Fairbanks Banjos by Vega                                                    WS6

 

A) History of the company.

B) 5 string plectrum and 4 string tenor and plectrum banjos.

C) Overview of the banjos in the collection in this grouping.

 

A) History of the company:

 

( If not already seen, you may want to refer to the lengthy information in the prior grouping under the heading of “A Proposed Classification System for Fairbanks Banjos”. This information is a logical continuation of that.)

 

The Vega Co. of Boston had previously made music instruments other than banjos. When they bought the Fairbanks Co.( For $925 plus $1 for four active patents) after the 1904 fire, they wisely elected to continue using the  name and the Fairbanks models with few changes. On the Whyte-Laydie No. 7, discontinuing the thin red veneer under the board and caps allows collectors to distinguish between pre- and post-fire examples. The peghead inlay was also altered slightly by Vega.  The metal plates remained on the dowel sticks thru 1909. From 1910 thru 1921 dowels were marked with a stamp that included both “Fairbanks Banjos” and “Made By the Vega Co”. Fairbanks was finally dropped in 1922. Thus almost all new models introduced from 1904-1921 carried the name until 1922 . The Vega catalog circa 1904-1908 unfortunately did not picture but described in detail the incredible Whyte-Laydie DeLuxe model which is prohibitively rare or non-existent. Slightly later new “Fairbanks” models introduced by Vega were listed in their circa 1912 catalog and included the Senator No. 1, the Style C, and the Tubaphone line. First offered in 1909, it featured the Tubaphone tone ring with its square hollow chamber with perforations and became their premier line. It was offered on 3 models ( No. 3, No. 9, and the DeLuxe) all of which continued the use of the Whyte-Laydie’s bracket band construction with un-perforated rims. While performing admirably for clawhammer and classic styles of playing, due to exceptional clarity in the higher ranges, it came to be especially cherished by players of the plectral style on 4 string banjos.

 

B) 5 string plectrum and 4 string tenor and plectrum banjos:

 

I am aware that most collectors and players of 5 string banjos have little interest in the 4 string versions. However, totally ignoring the transition omits a big chapter of banjo history and skips some very interesting Vega Company information. The oft-repeated explanation for what led to the development of tenor and plectrum 4 string banjos and their order of appearance is summarized in the remainder of this paragraph. Changes in musical tastes and the wave of big band popularity made the banjo difficult to hear and pushed it toward obsolescence. Musicians and makers shortened the neck, used heavier steel strings tuned in 5ths, removed the 5th string, and began playing these banjos as a backup, rhythm instrument using a flat pick held between the thumb and index finger. Initially called the “Tango Banjo”, it soon came to be called the tenor banjo. The tuning in 5ths was very convenient for single-note playing but when chorded gave the instrument a somewhat harsh sound that led players to later simply remove the 5th string from the standard banjo creating the plectrum banjo. Like the tenor banjo, it is almost always played with a flat pick. Being tuned in 3rds, its sound was much more mellow and thereby more conducive to playing “chord melody” style. It is usually stated that tenor banjos developed in the mid to late teens and the plectrum version followed soon thereafter.

I have never heard or read an account of this period of transition that included any discussion of the 5 string plectrum banjo. That is not too surprising since these banjos are so rare that few collectors or dealers have seen or even heard of them. It does seem to be the case that by the 1920s and 30s, the production of standard 5 string banjos dropped precipitously and the vast majority of banjos manufactured were of the 4 string variety with tenors outnumbering plectrums by a ratio of perhaps three or four to one.

In the very back of the circa 1912 Vega catalog is a lengthy writeup of the prominent entertainer, Brent Hayes, where he is called, “ the world’s highest salaried banjoist”. He had just returned from a very successful 9 month tour of New Zealand and Australia during which he attracted much attention playing his Vega 5 string plectrum Tubaphone DeLuxe with two bass strings running the full length of the neck and played with a flat pick. Hayes seems to have been both a superb musician as well as quite an interesting character. The British publication, Banjo, Mandolin, and Guitar, ran a long and fascinating series of articles on him that ran from late 1960 well into 1962. Many of those articles contained detailed information about his banjos. I have been told that recordings of Hayes' superb playing exist but have not been able to acquire any of them.( Anyone having copies of these would thrill me by sharing them). Lacking any information to the contrary, it seems logical to assume that Hayes pioneered this version of the banjo and this playing style. As the earlier-mentioned Vega catalog attests, his instruments were made by that company. Jim Bollman has seen about six 5 string plectrums. As he recalls, perhaps four were Tubaphone No. 9 models and two were Tubaphone No. 3 models. To these must be added the two examples in my collection which are examples of other models. In what surely ranks as a triumph of function over form, to my knowledge all known 5 string plectrums have the "extra" tuner for a 5th string placed right in the center of the peghead and its pearl inlay.

Due to the dates they were produced, the two 5 string plectrums in my collection are listed in different groupings. The top-of-the-line Tubaphone DeLuxe model (S/N 59331) is found in the "Other Vega Banjos" group. The example listed in this grouping ( S/N 27817) is a custom 5 string plectrum. It is quite intriguing when considering the usual explanation of this transition period that was described three paragraphs earlier. Convincingly dating from 1911, it calls into question several aspects of the usual story of the development of 4 string banjos and specifically raises the question of whether the long neck plectrum banjo may have actually pre-dated the tenor version.

 

 

C) Overview of banjos in this grouping:

 

Eleven are pictured and discussed. These include an Electric No. 0 with rarely-seen inlays and 4 new models. The Senator No.1 features a lovely dogwood-like flower in the peghead that appears to have only occurred during the 24,000 serial numbers. The  Style C is the only known survivor. The Tuba. No. 3 is from the only year that carried the metal plate. The Tuba. No. 9 is one of about 6 known made in 1909 with the striking vine inlay peghead and a 5 piece mahogany neck. There is a Whyte-Laydie No. 2 that left the factory originally with a Tubaphone tone ring. A possible one-of-a-kind custom 1911 5 string plectrum with a beautiful and very rare heel carving. One of only 2 known W. L. No. 2  piccolo banjos.