Welcome My New Baby!

[thereallyniceman]

I have just bought a Weaver Banjo and  WOW, what a banjo it is., so I thought that I would show off with a post about it  ;-)

It has what has been described as "cutting power", and yes it is loud and has great tone. It is taking a bit of getting used to as with my strong picking it seems a bit over powerful!

Alfred Weaver was a UK luthier of the late 1800s - early 1900s, who made banjos for the great players of the Classic Style (Including Joe Morley and Tarrant Bailey). His banjos were "no frills" instruments and often had a "home made" look about them, but they just have that "special" quality.   

This Weaver has a few odd features that are not usually found on his instruments. It could have been a "Special" or maybe modified at some later time. Note the STAR at the 10th fret. Weaver usually only added MOP dots.

On the side of the neck there are fret position dots that, I believe, are not usually present.

It has the characteristic "Spoon Shaped"Weaver  heel.

It also has the typical Weaver floating tailpiece. I have tied mine in position using an old red gut string.

The banjo is not dated but is probably a later instrument, maybe post World War 1. The makers name is stamped into the perch pole.

The nuts used inside the hoop are hexagonal whereas earlier instruments had square heads.

The tension nuts have the later fixed ball ends. I have fitted a Clifford Essex armrest as used on the CE Paragon.

I have fitted a Remo Renaissance head, Clifford Essex heavy nylon strings and a Morley style bridge.

If anyone can give me any other details or comments on the instrument I would like be pleased hear them.

[Trapdoor2]

Honoured Sir,

I am obliged to inform you that proper testing of this device cannot be had in the UK. By Royal Decree, you are required to send it to a certified Test and Demonstration Laboratory for full evaluation. Fortunately, I am posessed of certain letters of marque which provide hereditary compass for our Laboratory and am, by said letters, sole Plunkintwanger to the Crown.

We accept parcels via USPS, UPS, Fedex, Luftpost, La Poste, Correos, Poste Italiane and Почта России. I look forward to personally supervising your required evaluation.

[marc dalmasso]

congratulations , Ian , the banjo is beautiful ; the string attaching the tailpiece is a C  ; here 's for my detail..

[Michael Laurence Redpath]

Really looking forward to hearing this little beauty , soon I hope . Regards , Mike

[Neil Angus Goodwin]

That is a very nice looking banjo, why do other peoples instruments always look like they just came from the makers?  your Clifford Essex wood hoop special looks equally beautiful, my paragon got picked up and played every day for at least 15 years by me after I bought it in 1984  and already had some marks on it's then 60+ year old carcass, so it no longer looks pristine, it also has a different armrest to the one you fitted so I presume mine is an earlier type (my Paragon very early around 1920 serial No,266) I will get around to posting some pics some time, by the way, just to be pedantic, churlish and and argumentative (and probably wrong) I loathe the term "perch pole" when it should of course be called by the technically more correct name of "rim stick" ! That should start a debate?

Happy playing

Neil

[thereallyniceman]

It is always a great buzz when you turn up and the owner opens the beaten up old banjo case to reveal an immaculate 100% original instrument... but it rarely happens. I think I have been lucky with a few of my instruments.

The armrest I fitted on the Weaver was a later Clifford Essex type which was fitted on the "New" Paragon and other high end banjos. It was also available to buy as an accessory. My Paragon is an early one too and has a metal armrest.

Re: Perch Pole.

I thought that Perch Pole was the correct name! Dowel Stick is an equivalent for the uninitiated ;-)

But "Rim Stick" is a new one on me!

[Mike Moss]

Wow, she's a beauty! I bet it sounds as good as it looks!

[thereallyniceman]

Thank you for the kind offer!

Are you the same person who's late father was a State Governor left $10 Million in an African Bank account and you wanted me to look after it for you in the UK? I sent the cash administration fee and I sent all my bank details, but the money never arrived!

Perhaps you could look into it for me, but in the meantime, where do I send the banjo for evaluation?

;-)

Trapdoor2 said:

Honoured Sir,

I am obliged to inform you that proper testing of this device cannot be had in the UK. By Royal Decree, you are required to send it to a certified Test and Demonstration Laboratory for full evaluation. Fortunately, I am posessed of certain letters of marque which provide hereditary compass for our Laboratory and am, by said letters, sole Plunkintwanger to the Crown.

