Bacon and Day SilverBell Tenor Banjo

Written by Paul Conlon. Posted in For Sale

known for their exceptional volume and cutting power the Silver Bell is ranked highly in the Irish banjoist ‘sought after’ list. In my opinion the Silver Bell model is the zenith of craftsmanship and offers great value for money. This particular banjo came from an English collector and is totally original and in excellent condition.

Details:

  • Built in 1927 (SN: 17803)
  • 19 fret ebony fingerboard with beautiful diamond cut pearl inlay postion markers.
  • maple neck with 3 ply veneers, rim and resonator with dark stain finish.
  • Fancy design pearl inlaid head-stock both front and back.
  • Oettinger finger style tailpiece and ‘GROVERPAT’ geared tuners with ivoroid buttons.
  • Original soft pedal lever which was designed to give control of loud and soft tones (effective for playing chords jazz style)
  • Original hardshell case

For Sale: (SOLD)

Ludwig ‘Dixie’ (1930) Tenor Banjo

Written by Paul Conlon. Posted in For Sale

Ludwig “Dixie” tenor banjo, circa late 1920s/early 1930s that utilizes a “top tension” system, is in excellent condition with original hard shell case.
This is one of Ludwig’s low middle-line models having the full dish wooden resonator with a colorful wood marquetry stripe around the side and ivoroid binding around the perimeter of the back. The back, sides and neck are built with walnut (with some nice swirly figure on the back). Gold sparkle inlays on fretboard and gold sparkle inlays on headstock. Usually the Ludwigs can suffer from varnish checking, but not this one the finish is in great condition.

The banjo, which is fitted with its original skin head is in first class condition and I have left fitted as a prospective buyer may wish to keep all of its originality. I will supply a plastic head if you wish to change over sometime in the future (fitted free). The machine heads are like gold dust ‘4 geared plant tuners’ and very much sought after for fitting on other banjos. The neck is straight and the action is set low, I have tuned the head to perfect intonation. It produces a bold and powerful tone, and yet it is traditional sounding because of having the skin head, but its melodious sound brings one instantly back to the jazz age. The banjo is for sale and modestly priced at £550 including original Ludwig case.

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