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. 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 antique banjos out there.

• 10-13/16″ Vega Little Wonder Rim
• 26″ Scale Length
• Original Calf Skin Head
• Vega Peghead with Tubaphone Style Inlay
• Abalone and Mother of Pearl Inlay
• Mahogany Neck With Maple Dowel Stick
• Ebony Fretboard, Peghead, and Heel Cap
• Rickard Cyclone Tuners
• Vintage Thin Satin Nitrocellulose Finish

The post Vega Little Wonder 5 String Conversion appeared first on Seeders Instruments.

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

The post 084 – 11″ Tubaphone Chubby Dragon Banjo appeared first on Seeders Instruments.

This 1922 Vega Tubaphone rim is paired with a custom neck with original Vega details and a custom pineapple peghead inlay. The Mahogany neck is a great match for the 10-15/16″ Tubaphone rim. It has the crack and volume that you’d expect from one of these orginal Vega banjo rims.

• 25.5″ Scale Length
• 1922 10-15/16″ Vega Tubaphone Rim
• Engraved Pineapple Peghead Inlay
• Original Engraved Vega Style Fretboard Inlays
• Owners Initials Inlaid into Heel Cap
• Schubb Fifth String Capo
• PegHed Geared Friction Tuners
• Ivoroid Neck Binding
• Stacked Vega Style Heel Cap
• Seeders Violin Bridge
• Hard Oil Finish

The post 1922 Vega Tubaphone Pineapple Banjo appeared first on Seeders Instruments.

This 1923 Vega Whyte Laydie rim features a faithful recreation of a No. 2 Griffin style neck. The large 12″ Whyte Laydie rim is one of the most sought after of all original Vega rims from this era and the sound does not disappoint. The classic inlays and engravings compliment the sound that comes along with these rims making a perfect match for any vintage banjo fan. The PegHed tuners used on this banjo are an excellent tuner that give you a vintage look with the ease of a modern geared tuner. The neck shape is a slightly modified original Vega neck profile for excellent comfort and playability.

• 1923 11-15/16″ Vega Whyte Laydie Rim
• 25.5″ Scale Length
• Hand Engraved Inlays
• PegHed Geared Friction Style Tuners
• Vintage Toned Hard Oil Finish
• Ivoroid Neck Binding
• Vega Stacked Heel Cap
• 1-1/4″ Nut
• Graphtech Tusq XL Nut
• EVO Fretwire

The post 1923 Vega Whyte Laydie No. 2 Banjo appeared first on Seeders Instruments.

This banjo started its life in 1929 as a Vega Vegaphone tenor banjo. The new longneck was design to match the original neck in style and looks while also using some of Vega’s Pete Seeger model as influence. These old Vega rims make excellent conversions and the Tubaphone paired with the longneck scale is a perfect combination for a big deep sound. The three extra frets on the low end of the longneck add a great range of tunings and keys to play in.

• 32″ Long Scale Length
• 1929 – 10-15/16″ Vega Tubaphone Rim
• Ivoroid Neck Binding
• Mother of Pearl Star Inlays
• Gotoh Tuners
• 1-1/4″ Nut
• Sunburst Nitrocellulous Lacquer Finish

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This banjo started as a 4 string Little Wonder banjo from 1919. The original neck was falling apart and the owner wanted a new five string neck. Built for the same customer as the Prime Number Banjo and is a similar numbers theme. Using Pi as the idea we came up with this unique design. I came up with a new technique for making delicate inlaid dots to feature the number of the banjo at the end of the Pi string and a Pi symbol for the decimal point.

• 10-15/16″ 1919 Vega Little Wonder Rim
• 26-3/16″ Scale Length
• Pi Themed Inlays
• Ebony Fretboard and Peghead
• Ironwood Inlays
• Delicate Inlaid Dots
• Cherry Neck

The post 035 – Pi Banjo Conversion appeared first on Seeders Instruments.

A 12″ Vega Little Wonder rim that, like many of these, was originally a tenor banjo. The neck was long gone and the owner happened to have a very nice piece of Santos Mahogany around that an old friend had given him many years ago. Sticking with a simple Vega aesthetic I created a new neck from the wood he sent. It turned out to be an excellent neck material and a perfect color match for the stained maple rim. A simple adorned but extremely enjoyable banjo to play. The Little Wonder rims and tone rings are often overlooked but they can have an excellent sound when setup correctly.

• 26-3/16″ Scale Length
• 11-15/16″ Vega Little Wonder Rim
• Ebony Fingerboard, Peghead and Heelcap
• Mother of Pearl Inlays
• Original Dowel Stick Construction
• Calf Skin Head

The post Vega Little Wonder Conversion Banjo appeared first on Seeders Instruments.

A nice old original Tubaphone rim with an original Tubaphone resonator. The client wanted a slothead neck with simple aesthetics setup for fingerstyle playing.

• Original 11″ Vega Tubaphone Rim with Resonator
• 25.5″ Scale Length
• Curly Hard Maple Neck with Ebony details
• Brass side dot inlays
• Micro Dot Mother of Pearl Fretboard Inlays
• Slothead Peghead
• Seeders Curved Bridge
• Renaissance Head
• EVO Fretwire
• 2 Way Truss Rod Hidden in Heel

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