A.C.Fairbanks Whyte Laydie No7

[thereallyniceman]

Shawn posted some beautiful pictures earlier today showing his Fairbanks Electric and Whyte Laydie banjos. My digital camera has died and I only had my webcam to take these pictures so forgive the quality, but they show the MOP inlay patterns and heel carving.

 

The instrument has has some refinishing to the peghead back as the pearwood had cracked slightly, as they all do, but the banjo is in good condition to an instrument 110 years old!

 

Mike asked how it sounds compared to the Clifford Essex Concert Grand (or special XX) as the Essex banjos seem to have "stolen" the design of tone ring. I think that the Clifford Essex banjos much sound better than the Fairbanks WL. The Whyte Laydie is very bright and a bit 'thin' for my liking. It may be the set up, or the vellum or... or...??

If I had to chose one I would definitely go for the Concert Grand and it sounds much nicer to me.

Another thing that I don't like about the Fairbanks is that the MOP fret markers are at fret 9, instead of 10  and 15 instead of 14 as they are on Clifford Essex..and I am just used to the Essex positions !

[Shawn McSweeny]

Thanks for sharing pics of your WL7. It's a really fine example and in great condition. The very early ones, like yours,  have the red veneer in the backstrap and below the fingerboard. A little heavier bridge may deliver a sound more to your liking.

[marc dalmasso]

These Fairbanks are beautiful , but the  market ' price is  beautiful , too . I prefer the Concert grand , like Ian said , he offers the E sex positions , don  ' t hesitate

[Jody Stecher]

I have a question about the  Special XX and Concert Grand. It seems to me from the limited samples I've looked at that the pot is thinner on the XX banjos. Can anyone verify that this was a consistent characteristic? Can anyone comment on the tonal difference? I'm guessing the thinner pots might have shorter sustain.

 

By the way, the  plainer looking Whyte Laydies that were made at the end of David Day's tenure in the 1920s and even afterwards tend to sound very full and strong with a vellum and gut or synthetic strings. Some are ok with steel. The earlier ones mostly have sonic problems in my opinion and need to have the setup just "so" to function well. My exposure to the X rated special CE-s and Concert Grand banjos is limited but the 5 or 6 of those that I've played were strikingly better musical instruments from any point of view except for sometimes the quality of the inlay.  Better banjo at better price is always better, no? Unless you are a seller of Whyte Laydie banjos, i suppose.  Another virtue of the Special XX is that it sounds equally good with steel or gut/nylon.  

 

[marc dalmasso]

Yes , you point an interesting detail  making me think that  my " concert grand " is not one but is a  "special XX " . An early one because it ' s unmarked ; Ian , yours is marked ?

I post  2 pictures of inside of the pot , mine & a regular later mapple concert grand (  with the SX original vellum  , i guess a CE ' accessories ' brand_ i could learn this in the catalogs Richard posted  some weeks ago )

[thereallyniceman]

Interesting Jody and Marc,

I have not played a Concert Grand so cannot comment on the tonal differences between  the CG the Special XX.  My Special XX has the thinner hoop, like Marc's and has a nice mellow sound and plenty of sustain. Variables are again the problem. It sounded thin and strident with a Frosted Remo, but Mellow and pleasant with the Renaissance head.  The Special XX is the only banjo I have where friends have commented (unprompted, that it sounds nice)... usually all comments are to the contrary, but that may be my playing    :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the perch pole on mine.  Marc,   It is marked as you can see. One question though, when I bought my XX it had a CE resonator fitted, but did not have the metal flange as shown on yours. Also the resonator does not have a recess  on the top edge for the flange to sit in as it does on the Paragon. Does anyone know if it was standard to have this flange? I play mine open-backed, so it doesn't matter to me, but was the Special XX  supplied with resonator or was it later add-on?

[Jody Stecher]

My Special XX came with a flange and resonator that did not match the pot and neck. I left them in Australia with the guy who sold me the banjo as he thought that they were "after market" and possibly not made by CE and that he could sell them separately. The flange did fit though. I must have tested the sound both ways but I cannot remember doing that (jet lag does funny things). For what it's worth, I think a Paragon sounds better with the resonator *on*. But that's a different contraption.  I am now remembering a comedy of errors that occurred a few years ago when it finally became clear that one of my new students thought that "resonator" meant an open backed pot. No wonder I received a blank stare when I talked about the sound of a banjo without a resonator.

[thereallyniceman]

I have seen a Special XX banjos with a Mahogany (?) neck and maple hoop. I was told that they were sometimes produced like this by the Clifford Essex company, so nothing surprises me!

[Mike Moss]

Thanks for the answer, Ian. A better instrument for a lower price -- sounds like a win-win situation!