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Back in 2004 as a high school freshman I purchased my first banjo from a local music store. The instrument was in pieces and needed a few components - strings, bridge, tailpiece - and a very deep cleaning. The owner of the music store, perhaps taking pity on me as he may have sensed what kind of a life I would have if I was already purchasing a banjo as a 15 year old, gave me a very good deal. However, as I had as of yet discovered gainful employment, he agreed to let me "finance" the instrument, making payments of less than $5 a week until the instrument was paid off. I still remember loading the instrument (no case!) into the paperboy-basket on my bike, and bringing her home.
The instrument sat on my parent's front porch filled with charcoal for a few weeks to try to eliminate the terrible smell the instrument had. I fabricated my own tailpiece from aluminum sheet and a few nails, fit a bridge, and strung it up. It wasn't much; most KAY instruments from the 70's were pretty spartan and made as budget instruments, but it was mine, and my introduction to the world of tenor banjos.
Soon I decided to add some personalization, such as a headplate to cover the KAY logo, some artwork on the inside of the banjo head, and a home-fab "knee mute" based on historical Bacon & Day banjos and other high-end banjos. The linkages were made from model airplane bits, but it worked.
I played the heck out of the instrument, and it served me well until I came across a fine old 20's birdseye maple Chicago-made Washburn 17 fret tenor banjo, and the KAY was all but mothballed. I think I even tried to sell it once, but no biters. The instrument sat all but dormant for about 6 years.
In early 2014, something got me thinking about the old KAY, and with the benefit of years to stew and more clear thoughts about what I'd like, I pulled the instrument out, tore it down, and got to work.
The new instrument would feature:
- A conversion from 4 strings (standard tenor banjo) to 8 strings strung in courses of two. There have long since been "mandolin banjos" with a short mandolin neck grafted onto a banjo body, but only a handful of custom long-scale instruments using a 19 fret tenor banjo neck. Now in 2016, I see a company has started mass producing these...
- An electric amplification system
- A completely re-designed "knee mute" based more closely on the Bacon & Day system
- Refinement of the neck
- A fresh finish
- A new cosmetic angle harkening to classic style for early electric guitars.
The work took about 2 months of off-and-on, and was completed just before summer in 2014.
Below is a gallery of the restoration, and gives an idea of what was involved with the recent modifications.
In early 2014, something got me thinking about the old KAY, and with the benefit of years to stew and more clear thoughts about what I'd like, I pulled the instrument out, tore it down, and got to work.
The new instrument would feature:
- A conversion from 4 strings (standard tenor banjo) to 8 strings strung in courses of two. There have long since been "mandolin banjos" with a short mandolin neck grafted onto a banjo body, but only a handful of custom long-scale instruments using a 19 fret tenor banjo neck. Now in 2016, I see a company has started mass producing these...
- An electric amplification system
- A completely re-designed "knee mute" based more closely on the Bacon & Day system
- Refinement of the neck
- A fresh finish
- A new cosmetic angle harkening to classic style for early electric guitars.
The work took about 2 months of off-and-on, and was completed just before summer in 2014.
Below is a gallery of the restoration, and gives an idea of what was involved with the recent modifications.
Kay Tenor Banjo Redux
Kay Tenor Banjo Redux
A brief demonstration of the instrument
A brief demonstration of the instrument
Click picture for more detail
Click picture for more detail