Vega Imperial Electric Model 5 String Banjo (1923), made in Boston, Mass., serial #58277, shaded mahogany finish, laminated maple rim, mahogany neck with ebonized fingerboard, hard shell case. This is an interesting and fairly rare 1920s example of an Imperial Electric Banjo, made not long after the venerable Fairbanks trade name was finally discontinued in favor of just Vega. It is stamped made by The Vega Company and Imperial Electric on the dowel with several patent numbers. That name dates to the 1890s and refers to the tone ring style, not actual electricity! By 1923 this was the oldest pro-grade model in the Vega line, patented in 1893 when electricity was a novelty! This is a fairly plain but very robust, high-quality instrument, at this point a mid-line model for Vega. The dark-finished heavy laminated maple rim topped by the older Electric scalloped tone ring but lacks the bracket band used on the Whyte Laydie; the shoes are mounted through the rim. The tone is comparable, the absence of the bracket band does not seem to have much sonic effect. The one-piece mahogany neck has an ebonized maple fingerboard, heelcap, and headstock facing, as well as bone nut and pearl dot-and-diamond inlay. The bottom edge of the rim was lacquered black, and the tailpiece is a true 5-string No-Knot. This banjo is equipped with an original Vega pie-plate resonator, close fitted with no flange. This can be easily removed if desired for playing as an openback. This Imperial Electric was far from the fanciest grade Vega, nowhere near as opulent as the high end models but structurally and tonally still one of the finest 5-string banjos in the world. By 1923 tenor and plectrum banjos were becoming the popular models and 5-strings were built in ever-more limited numbers. Fairbanks/Vega banjos pretty much define to this day what folks expect in an old time 5-string, and this instrument catches them just as 5-strings were slipping out of popularity as the Jazz age kicked in. It remains a classic old-time banjo and despite its plain appearance produces a sound that few others, new or old, can match. This is a wonderful playing and sounding banjo and a cool piece of Fairbanks/Vega history. Interestingly in this banjos case, someone removed the 5th string and played it as a plectrum for a while. In keeping with the style of the times (opulent jazz banjo age of the 1920s), they had it painted in gold. Some of the gold paint still remains on the metal parts and elsewhere. There was also a little bit of damage in the headstock, involving a newly drilled peg hole, which I have dowelled and filled. I have put in a new 5th string tuner and 5th string bone pip nut, added a period thin 5-string bridge, and strung it with nylon strings (or nylgut to be specific), to match the original tone and setup that the banjo was designed for (being originally strung with gut, rather than wire). I gotta say, strung with nylgut this thing both sings and barks, it has a tone that is both powerful and delicate, and works well for either fingerstyle or clawhammer type playing. The 4 tuners in the headstock are originals, and the calf skin head is likely original or at least period as well. Come play this banjo and hear how good nylgut strings can sound! There is wear on the frets and fingerboard but everything still plays well with no buzzing. Comes with the original case, which also has some wear but functions as it should. Its not the most pristine collectors instrument but its a good player and it has character in spades. Overall length is 37 1/4 in. 10 15/16 in. diameter head, and 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 27 in. Width of nut is 1 3/16 in. I can take more photos or make video recordings of it being played if you would like.
Strumenti Musicali