early banjo makers

made exclusively for Elderly Instruments and can be found on their website here. www.ballardbanjers.com DP Hopkins, Inc. Known is that the African slaves in America (in the 17th and 18th century) used to play some kind of simple instrument made from local materials, to accompany their songs and dances. Inclusion on the list is entirely at Will's As of June 2022, there are 56. A banjo mandolin, unknown maker, circa 1940s, calfskin head, floating bridge, rosewood fingerboard, nickel hardware, eight buttoned machine heads, hardwood neck and rim, acquired on 12 October 1981, I bought this instrument in 1981 whilst on tour on the Sold by in for You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg. Know anything? Apologies for being away and thanks to our resident designer Ginny for putting the site back together. There is likely no single ancestor of the banjo. Grayson and Henry Whitter first recorded it in 1929. Downright Divisive: Examining the Early Banjo in Colonial Jamaica 3656 Hopkins Avenue Check the site for the first Standard model, the B100. Danny Moloney The banjo became prominent in the United States with the rise of, In 1843, a troupe called Virginia Minstrels put on the first full-length, series of banjo tutors published over the following decades. Also see the SHS online store at www.shop-shs.comand the SHS main site at www.shsint.net. SC.nb("Customer.Relations", "gibson.com", "", "", ""); Handcrafted, custom banjos for over 30 years. 2 - First Staghorn and first Stelling designed, built for Brian Welchel, also a student. Carlin, Bob. 1.3 3. The Earl Scruggs Deluxe five-string banjo made for Scruggs by Vega in 1960 bore more of a resemblance to their ultra fancy tenor and plectrum banjos than the austere five-string banjos typically associated with folk and country musicians. SC.nb("danny", "sylvanbanjos.com", "", "", ""); The ultimate travel banjo by Sam Farris. As the banjo made inroads into middle-class American parlors during the second half of the nineteenth century, it also became integral to the music of the rural South. Moreover, the accompanying illustration of the Creole-Bania in the top right corner of Narrative's Plate 69, "Musical Instruments of the African Negroes" (1790/1796, 1988/2010: 539 . The instrument may also have been part of a religious ceremony known as the banya prei. Council (FSC). Some localities in the Appalachians developed distinctive designs for homemade banjos. 1:30-2:30 Eli Kaufman - Early banjo periodicals 2:45-3:45 Jim Bollman - The banjos of W.A.Cole (Jim White banjo display) 4:00-4:30 Bob Winans - book update 7:30-9:30 Bela Fleck movie " Throw Down Your Heart " followed by Q&A 9:30-? Type of wood 1.4 4. Virginia Minstrels spawned many imitators, and the instrumentation and general format of the skits and music became somewhat standardized. SC.nb("fiddlintim", "gmail.com", "", "", ""); Chuck Lee Banjo Company, Inc. PO Box 1197 They made smaller instruments and added intricate pearl inlays to the neck and headstock. Shunk, PA USA The book profiles the most important players and spotlights key luthiers and manufacturers. Like so many other parts of our culture, the banjo started as an immigrant. Intrigued by what he witnessed and the banjo, in particular, the younger Seeger began learning to play. Please use my contact form to get in touch. SC.nb("prucha", "pruchabanjos.cz", "", "", ""); A lifelong guitarist, tinkerer and learner, I became interested in building open-back banjos while learning clawhammer-style banjo. Huber Lancaster with HR-30 Tone Ring. To the heal an impressed metal plaque bearing ' the new Windsor/, English zither banjo, by Windsor, Artiste model, Birmingham, circa 1900, the brass impressed plate on the heel reads 'The new Windsor patent zither banjo A.O. They share features that differentiate them from West African lutes, including a flat, fretless fingerboard, wooden friction tuning pegs, and the way the neck enters and attaches to the gourd body. The tenor banjo lacked the short fifth string, which provided a single-note musical drone. Prominent players today include Jake Blount, Otis Taylor, Corey Harris, and Taj Mahal. No. The author John Peter Zenger (1697-1746) referred to the instrument as a "banger" played by a black man. This design was firmly ingrained in the New World, as evidenced by the following instruments found across time and distance: the strum strump observed in Jamaica in the late 1680s, the early gourd banjo in John Roses watercolor (sometimes called. I