clifford essex banjos

[carrie horgan]

Hello - I was looking up Clifford Essex banjos as I'm doing a little research into banjos that would be suitable for learning classic-style on.  I came across 2 for sale on this US site.

http://www.hmtrad.com/catalog/used/#fiveStringBanjo

The actual models are unidentified so I'm not sure of their value.  Anyway, I just thought it would be interesting to share these finds.  

Carrie

 

[Jody Stecher]

Carrie, neither of these banjos look like Clifford Essex banjos to me.  I do see a tailpiece on one of them that looks like the kind CE used. You can learn classic style banjo on virtually any banjo at all. All the open back early 20th century banjos that are considered to be "frailing banjos" were built for what is now called Classic Banjo so these and their less expensive modern copies are all viable classic banjos.  Resonator banjos work as well. Where are you located?

[David Wade]

I agree with Jody, neither of these are Clifford Essex models - they may have been through the workshop and picked up a vellum stamp but that is all. The tailpiece on the first one is possibly CE but Windsor used something similar. The second one has what look like Dallas inlays, certainly not CE.

Plenty of better ones about !

[carrie horgan]

Ah, thank you.  Maybe they should rename their site 'Imposter Instruments!'  

My understanding is that classic banjo is generally played on an open-back, there is no typical tone-ring (?) and the important thing is to have nylon strings and a no-knot tailpiece.  I have an open-back banjo but it is strung with steel strings (and has a presto-style tailpiece) as I play bluegrass and OT fingerpicking on it and it has a nice bright sound.  As an experiment I strung it with nylaguts (as I'm playing pieces from the Rob MacKillop 'Early American Classics..' book) but the strings were buzzing and one of the strings snapped in my face when I was tightening it.  So I am back on the steels.  It is probably a symptom of B.A.S but I'm thinking of having a separate banjo with nylon strings as I tend to switch between styles.  I live in the UK (Norwich).

[Jody Stecher]

Plenty of fine classic banjo players played and play on resonator banjos. I myself have recently acquired a Clifford Essex "Regal" model and find it very well suited for classic banjo. It has a resonator and a hollow rim.  I have it strung with CE gut strings at the moment.  Although a tone ring is not essential for classic banjo, tone rings are found on some of the best open back banjos for this music. All the Bacon models, the Fairbanks Whyte Laydie, The Clifford Essex XX all come to mind. No Knot tailpieces are not essential and not typical. In fact I find some of them a bit annoying to use. Having a separate banjo for classic banjo is a good idea in my opinion. One place to look is ebay UK. Another good idea is a new Clifford Essex. David Wade can help you with that. Eric Stefanelli is making some splendid classic banjos in France.  If you prefer an older banjo, several of the regular UK  contributors to this website may have one or twelve too many banjos and perhaps they might want to sell one.

[Richard William Ineson]

The banjo is priced at $1300 looks like a Weaver which had its fingerboard inlaid later. Normally it would have a metal shield in the peghead just like the CE models, but I have an early Weaver which is shieldless.

Alternatively, it could be an early CE 'Special' some of which were made by Weaver, and others, such as Richard Spencer. Weaver did not make banjos for anybody else after 1906, he told me this himself, so I know it is true

Strange that there is no rear view of the banjo,which would help us to identify it.

[thereallyniceman]

Hi Carrie,

I am sure that you will be able to find a Clifford Essex banjo here in the UK, rather than having to import from the USA with all the extra expense of  £100+ for postage, 10% import duty,  £20 customs clearance and the VAT at 20% on the purchase price AND on these previous costs!! This can make an import VERY expensive. 

I agree with all of the above comments about the banjos. I am sure that by using a different tail piece you could fit nylon strings on your current banjo. I think that the string breaking is down to the Presto tailpiece (modern, I assume?).  The stamped and punched 5 string Presto has dreadfully sharp edges and nylons are cut into very quickly.

They are OK for steel strings, but you can easily replace with a better tailpiece suitable for nylons. Mike Moss uses an ex-steel strung banjo and, I believe, has fitted a Fielding tailpiece with great success.

SEE A DISCUSSION HERE

Forget No-knot tailpieces as they are, as Jody says, not ideal. I find them fiddly and they do not give a downward pressure on the strings to stop the bridge slipping about.

Good luck.

carrie horgan said:

Ah, thank you.  Maybe they should rename their site 'Imposter Instruments!'  

My understanding is that classic banjo is generally played on an open-back, there is no typical tone-ring (?) and the important thing is to have nylon strings and a no-knot tailpiece.  I have an open-back banjo but it is strung with steel strings (and has a presto-style tailpiece) as I play bluegrass and OT fingerpicking on it and it has a nice bright sound.  As an experiment I strung it with nylaguts (as I'm playing pieces from the Rob MacKillop 'Early American Classics..' book) but the strings were buzzing and one of the strings snapped in my face when I was tightening it.  So I am back on the steels.  It is probably a symptom of B.A.S but I'm thinking of having a separate banjo with nylon strings as I tend to switch between styles.  I live in the UK (Norwich).

[marc dalmasso]

By the way ; i cannot understand why  there is an import_ custom tax for an English banjo imported from the USA to UK ; It is not logical ; in France , it 's the same thing , both governments needs a lot of money to finance their mad & expensive politic ..

 

Jody , congratulations for the Regal

[Jody Stecher]

You are right, Marc, it makes no sense. The customs duty (tax )exists to protect English business from foreign competition.  Thanks for the Regal words.  I've been wanting one of these for a long time but always the price has been too high and the condition too terrible for me to consider. As I ask in one of my songs (called "The Southwest Train"):  is the Eagle Regal legal?  I would like to post a video of this banjo but I can't find my little video camera anywhere. 

[David Wade]

Carrie, I'd suggest you give Clem at Clifford Essex Music a call, he's only up the road from you - we have the "Sharpe" and the "Weaver" on the range both great classic banjos.   

[Richard William Ineson]

Carrie, I've just remembered that Clive Hughes had a Weaver banjo last year which he was selling for £350.00, it was a bit worn and one of the hooks wasn't original, but it played and sounded well, and you could polish the metalwork during these dark days of winter.

[Joel Hooks]

TARRANT BAILEY

[Richard William Ineson]

Yes, now there's a banjo player, a bit odd, in some ways, but aren't we all? I always regret not going to see him when he lived in Bollington, I was having a lay off from the banjo at the time and we all think that everyone is going to last for ever. I didn't get round to visiting him and then he died. A remarkable man, not just as a musician, he talked a lot of sense. I hope that he had a good life.