Clifford Essex / Alfred Weaver Banjo

Clifford Essex collaborated with different banjo builders

and among them was Alfred Weaver, often considered 

to be the best banjo manufacturer of Britain to these days.

As I'm not a banjo player I can't tell that much about this

example besides the fact that everything was carried out with

the utmost care and beautiful woods. The banjo came to me

in a non playable condition and very dirty but that can be

taken care for. It is in playable condition now.

The heelform is a significant point one can be able to recognize

the work of Alfred Weaver together with the simple but tasteful

decoration of the fingerboard.

The shield that is sticked on the head doesn't carry any markings

but it is there again after the cleaning. It shows a beautiful

contrast with the ebony veneered head. The fingerboard is

in ebony as well on a high quality mahogany neck.

The original tuners and this headform is a bit rare on

Alfred Weaver banjos though there are more on the internet.

The neck is still absolutely straight which is remarkable of an 

instrument that age.

Alfred Weaver didn't want to use metal bridge parts

as it would have influenced the tone he had in mind.

This tailpiece has been copied from an original one.

J.G. Winder Zither Banjo

Another curious banjo out of a long gone era.

Probably not that popular anymore they pop up

now and then: The Zither Banjo's.

J.G. Winder was a London based maker who even

made a piccolo banjo among others.

As the tension works in a desperate way on the pot

in these instruments it had to be restored in order to

make it playable again. If properly taken care for an

instrument like this should last a lifetime!