Clifford EssexProfessional

[Classic Banjo]

Greetings

In case anyone is interested there is a Clifford Essex Professional Banjo up for sale on Ebay:

RARE Clifford Essex Professional Banjo No:41 1900-1919 Super condition

Starting price £400.

Regards

Eric

[carrie horgan]

Well spotted, Eric.   My birthday's coming up so if you'd all like to chip-in :)

It's interesting that it is a short-scale - 19 fret?

[thereallyniceman]

Hi Carrie,

The scale length is 26 1/2" which is the approx. the same as a 22 fret "regular" banjo... but, the hoop is 12" not 11", so the fingerboard is shorter... the fret spacing is the same, hence the last few frets are missing.

They are nice banjos indeed.  The one in the advert needs a bit of TLC and cleaning.The ebony wedges seem to be missing and a piece of MOP is missing from the heel. (WHY?????) 

[Trapdoor2]

Appears to be some grub-marks around that hole in the heel (missing MOP dot)...which leads me to think it was removed intentionally. Hmmmmmm...

Decent price for the condition...the Pound has been declining lately. Too bad its marked to sell in the UK only (I couldn't bid anyway).

[Jody Stecher]

The screw under the missing dot may have been thought by a previous owner to be a substitute for the wedges. The  £400 starting bid is accompanied by a note saying the reserve is not met.  Clifford Essex metal is usually close to pristine even after 100 years. Much of the metal here looks distressed. It could be fun to clean it up if it were gotten at a very low price. I dunno….this banjo looks potentially troublesome to me. I wonder if the neck is straight and true.

[thereallyniceman]

The inside of the hoop shows signs of a high water mark ;-)

[Jody Stecher]

Perhaps a previous owner had read the article in Gardyloo on how to convert your banjo into a boat anchor and gave it a try.

thereallyniceman said:

The inside of the hoop shows signs of a high water mark ;-)

[marc dalmasso]

a substitute to the wedges ?  how could the screw be a  substitute to the wedges  Lol ; the screw is original in all the CE banjos , Under the dot or under an inlay ,  the DS is glued and screwed in the neck

Jody Stecher said:

The screw under the missing dot may have been thought by a previous owner to be a substitute for the wedges. The  £400 starting bid is accompanied by a note saying the reserve is not met.  Clifford Essex metal is usually close to pristine even after 100 years. Much of the metal here looks distressed. It could be fun to clean it up if it were gotten at a very low price. I dunno….this banjo looks potentially troublesome to me. I wonder if the neck is straight and true.

[Jody Stecher]

MOP = Mother Of Pearl

DS = Dowel Stick

Wedges= Wedges

Eric Womersley said:

MOP, DS, wedges,

What does this all mean? I'm not in the market for this so not important but it might help me understand what's going on here.

Another question springs to mind. Nostalgia aside, why buy this 100 year old banjo for say £600 when you can buy a brand new CE Classic for £750?

Eric

[Jody Stecher]

These two banjo models have nothing in common.  Different sound. Different response. Different size. Different pot depth. Different feel.  Different materials. Different shape. Different appearance. Different hardware. Different bezel. Different tailpiece. Different construction.  Different wood. Different metal. 

Eric Womersley said:

why buy this 100 year old banjo for say £600 when you can buy a brand new CE Classic for £750?

Eric

[marc dalmasso]

Wedges ; the two pièces of ebony ( missing on this CE pro )  between the neck brace ( triangular metal piece screwed on the DS ) and the pot  ;  without wedges , the neck is not realy fixed to the pot ;

same word ; wedges , for the personnal loudspeaker of each musician on stage

[Jody Stecher]

The tension hoop.  The Professional has a lovely scalloped one.  The literal meaning of bezel is a grooved ring so strictly speaking the new CE Classic banjo' s grooved tension hoop is a bezel but the Professional, which has a notched hoop, maybe does not. But in Banjospeak it's still a bezel. 

The answer to your newly explained original question is the same as my answer to the question I misunderstood. Certain vintage banjos have features and qualities not present in certain new banjos. In a word they are *different*. 

Eric Womersley said:

 what's a bezel? 

[Trapdoor2]

While I do agree that the tension hoop qualifies as a "bezel", I've never heard another banjo player here in the states refer to it as one. Semantically, just about anything surrounding an open surface (such as a clock face or a TV screen or even your phone screen) is called a "bezel". For banjos, I tend to think of ZBs when faced with a "bezel" reference. Perhaps it is a top-tension thing in my brain.

From an etymological standpoint, it is likely Old French and is related to "bevel".

Vintage banjos have a variety of cachets which tickle my interests. I love having a bit of history in my hands. OTOH, a well-made modern banjo of the same (or similar) form is usually nowhere near as cranky or fragile. With a modern banjo, I am generally less concerned about the instrument and can devote more of my energy towards the music.

I have never bought into the 'vintage instruments sound better' philosophy. I simply like the idea that I can play something that was making music a century (or more) ago.