Fairbanks Special Electric 5 String Banjo , c. 1898
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Item # 8119
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Fairbanks Special Electric Model 5 String Banjo, c. 1898, made in Boston, Mass., serial # 17875, natural finish, spunover rim, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, black hard shell case.
This is an interesting and attractive early Fairbanks banjo, more of a player grade piece showing some older repair work and a somewhat mixed bag of parts but still a very good instrument. This nice mid-line Boston banjo is built on a just-under 11" spunover pot, with the patented "Electric" scalloped tone ring and some very stylish engraved pearl inlay. This "Electric" tone ring was patented in 1890, the first and most elaborate such fitting for its time which set the pattern for the 20th century's increasingly elaborate (and heavy) such devices.
This Fairbanks "Special Electric" dates to around 1898, predating the best remembered classic 5-string banjos of the company's incomparable pre-war (pre-WWI, that is!) line, the Whyte Laydie and Tu-Ba-Phone. This was not a top-end model but still an extremely high quality instrument and a neat and attractive design. While built with the older 19th century style metal-and-wood rim, it maintains the quality inherent in all Fairbanks banjos. It has seen quite a bit of re-working over the last 125 years but even so plays fine and sounds lovely.
Overall length is 36 1/4 in. (92.1 cm.), 10 7/8 in. (27.6 cm.) diameter head, and 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 27 in. (686 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/8 in. (29 mm.).
This venerable banjo has seen some repair and alteration over the last 120 years, but remains a good playing instrument. The entire neck was fairly heavily overfinished in lacquer long ago, and the fingerboard reglued; some of the laminated seams along the edge can be felt. The back of the headstock has a black veneer and backstrap that were probably added when that work was done. There is some noticeable scarring on the dowel stick from an old resonator mounting, or somesuch. The Fairbanks logo plate is long gone but at least the dowel finish remains original.
The plating on the rim, hoop and hardware is original with some general wear; amazingly all but one of the hooks & nuts are original as is the No-Knot tailpiece, which has one partially broken tine. The neck attachment hardware is later, from the 1920's but functional. The tuners are period friction pegs with added grommets on the face; the 5th string peg is a much later geared unit. The neck was partially refretted long ago; above the 7th fret or so the wire appears original. The nut was changed as well. The fingerboard suffered some scarring and patching in this process, but the banjo still plays well. Two old railroad spikes have been removed from the fingerboard and the tiny holes filled.
Set up with an older plastic Remo head and maple/ebony bridge this banjo has a nice ring, even with Nylgut strings. While not the most original period instrument (even allowing for the passage of nearly 125 years) this "Special Electric" nonetheless survives as a fine player's example of the Fairbanks company's earlier work, generally considered the finest openback banjos of their era. It lives in a later HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This is an interesting and attractive early Fairbanks banjo, more of a player grade piece showing some older repair work and a somewhat mixed bag of parts but still a very good instrument. This nice mid-line Boston banjo is built on a just-under 11" spunover pot, with the patented "Electric" scalloped tone ring and some very stylish engraved pearl inlay. This "Electric" tone ring was patented in 1890, the first and most elaborate such fitting for its time which set the pattern for the 20th century's increasingly elaborate (and heavy) such devices.
This Fairbanks "Special Electric" dates to around 1898, predating the best remembered classic 5-string banjos of the company's incomparable pre-war (pre-WWI, that is!) line, the Whyte Laydie and Tu-Ba-Phone. This was not a top-end model but still an extremely high quality instrument and a neat and attractive design. While built with the older 19th century style metal-and-wood rim, it maintains the quality inherent in all Fairbanks banjos. It has seen quite a bit of re-working over the last 125 years but even so plays fine and sounds lovely.
Overall length is 36 1/4 in. (92.1 cm.), 10 7/8 in. (27.6 cm.) diameter head, and 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 27 in. (686 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/8 in. (29 mm.).
This venerable banjo has seen some repair and alteration over the last 120 years, but remains a good playing instrument. The entire neck was fairly heavily overfinished in lacquer long ago, and the fingerboard reglued; some of the laminated seams along the edge can be felt. The back of the headstock has a black veneer and backstrap that were probably added when that work was done. There is some noticeable scarring on the dowel stick from an old resonator mounting, or somesuch. The Fairbanks logo plate is long gone but at least the dowel finish remains original.
The plating on the rim, hoop and hardware is original with some general wear; amazingly all but one of the hooks & nuts are original as is the No-Knot tailpiece, which has one partially broken tine. The neck attachment hardware is later, from the 1920's but functional. The tuners are period friction pegs with added grommets on the face; the 5th string peg is a much later geared unit. The neck was partially refretted long ago; above the 7th fret or so the wire appears original. The nut was changed as well. The fingerboard suffered some scarring and patching in this process, but the banjo still plays well. Two old railroad spikes have been removed from the fingerboard and the tiny holes filled.
Set up with an older plastic Remo head and maple/ebony bridge this banjo has a nice ring, even with Nylgut strings. While not the most original period instrument (even allowing for the passage of nearly 125 years) this "Special Electric" nonetheless survives as a fine player's example of the Fairbanks company's earlier work, generally considered the finest openback banjos of their era. It lives in a later HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.