Was given an old Regal 5 string banjo. Just wondering if it be worth putting any money in to it. To practice on till I save enough money to buy something better.
yes.
as long as the money only goes towards strings, and maybe a bridge.
with a little research you can learn to do most basic adjustment, replacements and repairs yourself. plus you'll know what you're doing when you get a better banjo.
THEN you can rip the frets off the regal and start playing fretless.
That's quite a leap of logic to go from repairing an old Regal, to ripping the frets out to play it fretless.
Edited by - tdennis on 09/30/2023 19:58:07
might be a leap.
but it's all good advice.
and a response to the op.
Post clear and in focus photos, take into the sunlight and out of case.
Full front, back, side, front/back/side of peghead, inside, any markings, hardware, and anything else of interest that came with it (such as sheet music, old instruction books, case stuff).
Regal marketed many low/jobber grade banjos. But they also made many well built classic era (gut strung) banjos that would be a shame to “rip out the frets” on.
If you want a banjo without frets, buy one of those. They are not hard to come by.
Only marking is Regal on head. No numbers or any other marks
This is a modest instrument designed for beginner/intermediate students. It seems well worth making it playable. (However, you didn't really describe what you intend to replace or repair).
Okay, you have a Harmony Resotone, this is low end and historically insignificant.
Bridge, strings, that is about it.
As Joel pointed out, a USA made Harmony Res-O-Tone. Regal was once an instrument company but that was long before it became distributor owned by Fender for selling non-Fender instruments -- as when this was assembled and sold after Harmony went bankrupt.
Although the neck and Bakelite rim were made in the 1960s, it could have been assembled and sold new as late as 1978.
Edited by - mikehalloran on 10/02/2023 16:37:47
Thanks for all the replies. Definitely need some strings. Tail piece and all the hooks are rusted, head has a slight crease like don’t know how much that affects anything.
If the neck is straight, and nothing is broken, those are pretty good for bottom-of-the-line starter banjos. If only they'd made that fingerboard a little wider, I'd call them excellent.
quote:
Originally posted by japsterThanks for all the replies. Definitely need some strings. Tail piece and all the hooks are rusted, head has a slight crease like don’t know how much that affects anything.
Not unusual. Lubricate those hooks with a penetrating oil like WD40. I drip it onto the threads and let it set a day or two before touching it with a wrench. You can wire-bruch the rust off and reassemble. They won't ever look new again but they should work as long as you keep them lub'd every couple of years or so. Some use petroleum jelly on reassembly.
Repros of these hook/nut sets are available by why replace them if you don't have to?
Inexpensive stamped tailpieces are readily available but I would just clean up the original.
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