We accept parcels via USPS, UPS, Fedex, Luftpost, La Poste, Correos, Poste Italiane and Почта России. I look forward to personally supervising your required evaluation.

[Mike Moss]

From: Muhammad Ofori

To: Thereallyniceman

Dear Sir:

I am Muhammad Ofori, a Nigerian and personal barrister to the late General Sani Abacha. As it is well known, the general was an avid classic banjoist and his selection of antique banjos was only rivaled by the Tsumura collection in Japan. The banjos are currently kept safe in a vault in the Credit Suisse in Switzerland but I need money to leave Nigeria and send them to the UK. For that I must bribe Nigerian and Swiss officials and have transportation arranged at cost. If you are interested please send me £20000 and I will send you the first set of mint condition Whyte Laydies as soon as I am in Zurich.

I am looking forward to hearing from you in this respect as soon as you receive this e-mail.

[thereallyniceman]

I warning to everyone...  I have first "dibs" on this!

It's my lucky day! A free banjo evaluation and a mint set of Whyte Laydies.

Now where did I put my cheque book?

[Richard William Ineson]

Dear Mr. Niceman,

You are being tricked, this person who claims to be Mohammad Ofori is an imposter, I am the real Mohammed Ofori and I am the nephew of the former Nigerian Minister for Exports, Ngambi Kwasalu, who was unfortunately imprisoned on false charges, of corruption, last year. I have his permission to dispose of our beloved leader's banjo collection, in fact, I am the only person who knows where it is. Please send me £20,000 to ensure that your title to this collection, is processed immediately, whereupon, you will be given instructions as to how you may collect the banjos.

[Trapdoor2]

Pish tosh. These Nigerians! It is always about money to them, innit?

Please understand, your banjo's Crown-required evaluation is completely free, without encumbrance of any kind. Only here in Nawth Alabama do we have the correct test and evaluation facilities for such an endeavour.

Your banjo will be handled with the utmost care and respect, it will be housed in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. Our facilities provide excellent security and a calm, quiet atmosphere where the subtle strains of Van Eps, Ossman, Oakley, Morley, et al, play quietly in the background.
Your banjo will be bathed in the warmth of Dixie Sunshine and infused with the clarity and vitality of crisp Nawth Alabama nights under Southern Stars.

Beyond test and evaluation, we offer a completely modern banjo spa. Our clinic is fully funded, licensed and insured, our personnel have attended the finest and most modern Banjo Universities and holding the highest level of banjo degrees available.

Your banjo will be returned to you, perfectly regulated, tuned to within the required +/-0.001 c and fully capable of reaching the highest level of perfection. In the hands of a virtuoso, it will sing with the angels. A hand-signed certificate, suitable for display, will accompany your detailed evaluation (pdf recommended).
As a bonus, you will also receive a complimentary air freshener and a commemorative breath mint. Please allow approx. 60mo. for full eval. Spa services are gladly added at no extra cost but may extend the banjo's visit by a few score months.

We look forward to evaluating your banjo.

vr,

Marc Smith and assoc. DBA "Trapdoor2"

[Neil Angus Goodwin]

 Ah, yes, your Paragon (also mint I see) has the same armrest as mine, and referring to my previous pedantry regarding rim stick the reason I dislike the term "perch pole" is because it either refers to an American colloquialism for fishing rod or to something that is precariously balanced on something else, dowel stick would only be correct if it was of round cross section whereas rim stick covers pretty much all of the wooden neck fastenings, howzat? 
thereallyniceman said:

It is always a great buzz when you turn up and the owner opens the beaten up old banjo case to reveal an immaculate 100% original instrument... but it rarely happens. I think I have been lucky with a few of my instruments.

The armrest I fitted on the Weaver was a later Clifford Essex type which was fitted on the "New" Paragon and other high end banjos. It was also available to buy as an accessory. My Paragon is an early one too and has a metal armrest.

Re: Perch Pole.

I thought that Perch Pole was the correct name! Dowel Stick is an equivalent for the uninitiated ;-)

But "Rim Stick" is a new one on me!