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| Solist banjos - General Banjo Topics - Banjo - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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Philj200 Approved 
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I low-balled a bid on a banjo for parts offered on eBay and won. The instrument came with the neck and pot separated. It has a resonator and is reported to be very loud. Perfect since when finished I;ll use it in the orchestra and be heard for 12-fiddles. On eBay the owner said that the instrument started out as a tenor but that neck broke and was disgarded. That person had a 5-string neck made. The instrument was as described: A lot of the inlay is missing but the nexk seems to have been played thay way for a long time as the indentations are worn down. I'll attend to that when I get the chance. No tailpiece which bummed me a bit. No tuning machines either. I had a set of 1:1 friction pegs I installed and a spare 4:1 5-string peg , also now installed. No bridge either, but I didn't expect one. I had a spare anyway. Somewhere along it's path, a plastic skin was installed. It shows a lot of use but is fine. There is a cracked heel but the crack was fixed and seems stable. The tension bar is missing but the large nut that supplies most of the strenght is in place and seems to hold. We'll see after I get a tailpiece and put strings on the critter. But the instrument was sold as parts so I have no beef. Just another banjo project. Anyone ever hear of a Solist banjo? I think they were German but that's a guess.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Will Approved 
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 That photo is from a Swedish web site that turned up on a Google search: http://banjo.nager.se/Banjos/Levin/Levin_Solist_TB/pages/neck_jpg.htm Other links that come up are misspellings of "Soloist," a contemporary model of banjo sold by the Recording King brand.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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Philj200 Approved
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That tenor is a lot fancier than mine. The inlay, what's left of it, is simpler.As is the tuning boards. And of course, mine is now a 5-string. I'll post a picture of it when I get it finished. Still undecided about the enlay work.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Philj200 Approved
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Okay, after much slap on the farhead efforts, this is it. Note the missing inlay which will be a trial to replace. And cost more than I care to invest until I hear what this critter sounds like. The nut may have to be replaced as well. That will be decided when I get a tailpiece for it. Attachment: Solist banjo cut.jpg (Downloaded 9 times) Last edited on Sat Sep 20th, 2008 12:38 am by Philj200 ____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Philj200 Approved
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Couple of pickers over at Banjo Hangout think it is part old Kay. One thinks it might be a Framus. I didn't know that Framus actually was a brand. I took off the resonator and checked for information inside. Not a number, name or logo of any kind was inside. I think I have a banjo in the Witness Protection Program.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Philj200 Approved
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Okay, she's pretty much complete and playable. It is loud. But it has curiously sweet tone. Not the harsh, cheap sound I was half expecting and dreading. The action is if anything too low. I'm getting a little buzz on the 4th string. Will dress the frets a bit more than I already have. I get a light buzz on the 5th string at the 12th fret (counting from the nut) and since I'm one of those pickers who frets the 5th string I'll probably instll a slightly higher 5th-string nut. Maybe think about a higher bridge. I had a set of 1:1 friction pegs that came off a 1960's Vega. They work. And they've reminded me why I took they off. I have geared pegs on most of the other banjos I share a house with. Now I have to play it more to see where it fits in. Added a few minutes later: I fixed the buzzes. I uses a dowel about six inches long and a hammer to reseat the fret wire a little deeper. Son-of-a-gun, it worked. Last edited on Thu Sep 25th, 2008 08:24 pm by Philj200 ____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| ezFolk Forums > Banjo > General Banjo Topics > Solist banjos | |