am obsessed with banjo as a tool of reclamation for African American artists., Our Native Daughters with Allison Russell on banjo: "Quasheba, Quasheba" (2020). Unknown Maker Tackhead Minstrel Banjo C. 1840s This is probably the earliest banjo in the collection, tackhead banjos predate the use of straining hooks and nuts to tighten the head although cheap versions were in trade catalogs well into the 1890s. Gold-Tone Banjo was originally formed in 1993. The first banjos were used by African American immigrants in the deep south. Bloomington, MN USA 55431 Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and others carried country-rock into the 1970s and beyond. Most experts Lacona, NY USA 13083 www.vancebanjos.com Scruggs was a 3-finger up-picking virtuoso who soloed frequently and took the banjo to inventive new places. The practice continued in various forms, including film, radio, and television, into the 1950s. While it was released with little fanfare in early 2009, it has proven to be one of the year's long-fuse albums, its subtle charms and subtle melodies creeping up and working their way . In the 1880s and 1890s, banjo makers created different members of the banjo family such as bass banjo and piccolo banjo. The Old Plantation and Gerrit Schoutens Slavendans dioramas from Suriname both appear to depict this ritual. Gus Cannon was a versatile and influential African American banjo player. De Meglio & F. Glio' dated 1916, in original leather case. 7, Birmingham, circa 1920, 96 cm long, English zither banjo, by Windsor, popular model no. The banjo became prominent in the United States with the rise of blackface minstrelsy in the 1830s. This period in America played a pivotal role in the history of the Dixieland banjo by fostering technological advances to the instrument, which would allow it to be adopted by many musical genres and eventually jazz. www.cedarmtnbanjos.com Have a Folk rock bands, including Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers, have introduced the instrument to younger mainstream audiences. Cover of 1843 Virginia Minstrels song book. Stedman's specification of the Creole-Bania 's four strings as being "three long and one short" is the first and only period textual description of the typical string configuration for a 4-string early gourd banjo. +1 (570) 924-4080 www.louzee.com www.sylvanbanjos.com Often referred to as "the red book" (for obvious reasons) by the banjo-collecting world, the books does a great job at identifying and describing some hightly sought banjos. Vega also made some of the early Bacon Professional banjos. James established his mechanized instrument factory in Connecticut in the late 1840's Ashborn was the first to apply mass production principles to banjo and guitar making, transforming the homemade artifacts to commercial products. The Banjo Reserve recently contacted Simon Middleton, Founder and Managing Director of The Great British Banjo Company, . The ensemble included banjo, fiddle, tambourine, and bones, a percussion instrument made from animal rib or shin bones. Christian has been with Tommy since 2007 and has another shop in Memphis. Banjo: An Illustrated History. Making Music: The Banjo, Baltimore and Beyond. He's done ground breaking research on early banjo makers William Boucher Jr. and Levi Brown, and was co-curator with Greg Adams and Bob Winans of the exhibit. 1865- Frank Converse Banjo primer published 1863-1897 James H. Buckbee Co., of New York largest maker. Other banjo manufacturers emerged in the 1840s and the following decades. Now owned by Geoff Stelling. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2018. +1 (615) 429-6835 3 banjo with hardwood neck and nickel plated body, leatherette case. Between the 1930s and 1960s, American roots music enjoyed successive waves of interest. The images used in this list have been provided by their respective builders and are the copyrighted www.buckeyebanjos.com The most technically advanced banjo of the early minstrel period. Mark Hickler These groups were common, especially on college campuses. Aurora, ON CAN L4G 3V5 www.chuckleebanjos.com SC.nb("theboss", "sloanbanjos.com", "", "", ""); Scott Vestal 137 Utah Avenue Progressive bluegrass, or newgrass, draws from a wider pool of musical influences than traditional bluegrass and might include more rock and jazz elements. Greg Galbreath +420-603-868120 The following are my criteria for inclusion in this list. James Hartel has been making and playing banjos on and off since 1973 when