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Gibson Banjo Ukulele
Gibson Banjo Ukulele
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The banjo ukulele is an interesting hybrid, and somewhat a "fad" instrument. The instrument is based on the ukulele in fingerboard scale, tuning, and general playing technique, but built with a banjo style skin-covered hoop body. While this combination may seem almost absurd in the context of the early 21st century, it is actually quite logical within the context of the early 20th century. Hawaiian music was taking the popular music scene by storm, and the romanticized island life was musically linked to the steele guitar, and to the ukulele. There was great demand for ukes in the united states, and nearly all of the major string instrument manufacturers added ukuleles to their cataloges. They required less material than a guitar, and were able to be made cheaply enough that the average American could easily afford one.
However, this is only half of the story of these interesting instruments. The Hawaiian sound found its way into American popular music forms including swing, jazz, early country, and folk. Two factors of this, in my opinion and by my research, likely lead to the development of the banjo bodies ukulele. First, in the early 20th century, the now ubiquitous steel string guitar was just in its infancy, and mandolins and especially banjos were very popular instruments. This was due in part to their volume, and ability to record and be heard clearly in the early days of amplification. The ulukele is a naturally soft-spoken instrument as a result of its small body and nylon strings, and could not have held its own with a large ensemble. As banjos are louder, projecting instruments, someone (and it's unclear who was the first to conceptulaize the instrument) perhaps got the idea that a ukulele with a banjo body may help to punch up the volume, and indeed, it does to a degree. The second factor likely had to do with the sheer popularity of the banjo, and the "cool" factor that came along with playing one. An instrument that looked like a banjo would have been very enticing indeed.
Banjo ukuleles are not often made today, as they do not fill a particular niche within current musical trends. However, due the the sheer volume of banjo ukuleles produced in the early 20th century, and the vast number of different models, styles, and companies making them, many survive today and are still servicable instruments. Some people even specifically collect banjo ukes as they are not particularly rare and often show up for reasonable prices and needing some work after decades packed away somewhere in a basement, attic, or closet.
This particular instrument was made by the Gibson company, which has a fascinating history of its own and still exists today as a major name in the guitar and electric guitar world. This banjo ukulele is a fairly basic model with minimal frills, but solidly constructed, and intended for someone who was really going to play it. The customer said it was packed away with a number of her grandfather's effects, and wanted to know about getting it fixed up. I needed to re-align the neck, make a new nut and bridge, and give everything a good cleaning and tune up. It plays very nicely now, and was a lot of fun to pluck around on while waiting for the customer to come and pick up. It was very easy to see just why these instruments were so popular, and get a sense of the enjoyment instruments like this would have provided to their original purchasers in a world before cable, video games, and the internet. Although the musical trends that likely lead to their creation have since gave away to new fads, these instruments are still enjoyable today, and it's great to know some folks are still captivated by their charm.
The banjo ukulele is an interesting hybrid, and somewhat a "fad" instrument. The instrument is based on the ukulele in fingerboard scale, tuning, and general playing technique, but built with a banjo style skin-covered hoop body. While this combination may seem almost absurd in the context of the early 21st century, it is actually quite logical within the context of the early 20th century. Hawaiian music was taking the popular music scene by storm, and the romanticized island life was musically linked to the steele guitar, and to the ukulele. There was great demand for ukes in the united states, and nearly all of the major string instrument manufacturers added ukuleles to their cataloges. They required less material than a guitar, and were able to be made cheaply enough that the average American could easily afford one.
However, this is only half of the story of these interesting instruments. The Hawaiian sound found its way into American popular music forms including swing, jazz, early country, and folk. Two factors of this, in my opinion and by my research, likely lead to the development of the banjo bodies ukulele. First, in the early 20th century, the now ubiquitous steel string guitar was just in its infancy, and mandolins and especially banjos were very popular instruments. This was due in part to their volume, and ability to record and be heard clearly in the early days of amplification. The ulukele is a naturally soft-spoken instrument as a result of its small body and nylon strings, and could not have held its own with a large ensemble. As banjos are louder, projecting instruments, someone (and it's unclear who was the first to conceptulaize the instrument) perhaps got the idea that a ukulele with a banjo body may help to punch up the volume, and indeed, it does to a degree. The second factor likely had to do with the sheer popularity of the banjo, and the "cool" factor that came along with playing one. An instrument that looked like a banjo would have been very enticing indeed.
Banjo ukuleles are not often made today, as they do not fill a particular niche within current musical trends. However, due the the sheer volume of banjo ukuleles produced in the early 20th century, and the vast number of different models, styles, and companies making them, many survive today and are still servicable instruments. Some people even specifically collect banjo ukes as they are not particularly rare and often show up for reasonable prices and needing some work after decades packed away somewhere in a basement, attic, or closet.
This particular instrument was made by the Gibson company, which has a fascinating history of its own and still exists today as a major name in the guitar and electric guitar world. This banjo ukulele is a fairly basic model with minimal frills, but solidly constructed, and intended for someone who was really going to play it. The customer said it was packed away with a number of her grandfather's effects, and wanted to know about getting it fixed up. I needed to re-align the neck, make a new nut and bridge, and give everything a good cleaning and tune up. It plays very nicely now, and was a lot of fun to pluck around on while waiting for the customer to come and pick up. It was very easy to see just why these instruments were so popular, and get a sense of the enjoyment instruments like this would have provided to their original purchasers in a world before cable, video games, and the internet. Although the musical trends that likely lead to their creation have since gave away to new fads, these instruments are still enjoyable today, and it's great to know some folks are still captivated by their charm.