would have come on the Fairbanks by Vega Tubaphone 5 strings. Specifically, a 1914 (11-ish
pot) and a 1920 (12-ish pot).Thanks for any insight!
Mike
Joel Hooks - Posted - 05/27/2026: 09:38:11
And more specifically, your banjo would have been strung with very light gut strings. The catalogs specify "true strings" which means that they were rectified gut.
Joel Hooks - Posted - 05/27/2026: 09:41:19
These are the Bacon "never slip" from the page above. Note that the feed are covered in emery.
Mikegivney - Posted - 05/27/2026: 09:44:14
Thanks Joel,
One has a Neverslip and I just got in a set of gut strings from Boston. I have a couple of your Morley bridges. Would they be a proper substitute for the modern bridge on the “newer” Fairbanks?
TheLastWord - Posted - 05/27/2026: 10:45:32
Like the prices!! LOL
Joel Hooks - Posted - 05/27/2026: 12:57:43
I'm not sure when John Alvey Turner first put those on the market, but it was pretty late/early to mid 20th century.
That said they sound great and would work fine. But the aesthetic is not "correct" if you are attempting "historical accuracy."