he made a banjo for his 2 year old daughter. www.morganmonroe.com However, the nature of the fixed intervals requires some compromise in intonation. Pete Ross, a Baltimore banjo maker, player and historian, plays a historic gourd-type banjo replica. It has gone from being an exclusive sound of West Africa, to being associated with the distinct bluegrass twang of the Appalachians and the unique picking style of clawhammer banjoists. PO Box 882, Elkins, West Virginia 26241 304-636-6710 Phone Hours; 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Eastern Time, Monday through Friday and occasionally on Saturday; Banjos,Contact us. in banjo orchestras, they were tuned an octave higher than a standard banjo. www.washburn.com, 56771 Lunar Drive While musical tradition runs strong in bluegrass, a generation of younger players started taking the music in new directions in the 1970s. Mazow, Leo G. Picturing the Banjo. Plucked means that it produces sound when the strings are struck or plucked. William Seeders Mosheim Pete Ross Banjos: open-back 5-string banjos based on the designs of late 19th century banjos made by Dobson, Buckbee, Fairbanks, and Cole, with modernizations for the contemporary player. +1 (724) 943-4581 In 1930, a Gibson L-1, the guitar reportedly favored by Robert Johnson, cost $50.00, the equivalent of $687.57 today. The banjo is a stringed instrument that is, or has been, prominent in American folk, country, bluegrass. Lindsay Lewellen They also composed new songs on the banjo, often devising unique tunings for the instrument to achieve the desired tonalities. +1 (303) 324-6732 If you know of any builders not on this list, please let me know. However, bluegrass incorporates jazz influences and emphasizes instrumental virtuosity and improvised solo breaks, which were not prevalent in old-time music. From 1836 on, Sweeney toured the United States and Europe in blackface, becoming the first superstar of the banjo. +1 (747) 222-6567 serial number impressed to verso, 60 cm long, Australian zither banjo, by boomerang, early 20th century, impressed factory mark to headstock, mother-of-pearl inlay to finger board, 93 cm long, English zither banjo, by Windsor, model no. The banjo featured prominently in records manufactured and sold in the first decades of the industry. More than half of the banjos and players reported were in the Chesapeake Bay states of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Progressive bluegrass continues today with artists such as Alison Krauss and Union Station, Infamous Stringdusters, and Yonder Mountain String Band. SC.nb("contact", "goldtone.com", "", "", ""); Laurie Grundy Frank Goscha of Philadelphia is mentioned as having been one of the early banjo makers in America but no details of him or his products have ever come to light. The Anthology was a set of six long-playing records that compiled eighty-four songs initially released on old-time and race record lines in the 1920s and 30s. +420 241 760 704 The best banjos will utilize premium materials and produce rich vibrant tones. www.banjo.ie began seeking out some of the performers. 5, circa 1920, maker and model number impressed to the head stock, the fingerboard inlaid with mother-of-pearl. www.omebanjos.com S. S. Stewart produced his own line of banjos from 1878 until his death in 1898. 9700 Humboldt Avenue South On June 19, 2022, I finally removed Gibson from the list. 1 Best Beginner Banjo 2023 Buying Guide 1.1 1. Many details of these early gourd banjos are evident in the instruments built by European American banjo makers in the mid-nineteenth century. Its loud, bright sound cut through jazz bands and dance orchestras, providing a solid rhythm. The vast archives of 20th-century recordings of African American banjo players and Haitian banza players, recorded by John Werk III, Alan Lomax, and others for the Library of Congress and Smithsonian, capture what people who otherwise were relatively voiceless were singing, and therefore what they were saying and thinking about in different Chris Bozung The efforts of the Gretsch, Vega, Stewart, Gibson and other banjo companies standardized the commercially manufactured 5-string: 11 inch head, 22 frets, 19 inches from nut to shell, position markers at designated frets. Roger McGuinn, whose electric 12-string guitar sound defined the Byrds earlier music, played banjo on some songs, as did virtuoso John Hartford. 7151 New Hope Road This is surely a disturbing trend. SC.nb("info", "deeringbanjos.com", "", "", ""); Scott also heads the Recording King custom shop in Japan. 