Following its original form as an A.C Fairbanks product, the Fairbanks Vega Whyte Laydie featured a natural finish on the maple neck and pot which provided its name. However, the real innovation was the Whyte Ladyie tone ring and bracket band, reducing the number of holes drilled and adding mass to the pot.
Boston
This Vega Pete Seeger banjo was purchased by American composer Earl Robinson in 1966 while he was writing his ‘Concerto for Five String Banjo’. This was first performed by the Boston Pops orchestra under Arthur Fiedler. From the late 1930’s into the 1960’s, Earl Robinson composed a number of well known, largely topical pieces including ‘Joe Hill’ ‘Ballad for Americans’, ‘Black and White’ and ‘Lonesome Train’, performed by many top artists.
Here we have a Vega FW5 Folk Wonder, factory converted as new to a Vega Senator. At the time this banjo was built, the Vega name and facilities were owned by the C F Martin guitar company, and a few years later Martin built some higher end Vega banjos in Nazareth PA. The Vega name is now owned by the Deering company, who manufacture excellent Vega models.
Built to compete with the Gibson L-7 and Epiphone Triumph, the Vega C56 Archtop was built from the 1930s until 1950. It was was Vega’s most popular full sized guitar and featured a solid Spruce top with Maple sides and back, Mahogany neck and Rosewood fingerboard. Here we have a Vega C56 archtop in the natural finish introduced in 1940. The serial number is somewhat below other models known to have been produced in 1940, so there’s a possibility this example was built in 1939. The top is solid Spruce, likely Adirondack.
This instrument has sold
MORE →This is a Vega Professional Tubaphone openback banjo, with a neck from the 1960s and the pot from a 1923 Vega Tubaphone banjo, a conversion common in the 1960s. Vega, now owned by Deering Banjos, is one of the oldest American banjo brands, founded in 1881 in Boston, Massachusetts. This lovely old banjo is a mix of two Vega banjos: a product of 1960s Hootenanny era.
This instrument has sold
MORE →The Deering Boston 5-String Banjo was one of Deering’s earlier original designs and aimed to deliver the tonal effects of a quality heavy wood rim and tone ring at a significantly lower price. To do this, Deering uses a rolled steel rim with a mass equivalent to the traditional components. As well, traditional Banjo style planetary tuners have been replaced with standard guitar-type tuners.
This instrument has sold
MORE →