Early Guitar-Banjos

[Rob MacKillop]

Has anyone explored the world of the early guitar-banjos, or banjo-guitars (not a 5-string  banjo with an extra bass string). Bill's Banjos has a nice Fairbanks and Cole from 1881:

http://www.billsbanjos.com/F&Cguitarbanjo.htm

Was there any solo repertoire, or was it used mainly in the ensemble/orchestra setting for accompaniment?

I know they became very popular for early jazz guitar players, the increased volume helping them be heard against trumpets, and so on. But what about the period before that, say 1880-1920 - what were players doing with them?

[thereallyniceman]

Here is a precis of an article I found referring to Guitar banjo. This is obviously dated later than Rob is interested in researching, but it is nice to hear the instrument being played!

The guitar-banjo is a banjo head with a guitar neck. Traditionally the instruments were tuned like a guitar, EADGBE, since their chief purpose was to allow for a guitar player to double on banjo.  In fact, some of the best known hot jazz banjo players—Johnny St Cyr, who played with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, is a great example, played this instrument. 

Papa Charlie Jackson’s recording career began in 1924, and he was one of the first self-accompanied male blues singers to be recorded.  Jackson recorded over 60 solo sides between 1924 and 1934. In addition he backed up star singers such as Ma Rainey, Ida Cox & Lottie Beaman on their recordings.  

PAPA CHARLIE JACKSON

Here is a recording of Charlie Jackson:

Butter and Egg Man Blues on Guitar Banjo

[Trapdoor2]

I have never run across any "solo's" published exclusively for banjo-guitar...that I can recall. I would say that they were mostly accompaniment machines...but have no doubt that they would do fine with contemporary guitar work.

I've only heard one or two performers who could make the BG sound good. Generally they are very muddy-sounding and sort of 'neither fish nor fowl'; they don't sound like a guitar and they don't sound like a banjo. Later jazz-age BGs are usually even worse sounding. The 30's-40's (I don't know how long they made them) Gibsons are particularly nasty.

Here's one of my favorite guitar players on a 1918 Gibson BG. This instrument is huge (14" pot, open-back if I remember right). http://www.amazon.com/Chattanooga-Rag/dp/B000SFO72E I have the CD (I have all of his stuff).

[Mike Moss]

I have found a mention of guitar-banjos in a book by S. S. Stewart, The Banjo.

He writes, on the guitar:

"Guitarists find to-day in the American Guitar-neck-banjo -- a banjo with neck like guitar, -- an instrument of much greater power than the guitar; for which due credit must be given to the Banjo." (p. 105)

So it would seem that, for Stewart, at least, the guitar-banjo was mainly a guitar with a more powerful tone. As such, I would imagine that he intended the guitar music published in his Journal to be played on guitar-banjos as well as guitars.

[marc dalmasso]

Hi Rob ; it ' s fine to see you here again ;  i have one i fixed myself  ( the neck was in 2 parts and the fingerboard was only dust ; exactly like the Weymann 5th string i have from the same period ; both are entry grade ' instruments  but all maple and with the heavy metal parts , it ...sounds / for the curious ; on these entry level Bjs ; they used to use rosewood fingerboards  they turned to black with a chimical liquor ; which one ? to make think the wood was ebony but after 100 years , the mechanical properties of the wood were destroyed by this process and fingerboards were just dust ) ; she is from 1919 and 12 '  pot ;

i recorded this tune while you was gone ; iam not a coloured people , white or black ..... i am sepia : http://classic-banjo.ning.com/video/sepia-1

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Pretty much what I expected - mainly later stuff. I think Mike might be onto something with the idea of playing SSS's guitar publications on one. I've read his guitar music, though, and it pales considerably next to the banjo music of the period. Despite being a fan of Norman Blake, I would not be seeking to play modernist stuff on a 19th-century guitar banjo.

I was thinking it might be fun to include one in our banjo ensemble, here in Edinburgh. Not so sure what we would do with it, though...Also contemplated a pony, a giraffe, and a piccolo, but my hands are way too big for those.

[Jody Stecher]

I have an early 20th century Vega/Fairbanks "Electric" 6 string banjo. I think of it as a string tuba. I play it only with nylon guitar strings. Steel kills the sound on most specimens. Very very light steel works alright for chords only but for bass lines soft strings with just the right bridge brings out a good and musical noise-free sound.  I used to play this instrument as the accompaniment to A Ragtime Episode with Bill Evans playing the lead on a Cole Eclipse in Secret Life Of Banjos. I play this instrument with my bare fingers and thumb and also with a plectrum.

[Rob MacKillop]

Yes, I assumed gut or nylgut, and a fingerstyle technique. Wish you'd videoed or recorded that duet! Maybe you did?

[Mike Moss]

Perhaps a good candidate for some early guitar-banjo music would be the guitar arrangement of the popular banjo solo, "L'Infanta March", which was published in the June-July 1895 issue of the Journal? I've been collecting some clippings on guitar-banjos from the Journal, which I will post later, though the instrument is not mentioned often. It's still an interesting activity as I've found a few interesting pieces which I'll try out, though I'll have to transpose them to C notation first.

[Rob MacKillop]

Please do post what you can. 

[Mike Moss]

Here's what I've found:

A solo called "The Enterprise Waltz", described as "especially written for the Guitar-Neck Banjo, published in the Oct-Nov 1895 issue of the Journal:

Some letters related to the guitar-banjo...

(Continued in my next post)

[Mike Moss]

Another letter:

An advertisement:

An advertisement from a guitar tutor:

It is perhaps interesting that all the letters are from 1887-1888 and that two of them (one is from the Dec-Jan 1887-1888 issue) are from the same person ("W. M.").

That's all I've found, for now.

[Jody Stecher]

 There might be a video recording of a festival performance of SLOB playing A Ragtime Episode. Finding it is another matter. Making a new one would be easier. I'll be seeing Bill Evans soon and will see what can be done.

Rob MacKillop said:

Yes, I assumed gut or nylgut, and a fingerstyle technique. Wish you'd videoed or recorded that duet! Maybe you did?