A. A. Farland Concert Grand 5 String Banjo , c. 1918
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Item # 3264
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A. A. Farland Concert Grand Model 5 String Banjo, c. 1918, made in New York City, natural varnish finish, maple rim and neck, ebony fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
A.A. Farland, celebrated banjo virtuoso of the late 19th and early 20th century, didn't care for those new-fangled tone rings banjo makers of his era were using on their high-grade instruments -- he thought they sounded "too tinny!" He also abhorred spun-over metal rims, like those on S.S. Stewart's banjos, for the same reason. Farland preferred a plain wooden rim with no metal at all and so designed and patented his own banjos with no tone ring whatsoever -- just a heavy laminated maple rim sloped away from the outer edge.
He called it the "A.A. Farland Beveled Top Wood Rim Banjo", putting a label inside to that effect with his picture in the center. As he was a teacher and performer he didn't actually build the instruments bearing his name, but subcontracted with the best builders of the day. This particular example was almost certainly made by New York's Rettberg and Lange, and shares many family traits with their more common Orpheum banjos.
This is not one of the fanciest Farlands, but is still a beautifully crafted high-grade instrument. The neck is a single piece of maple with a lightly carved heel, capped with an ebony fingerboard with simple small diamond inlay. The headstock is veneered with ebony with a large pearl fleur-de-lys inlaid. The rim is bird's eye maple with a contrasting cap on the bottom edge. The dowel is secured with the simplest of wooden wedge systems and marked "A.A. Farland Concert Grand".
Conceptually not unlike an S.S. Stewart "Special Thoroughbred", this banjo is intended for the serious player who is not interested in the flashy decoration common on better late-19th century banjos. Farland's ideas were somewhat eccentric, and didn't ever catch on in a big way, but he did leave behind some elegant and distinctive banjos. The unique sound of the beveled top wooden rim gives the banjo a deeper mellow tone greatly prized most famously by John Hartford, among others. This is a nice playing example of Farland's legacy.
Overall length is 36 1/4 in. (92.1 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 3/4 in. (7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 27 in. (686 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
Very fine playing condition; set up with a modern fiberskin-style head and nylon strings. The rim hardware is original, with an added 1920's style armrest and a newer No-Knot tailpiece. The original Farland turnbuckle-and-string mute device is missing and the hole in the dowel for it has been plugged. The rim has been overfinished but the Farland label is intact. Neck and dowel finish original with some polishing out, the fifth string peg is newer than the others.
Overall a very fine playing and sounding Farland in ready-to-gig condition with a top-line newer hard case. Excellent Condition.
A.A. Farland, celebrated banjo virtuoso of the late 19th and early 20th century, didn't care for those new-fangled tone rings banjo makers of his era were using on their high-grade instruments -- he thought they sounded "too tinny!" He also abhorred spun-over metal rims, like those on S.S. Stewart's banjos, for the same reason. Farland preferred a plain wooden rim with no metal at all and so designed and patented his own banjos with no tone ring whatsoever -- just a heavy laminated maple rim sloped away from the outer edge.
He called it the "A.A. Farland Beveled Top Wood Rim Banjo", putting a label inside to that effect with his picture in the center. As he was a teacher and performer he didn't actually build the instruments bearing his name, but subcontracted with the best builders of the day. This particular example was almost certainly made by New York's Rettberg and Lange, and shares many family traits with their more common Orpheum banjos.
This is not one of the fanciest Farlands, but is still a beautifully crafted high-grade instrument. The neck is a single piece of maple with a lightly carved heel, capped with an ebony fingerboard with simple small diamond inlay. The headstock is veneered with ebony with a large pearl fleur-de-lys inlaid. The rim is bird's eye maple with a contrasting cap on the bottom edge. The dowel is secured with the simplest of wooden wedge systems and marked "A.A. Farland Concert Grand".
Conceptually not unlike an S.S. Stewart "Special Thoroughbred", this banjo is intended for the serious player who is not interested in the flashy decoration common on better late-19th century banjos. Farland's ideas were somewhat eccentric, and didn't ever catch on in a big way, but he did leave behind some elegant and distinctive banjos. The unique sound of the beveled top wooden rim gives the banjo a deeper mellow tone greatly prized most famously by John Hartford, among others. This is a nice playing example of Farland's legacy.
Overall length is 36 1/4 in. (92.1 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 3/4 in. (7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 27 in. (686 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
Very fine playing condition; set up with a modern fiberskin-style head and nylon strings. The rim hardware is original, with an added 1920's style armrest and a newer No-Knot tailpiece. The original Farland turnbuckle-and-string mute device is missing and the hole in the dowel for it has been plugged. The rim has been overfinished but the Farland label is intact. Neck and dowel finish original with some polishing out, the fifth string peg is newer than the others.
Overall a very fine playing and sounding Farland in ready-to-gig condition with a top-line newer hard case. Excellent Condition.