Vega Deluxe Electric Electric Tenor Banjo , c. 1937
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Item # 9143
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Vega Deluxe Electric Model Electric Tenor Banjo, c. 1937, made in Boston, Mass., serial # 35872, sunburst top, ivoroid back and sides finish, laminated maple rim and neck, celluloid fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
Here we have a real dazzling rarity from around 1937-8 -- a restored, refinished, and replated Vega "Deluxe Electric Tenor Banjo". Unlike their 1890s Fairbanks Electric banjo models, they really meant the "Electric" part too -- this is a banjo in shape only, actually more of a round-body semi-hollow electric tenor guitar. Of course it was aimed at banjo players, who were getting thin on the ground by the late 1930s.
Since the tenor banjo was never loud enough (that's an old man joke there, son), Vega offered their tenor banjo stalwart customers a fully electric creation that replicated the layout of their familiar instrument. This instrument was built around 1937 in Boston, where Banjo-centric Vega was struggling with the loss of that market and the rise of the guitar and electricity.
The "banjo" body is a semi-hollow circular wooden box with a flat top and back, finished in a lovely sunburst on the maple top and covered in ivory celluloid on the back and sides. The back is elaborately engraved and painted like the later VegaVox models with "Vega Electric" in a star-shaped design in the center. The sides of the body are plain ivory celluloid with gold sparkle binding, and there is a quarter-plate celluloid pickguard screwed to the top.
The neck is still Vega's traditional shaded maple with a carved heel and ebony backstrip. The elaborately engraved and painted celluloid on the headstock and fingerboard is a feature Vega more-or-less copied from Bacon & Day, their strongest 1920s competitor in the high-end banjo market. Starting around 1930 Vega began abandoning their traditional elegant shaded maple and engraved pearl decorative schemes for wild jazz-age colored celluloid...just as the jazz age was ending. This was a feature of the VegaVox models through the 1930s. While today this is regarded as an indicator of cheaper instruments, at the time Vega
reserved it for high end pieces. The original screwed-to-the-rim gold banjo tailpiece is present, mated to the original adjustable wooden bridge.
The pickup is mounted to a gold-plated plate that also carries the bridge. This unit is most unique...the primal humbucker Vega developed in the 1930s, then abandoned. This original design has two 4-pole coils mounted alongside each other, height adjustable with a knurled knob on each side. Two radio-style knobs are mounted on the top; the lower is a standard volume control. The upper control is a three-position rotary switch offering three different pre-set tone options instead of a variable tone pot. The output jack is mounted on the bass side, a quirk of some early electric instruments. It is actually perfectly sensible for a round-body banjo, where a "traditional" placement would leave the cable hitting the player’s thigh.
This amazing Vega is in perfect playing order and excellent but not altogether original condition. It has been completely and expertly restored in what we call the "Old Banjo Guy" style. This dates to the 1940s and '50s when banjoists primarily played in Dixieland bands and everything had to look brand new, even of it was old. No "relics" were allowed! This restoration included a total refinish, expert refret, and replating of all gold metal parts. All screws have been replaced with new gold plated ones, the tuners are new, and all the colored engraving work has been painstakingly repainted. The electronics are unaltered and work perfectly.
The result of all this painstaking work is still true to the instrument's original character and intentions but it looks practically brand new, not 80+ years old. While not in absolutely original condition, this is a fabulous-sounding and very unique piece for a flashy tenor or uke player who wants to plug in big time, and about the fanciest, highest quality, and coolest electric banjo we have ever seen.
Overall length is 33 1/4 in. (84.5 cm.), 12 in. (30.5 cm.) diameter, and 2 9/16 in. (6.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 23 in. (584 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/8 in. (29 mm.).
This instrument is in very clean shape, looking to have been little played since its restoration. There are a few minor wear spots, and that's about it. All electronics and internal parts remain completely original, only the exterior was reworked. This dazzling hybrid plays and sounds exactly as it should and looks flashy as all get-out doing it. It is housed in a modern HSC. Restored to Excellent Condition.
Here we have a real dazzling rarity from around 1937-8 -- a restored, refinished, and replated Vega "Deluxe Electric Tenor Banjo". Unlike their 1890s Fairbanks Electric banjo models, they really meant the "Electric" part too -- this is a banjo in shape only, actually more of a round-body semi-hollow electric tenor guitar. Of course it was aimed at banjo players, who were getting thin on the ground by the late 1930s.
Since the tenor banjo was never loud enough (that's an old man joke there, son), Vega offered their tenor banjo stalwart customers a fully electric creation that replicated the layout of their familiar instrument. This instrument was built around 1937 in Boston, where Banjo-centric Vega was struggling with the loss of that market and the rise of the guitar and electricity.
The "banjo" body is a semi-hollow circular wooden box with a flat top and back, finished in a lovely sunburst on the maple top and covered in ivory celluloid on the back and sides. The back is elaborately engraved and painted like the later VegaVox models with "Vega Electric" in a star-shaped design in the center. The sides of the body are plain ivory celluloid with gold sparkle binding, and there is a quarter-plate celluloid pickguard screwed to the top.
The neck is still Vega's traditional shaded maple with a carved heel and ebony backstrip. The elaborately engraved and painted celluloid on the headstock and fingerboard is a feature Vega more-or-less copied from Bacon & Day, their strongest 1920s competitor in the high-end banjo market. Starting around 1930 Vega began abandoning their traditional elegant shaded maple and engraved pearl decorative schemes for wild jazz-age colored celluloid...just as the jazz age was ending. This was a feature of the VegaVox models through the 1930s. While today this is regarded as an indicator of cheaper instruments, at the time Vega
reserved it for high end pieces. The original screwed-to-the-rim gold banjo tailpiece is present, mated to the original adjustable wooden bridge.
The pickup is mounted to a gold-plated plate that also carries the bridge. This unit is most unique...the primal humbucker Vega developed in the 1930s, then abandoned. This original design has two 4-pole coils mounted alongside each other, height adjustable with a knurled knob on each side. Two radio-style knobs are mounted on the top; the lower is a standard volume control. The upper control is a three-position rotary switch offering three different pre-set tone options instead of a variable tone pot. The output jack is mounted on the bass side, a quirk of some early electric instruments. It is actually perfectly sensible for a round-body banjo, where a "traditional" placement would leave the cable hitting the player’s thigh.
This amazing Vega is in perfect playing order and excellent but not altogether original condition. It has been completely and expertly restored in what we call the "Old Banjo Guy" style. This dates to the 1940s and '50s when banjoists primarily played in Dixieland bands and everything had to look brand new, even of it was old. No "relics" were allowed! This restoration included a total refinish, expert refret, and replating of all gold metal parts. All screws have been replaced with new gold plated ones, the tuners are new, and all the colored engraving work has been painstakingly repainted. The electronics are unaltered and work perfectly.
The result of all this painstaking work is still true to the instrument's original character and intentions but it looks practically brand new, not 80+ years old. While not in absolutely original condition, this is a fabulous-sounding and very unique piece for a flashy tenor or uke player who wants to plug in big time, and about the fanciest, highest quality, and coolest electric banjo we have ever seen.
Overall length is 33 1/4 in. (84.5 cm.), 12 in. (30.5 cm.) diameter, and 2 9/16 in. (6.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 23 in. (584 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/8 in. (29 mm.).
This instrument is in very clean shape, looking to have been little played since its restoration. There are a few minor wear spots, and that's about it. All electronics and internal parts remain completely original, only the exterior was reworked. This dazzling hybrid plays and sounds exactly as it should and looks flashy as all get-out doing it. It is housed in a modern HSC. Restored to Excellent Condition.