Slingerland Night Hawk Tenor Banjo
A little bit of history
Slingerland was started by Henry Heanon, sometimes going by H.H., Slingerland who was a music instructor at Chicago’s West Side Conservatory of Music. He renamed the company Slingerland Correspondence School of Music and began labeling the instruments “Slingerland May Bell” or just “May Bell.” H.H. decided to hire a local German craftsman and in 1923, Slingerland began manufacturing their own instruments under the name “Slingerland Manufacturing Co.” By the late 1920’s, Slingerland was a full-fledged competitor in the stringed instrument-making market. There is a great history to the Slingerland company who infact went on to become the biggest drum manufacture world wide, click here for more facts.
About this banjo
I acquired the banjo from a dealer in Virginnia a couple of years back and have been restoring it on and off since. The neck was originally sprayed blackgloss which was a shame as it covered up the beautiful wood as you can see now. The paint work had worn through to reveal the mahogony and green dyed pearwood so I refinished the neck which in my opinion has given it a new lease of life. The fret board is ebony with crown shaped inlay position markers and white side binding. The multi-laminated wood head stock bears the ‘Night Hawk’ name with the bell & crown MOP. The geared tuners which look original are all working well. The spun over heavy duty tone ring is what gives this banjo its unique power. I fitted it with a 10 3/4″ Remo clear head to inhance the mid to high tones ringing from the bell brass tone ring. The clamshell tail piece is new.
Although this is a mid range banjo the build quality is second to none. All of the metal parts i.e. hooks & nuts, shoes,tone ring, tension hoop etc. are solid brass with nickel plating and are all in excellent condition and is what makes this banjo feel heavy. The resonator looks to be walnut with the outer sidewalls in wood marquetry. The inner bottom is lathe conical shaped to bounce the sound through the holes around the resonator. The first person to try this banjo out will most likely buy, a great session player…
Comes with newer hard case.
Priced to sell £950