Posted 10 years ago
popohicks
(4 items)
I bought this banjo at an auction. I have no idea as to its origin. Can anyone help me? ....... I can't make out the brand on the top of the headstock. It has tuners for 6 strings but a bridge that will only accommodate 4. It has a resonator back and a drum head like piece on the lower body. It measures 36 inches from bottom bout of the resonator to the top of the headstock and weighs in at 3 pounds 5 ounces. It has a sculpture of what could be a soldier on the top. The previous owner said it was made in Asia, and thought that it was really old, like 1890. I can neither confirm nor deny this story. If anybody has any more information, I am all ears.
Certainly an interesting assortment of screws holding it together. Seems unusual for sure. Maybe someone here will be able to identify it. I don't play the banjo, I play the radio and do a heck of a job.
The alphabet might be Georgian?
A soviet item?
Incredible!
I've built 2- 5 string banjos & never been accused of being able to play either, but this 6 string arrangement has me baffled (easy to do). Has tuning pegs for a 6 string but don't see an arrangement on the tail piece to handle them. Only for 5 if the strings are the type with a ball/bar on the end & the tailpiece appears original. Can anybody explain that?
It is Burmese. The "Brand"says: "U Ba Chit" U is an honorific that is roughly equivalent to "Mister" in English, so Mr. Ba Chit would be the maker. He, or his shop, must have made a number of them as there is a very similar one, in poor repair, hanging in an antique shop in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) right now (April 2017). Worth restoring?