084 – 11″ Tubaphone Chubby Dragon Banjo
This custom Fairbanks Vega style banjo is one of the fancier most involved banjos I’ve yet to build. It features a lot of classic Fairbanks/Vega details with a few really interesting and fun twists. The classic Consalvi style ‘Chubby Dragon’ peghead inlay and other fretboard inlays were made using Black Mother of Pearl instead of white and the engravings were filled with a green fill instead of the traditional black. Instead of the more common traditional heel shape a WA Cole/Faribanks and Cole style boat heel was used. I combined influences of all of these makers to design the heel carving as well. The rim is classic a Vega Tubaphone design with a little added depth. The majority of the hardware was hand fabricated and nickel plated in house as well. Quite the involved process but the results were well worth the effort! If anyone is curious why this banjo has a low number for when it was built, the client reserved a number ahead of time that held special relevance to him and his family.
- 11″ Curly Maple Vega Bracket Band Rim
- Tubaphone Tone Ring
- Curly Maple Neck
- Ebony Fingerboard, Backstrap, and Peghead Overlay
- Hand Engraved Black Mother of Pearl Inlays
- 25.5″ Scale Length
- Nickel Plated Hardware
- Seeders Wide Notch Comfort Tension Hoop
- Seeders Tailpiece
- Sustainer Neck Attachment
- Seeders Bone Topped Violin Bridge
- EVO Fretwire
- 1-5/16″ Bone Nut
- Ivoroid Binding on Rim and Neck
- Honey Maple Stain
- Rickard Cyclone Tuners
- Calf Skin Head
- WA Cole Boat Heel
- Heel Mounted 2-Way Truss Rod
- Vintage Thin Nitrocellulose Satin Finish
- Published in Banjos
Vega Little Wonder Conversion Banjo
The Vega Instrument Company produced some of the best banjos of the early 20th century. This banjo started it’s life as a 4 string tenor. The Little Wonder was one of their lower end models but it was produced with the same attention to detail and high quality craftsmanship of their entire catalogue. This particular rim is one of the finest examples of an original Little Wonder I have ever seen. It features Vega’s signature two point shoes which were usually reserved for their higher end models like the Tubaphone, Electric, and Whyte Laydie. The hardware and rim are in almost mint condition and it’s surprising that this banjo is just shy of 100 years old being built in 1930, which is a little later in the production of these instruments. These banjos make excellent 5 strings and have a classic old time sound. The Little Wonder is not as sought after as the coveted Tubaphones, Whyte Laydies, and Electric models but they stand their ground against some of the best banjos out there.
- 11″ Vega Little Wonder Rim
- 26.1875″ Scale Length
- Calf Skin Head
- Paddle Peghead
- Mahogany Neck With Original Vega Dowel Stick
- Ebony Fretboard, Peghead, and Heel Cap
- Mother of Pearl Inlays
- Gotoh Tuners
- Hard Oil Satin Finish
- Published in Banjos