1215 was a good year too Well built in Philadelphia (note the rosewood pot) around 1886 this 130 year old Samuel Stewart Piccolo travelled the world and ended up. By the early 1940s, musicians introduced electric guitars in jazz and blues. That Half-Barbaric Twang: The Banjo in American Popular Culture. I have worked with world renown banjo maker Kevin Enoch since 2004, collaborating on the design of his esteemed Dobson line, and creating much of the design and inlay on his most ornate banjos. Over the past three decades, Gold Tone has been incredibly prolific at producing stringed instruments. This technique has come to be known as guitar, or classic, style. +1 (540) 230-0085 These banjos can have 10.5, 11 or 12 inch pots; with any rim/ tone ring combination available including Electric Prototype, Bacon reproduction, Whyte Laydie, Tubaphone, Dobson; and a standard 25.5 inch scale length, or a shorter 23.5 inch. Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs: "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" (1949). By the end of the century, banjo repertoire had expanded from plantation and minstrel tunes to include sentimental popular songs, waltzes, mazurkas, polkas, and ragtime. During the late 1920s, he recorded for various companies race record lines, which captured African American blues, jazz, and gospel music and marketed to Black record buyers. In 1855, Tom Briggs, a minstrel banjo player and teacher, published Briggs Banjo Instructor, the first in a series of banjo tutors published over the following decades. The Kingston Trios version sold more than three million copies as a single. It has big resonant bass notes that you don't find on a 5-string banjo, and also crisp highs for that beautiful banjo tone. To the heal a metal plaque bearing 'The new Windsor/ patent zither Banjo/ A.O. pisgahbanjos.com University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2006. Search Enter Search Value: Played in the rural South since the second half of the nineteenth century, the banjo rose to become prominent in folk, country, old-time, and bluegrass music. First introduced to the United States by African Americans in southern slave communities, the early banjo was construed with a gourd head and four gut or vine strings. www.capekinstruments.com It was tuned in fifths, like a mandolin or violin, and played by strumming with a plectrum, also known as a pick. SC.nb("info", "recordingking.com", "", "", ""); The one-armed banjo maker. Shelbyville, TN USA 37160 $4,000.00 USD - Used - Excellent Condition. 3563 Highway 231 North . Clarinbridge, Co. Galway IRL H91 Yp28 Glasgow, KY USA 42141 In the late 1930s, mandolinist, singer, songwriter Bill Monroe formed The Blue Grass Boys, the band primarily responsible for developing bluegrass music. 5680 Valmont Road +1 (650) 588-5558 Laemouahuma Daniel Jatta with an akonting (photo by Chuck Levy). Welcome to the Vintage Banjo Maker, please do, Sign up for email updates from the Vintage Banjo Maker. Jim has had access to a vast array of surviving early banjos through the generosity of banjo history experts, collectors of early musical instruments, and museums. www.hussanddalton.com. Blue Lake, CA USA 95525 His first banjos consisted of a banjo neck attached to a drum-like steam-bent wood hoop with two skin membranes, one stretched over the top and the other over the bottom of the hoop. Mastercraft banjos are handcrafted in the . Charlotte, NC USA Dorset, VT USA 5251 As products from mail-order companies like Sears & Roebuck became available in the late nineteenth century, rural Americans increasingly purchased inexpensive manufactured instruments. Your donation to Ballad of America, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, will teach America's music to children and adults, develop resources for teachers, and build a free online library that promotes appreciation of the ways in which different cultures have contributed to America's musical landscape. www.cbguitars.com Banjos like classic Paramounts, Vegas, Coles, and S.S. Stewarts serve as the standards by which the makers at Arthur E. Smith measure their work. Bill Rickard Tom & Fintan Cussen Clarinbridge, Co. Galway IRL H91 Yp28 +353 91 796156 Tim Gardner Played in the rural South since the second half of the nineteenth century, the banjo rose to become prominent in folk, country, Enslaved West Africans in the Caribbean created a new instrument by incorporating elements of European instruments into the familiar design of their plucked spike lutes. 