Will Pepper's banjo

[Jody Stecher]

Another great feature on this website is the jukebox. It has gotten *very* full of recordings since the last time I checked it out. I was just now listening to Will Pepper's recording of Dinky's Patrol. Does anyone know what kind of banjo is being played on this recording? I really like the sound.  Also does anyone know the significance of the title? "Dink" is an old slang word for the male "member" but I don't know if that is what is meant here. It certainly doesn't mean "Dual Income No Kids" which is what a web search told me.

[Shawn McSweeny]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dinky

"also British :  attractively small :  cute"

Think of British Dinky toy or of Dinky Duck (no, not Donald) from US cartoons of a bygone era.

[Jody Stecher]

Yes, I used to hear the word "dinky" as a kid but it meant unattractively small , and shabby too,  It would be used in complaints. Thirty dollars for this dinky banjo? That's highway robbery!   But in this Banjo Solo "Dinky" appears to be a proper noun. And in the singular. So what does it mean?  I'm not getting a mental picture. 

[Trapdoor2]

Reminds me of the line from "Mademoiselle from Armentieres"

"Hinky dinky, parlez vous"

However, I'm most familiar with the term meaning small and shabby. In terms of slang, there is absolutely no reason a person could not be nicknamed "Dinky"...and they need not be small, more likely they're oversized. Kind of like calling a big guy "Tiny"...or "Little John".

Isn't there a Dink Roberts in the OT milieu?

[Jody Stecher]

Dink Roberts was an African American banjo picker from eastern North Carolina. His playing was very staccato and resembled the odd "stuttering" rhythms found in stroke-style playing. 

So there's a big guy named Dinky and he's out on patrol?  I'm picturing Baby Hughey with a banjo, speaking of "Dinky Duck".

My main question is about the tone of Will Pepper's banjo and what sort of banjo he played.

[Richard William Ineson]

I don't know what kind of banjo is being used on this recording but Will Pepper used a Weaver banjo at one time - I have a few photographs of this banjo, it has a small celluloid plaque on the heel with Pepper's name engraved on it. Later, Pepper used a very fancy banjo, which I used to own, it is nicely inlaid with MOP and the woods used in the construction are highly figured, the heel is well carved etc. the banjo is a Cammeyer, but I always thought it might have been American - both Essex and Cammeyer imported American banjos and 'relabelled them, some of these banjos were made by Cole. I'll see if the present owner will send me a photograph of it, the banjo is featured in an old photograph of the 'White Coons' which might be on this site in the photographs section, I can't remember if I ever posted it on here. Eli Kaufman says that these particular 'Cammeyer' banjos are very rare.

[Jody Stecher]

Thanks, Richard. The tone is clear, which could be Weaver. And it's sweet, which could be Cole.  But Cole banjos usually don't project like this one.

Richard William Ineson said:

I don't know what kind of banjo is being used on this recording but Will Pepper used a Weaver banjo at one time - I have a few photographs of this banjo, it has a small celluloid plaque on the heel with Pepper's name engraved on it. Later, Pepper used a very fancy banjo, which I used to own, it is nicely inlaid with MOP and the woods used in the construction are highly figured, the heel is well carved etc. the banjo is a Cammeyer, but I always thought it might have been American - both Essex and Cammeyer imported American banjos and 'relabelled them, some of these banjos were made by Cole. I'll see if the present owner will send me a photograph of it, the banjo is featured in an old photograph of the 'White Coons' which might be on this site in the photographs section, I can't remember if I ever posted it on here. Eli Kaufman says that these particular 'Cammeyer' banjos are very rare.

[nick langton]

Another possibility is a WE Temlett Mozart model (10" pot with a fairly heavy tension ring). Some adverts from the late 1890s say "as used by Will C Pepper". He also made a Clifton model for Alf Newton, the composer.

[Jody Stecher]

Thanks for that, Nick. I now think that at least some of the unusual and appealing banjo tone may be due to an anomaly of recording and playback. I have listened again to both Dinky's Patrol and To The Front (another Will Pepper recording on the jukebox) and this time I realized they are both above standard pitch. Dinky's Patrol is a half step high and To The Front is a whole step high, sounding in G sharp major and A major respectively. I realize that "standard" pitch was anything but standard in the early years of the 20th century but I still think this may be higher than Pepper was really tuned. To The Front is written in G major. I haven't seen notation for Dinky's Patrol. 

On the other hand the sound I hear on these recordings is consistent with what might come from a lightly strung banjo with a 10 inch pot. 

nick langton said:

Another possibility is a WE Temlett Mozart model (10" pot with a fairly heavy tension ring). Some adverts from the late 1890s say "as used by Will C Pepper". He also made a Clifton model for Alf Newton, the composer.