1890’s Fairbanks Custom 6-String Banjo
1890’s Fairbanks Custom 6-String Banjo. Yep, here’s a weird one. Let’s start with the neck. At first glance you think it might be a ACF Regent or Senator. Then you count the strings. There are 5 tuners on the peghead and one on the side. The materials are not unusual, with a mahogany neck and an ebony fretboard having engraved mother-of-pearl inlay. The rim set-up is reminiscent of the British made Zither banjos, so maybe this is a prototype made by the Fairbanks company to take on the steel string banjo sound that was sweeping the British isles. The rim itself, like the neck, is similar to what you would find on a Regent or Senator banjo from the time period. A full spunover rim with a wire hoop on the top and bottom of the rim. The neck attaches to the resonator and the spunover rim slides into the resonator and is held in place with 4 screws. Take a close look at the pictures and the written description will make more sense. I acquired this instrument in 2003 and the SFI shop did the restoration during 2004. This is what I can remember of the restoration details; The neck heel had been broken and poorly repaired. A new mahogany heel was grafted on and finished to match the original dark red. A new dowelstick was fabricated and installed. The remains of the original heel and dowelstick are included. The 4th string peghead ear was broken. It has been glued and reinforced with the new ebony peghead overlay. The tuners on the banjo when received were replaced with matching original style tuners with a patent date of April 30, 1985 stamped along the edge of the tuner knobs. The calf skin head is one of the last I purchased from Mr. Palansky of United Rawhide. And finally, a modern Rickard No-Knot style 6 string tailpiece was installed. We have the banjo strung with steel strings, but likely we could set it up with Nylon. Though there are no markings indicating that this banjo was manufactured by the Fairbanks company, the construction details and inlay have me and other Fairbanks banjo aficionados convinced it was made by A.C. Fairbanks & Company. The price is $2,500 and a 1970’s era chipboard case is included.