301 Church Street Excellent student model, The Windsor 'Pyxe' banjo, c. 1920's, with original case. www.stonebanjo.com The disassociation of the banjo from its African roots is starting to reverse. I love creatingentirely custom instruments drawing from historical sources. Most banjos today are fretted, though some musicians play fretless. While Briggs' tutor includes guitar-style playing in addition to downstroke, he was more interested in promoting his invention, the banjo thimble. As a material, it is harder and more stable than ebony, and is increasingly used by world-class guitar makers. This banjo represents an aesthetic blend of early industrial banjos (1875-1885) along with Romance Era guitars and banjos. Every Bad River Banjo is built one-at-a-time at a deliberate pace, with tools and methods from the late 19th and early 20th century. 1881-Dobson patents a tone ring 1890s-Steel strings widely available: cheaper than gut Ekona Diatta plays "Gambia" on the akonting (2007). Plus an 8 string banjo mandolin, early 20th century, Mandolin, 1920's Italian banjo mandolin by 'Il Globo' (faults), Banjo, 1920's banjo by S.rose & Co., comes with original case. Length 63 cm. BJ005, length 101 cm. James Hartel has been making and playing banjos on and off since 1973 when he made a banjo for his 2 year old daughter. The banjo became his instrument of choice in work as an activist and advocate for folk music and group singing. error? SC.nb("hicklerbanjo", "gmail.com", "", "", ""); Open back banjos and other folk instruments built in Orwell, NY. Today, the banjo can be heard in virtually every genre of music. +1 (517) 339-3505 www.goldtone.com Plus, great banjo makers craft long-lasting instruments! SC.nb("ken", "levandesign.com", "", "", ""); DP Hopkins, Inc. Roger McGuinn, whose electric 12-string guitar sound defined the Byrds earlier music, played banjo on some songs, as did virtuoso John Hartford. Home of the Rickard "Cyclone" 10:1 tuners. The two races lived in close proximity in the Appalachian Mountains, Piedmont, and other parts of the South, interacting socially and playing music together for dances. +1 (540) 887-2313 Gold Tone has licensed one model. Banjo music is as popular as it has ever been. The Banjo: Americas African Instrument. SC.nb("sales", "SHSAudio.com", "", "", ""); Frank Neat Welcome to the Vintage Banjo Maker, please do sign up for email updates to keep in the loop about new additions to our research coming soon! An entirely different approach to pot construction. SC.nb("will", "seedersinstruments.com", "", "", ""); Formerly J. Matthew Sabatella plays "Pompey Ran Away" on a banjo built by Pete Ross. By the end of the nineteenth century, the banjo had become the most popular fretted, stringed instrument in America. 133 Marion Drive Length 76 cm, A Windsor Premium No. . Franklin, TN USA Bend, OR USA 97707 He became the first star of the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast. By the end of the decade, other White solo banjo players in blackface became popular on the circus and variety show circuit. The Carolina Chocolate Drops with Dom Flemons on banjo: "Country Girl" (2012), Rhiannon Giddens and Dom Flemons, former members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, continue to perform, explore, and tell the banjos story in live performances, recordings, writings, and interviews. They share features that differentiate them from West African lutes, including a flat, fretless fingerboard, wooden friction tuning pegs, and the way the neck enters and attaches to the gourd body. www.stellingbanjo.com +1 (260) 657-5486 Companies designed banjos particularly for young ladies and targeted marketing campaigns at these principal purveyors of music in Victorian-era parlors. Asheville, NC USA Uncle Dave Macon: "Take Me Back to My Old Carolina Home". It has simple friction tuning pegs, and is strung with nylon strings. problem with this list? In the 1830s, a man named Joel Walker Sweeny was one of the first minstrels to play the banjo on stage. I have spent decades studying historic banjos and is happy to work with any early designs or collaborate on completely new design concepts beyond what you see here. Virtuosos like Bela Fleck have continued to extend the range of what a banjo can do. The instrument shares design elements and playing techniques with a family of approximately eighty known West African plucked spike lutes.

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