I have a Tubafone Style M Pot Conversion and the neck was said to be made by Wyatt Fawley but it does not have his name stamped on the dowel. Is there another way to prove it was made by him or am I simply not going to be able to resell or trade it as a WF work. I was gifted it by a friend who got it from a well known and reputable dealer who said it was a WF neck but still, I can't prove it.
When I first rec'd it I wrote the dealer to ask about any info on its history and he kindly said he handles so many instruments he doesn't remember much about any one particular banjo, so that is a dead end. Any comments will be appreciated.
Edited by - tonygo on 06/04/2026 11:29:31
I’ve never taken the neck off to check the heel for a marking, but neither of the banjos I’ve had with Fawley necks were marked on the dowel or any place else visible. One of them I bought directly from Wyatt, so know it was his work. The second one I bought from a man who had purchased his directly from Wyatt. Ultimately it doesn’t matter too much to me. If the neck looks appropriate, feels good in the hand, and plays well, the actual provenance doesn’t matter to me.
Wyatt used to sell partially finished necks on eBay. As I recall they were unmarked. It could be that your banjo has one of those possible finished by someone else.
I have ordered and had Wyatt build me a couple banjo necks while he was still living. Neither was marked by him, as his work, to my knowledge. I picked one of them up in person. Wyatt's work was absolutely as good as anyone out there, and that's that. Whether or not you can, or even need to prove a neck was built by him - might be difficult indeed. I have about 10 Frank Neat necks in my possession at this time - 3 were ordered by me, the rest I bought either as a loose neck or the neck was on a banjo that I bought. Frank has looked at most of those and states "they in fact are his work." Wyatt probably could verify or say whether or not a neck was his work - of course, he's no longer with us. This same thing will happen and has happened to other builders - Rual Yarborough, Harry Sparks, Wyatt Fawley, Robin Smith, and yes, some day Frank Neat, Steve Huber, Richie Dotson. THE ONLY one of those guys that I think routinely marked a neck with their name or logo was Robin Smith - the others didn't. SO - where does that leave someone when they will eventually sell the neck? I suppose the buyer can take their word for it, or as they say, "buyer beware!"
I've tried using the wayback internet archive to locate Wyatt's old website. but unfortunately I can't seem to find any archived pages.
At one time, he had a page for "identifying fake Vega necks". It was a great resource where he highlighted details found on original vega necks - that almost all other reproduction neck makers overlooked.
He had photos of original necks and modern reproductions illustrating the differences,
The point was that his necks were authentic in almost every detail...while almost all others others were not. If you could find that page, I think it could be helpful in making a case to attribute your neck to him.
Example: If I'm not mistaken, most of Wyatt's Vega necks do not have an adjustable truss rod. He might have offered that as an option. But because the original were unreinforced, Wyatt preferred to make his copies the same way.
Below is a vintage Bacon Interal Resonator rim that I found online - missing its original neck. I purchased the neck - unfinished - from Wyatt on eBay. Dan Knowles installed and finished the neck & rim. I sold this banjo a long time ago. These are the only photos I retained.
The circled area details one thing I remember from Wyatt's website. he said that the black part of the fingerboard binding on old Vega necks extended underneath the nut. But most reproduction neck makers overlook that detail.
Edited by - jbalch on 06/04/2026 06:24:06
I apologize for the off-topic post, but when did Wyatt pass? I tried searching the forums and can find no mention of it. Thanks to anyone who replies.
quote:
Originally posted by J.AlbertI apologize for the off-topic post, but when did Wyatt pass? I tried searching the forums and can find no mention of it. Thanks to anyone who replies.
I can find no obituary or other solid evidence of his death in searching the web, but his last post to BHO was more than seven years ago at which time he said he had recently had a fourth heart attack and that his wife had died. He had suffered other health issues, as well. There is also no firm evidence that he is alive and well. I think one may assume that he died at some time during the past seven years.
I remembered another detail that Wyatt used to highlight on his web page about spotting fake Vega necks. The heel cap on an original Vega neck extends underneath the bracket band. Like the photo below of a genuine vintage vega example.
I think his Vega reproductions necks were made like the originals in that regard.
Details like this aren't definitive proof ... but if they are missing from your neck, they might help eliminate Wyatt as the maker.
quote:
Originally posted by jbalchI remembered another detail that Wyatt used to highlight on his web page about spotting fake Vega necks. The heel cap on an original Vega neck extends underneath the bracket band. Like the photo below of a genuine vintage vega example.
I think his Vega reproductions necks were made like the originals in that regard.
Details like this aren't definitive proof ... but if they are missing from your neck, they might help eliminate Wyatt as the maker.Mine does.
Edited by - tonygo on 06/05/2026 08:18:16
quote: Like I said, those details are not definitive ... but if they were absent, I would doubt it could be Wyatt's work.
Best wishes!
JB
Originally posted by tonygoquote:
Originally posted by jbalchI remembered another detail that Wyatt used to highlight on his web page about spotting fake Vega necks. The heel cap on an original Vega neck extends underneath the bracket band. Like the photo below of a genuine vintage vega example.
I think his Vega reproductions necks were made like the originals in that regard.
Details like this aren't definitive proof ... but if they are missing from your neck, they might help eliminate Wyatt as the maker.Mine does.
Dang I was just on the hunt for a tubaphone conversion like that. My understanding through my search is that a lot of them are not signed. There is one for sale at Fiddler's Green right now that is supposed to be a Fawley conversion but the heel cap does not go all the way to the pot. I ended up getting an Enoch conversion that is also not signed but came with the original paperwork from when it was ordered.
In addition to installing his own necks on original Vega rims, Wyall also sold a lot of his necks "in the white" for others to finish and install. So, there are a fair number of conversion banjos out there that "have a Wyatt Fawley neck" but have finish work and dowel stick sets that are significantly below Wyatt's standards.
The last I heard (several years ago) was that Wyatt was still living, but desired privacy. That may have changed.
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