c.1915 Lange-built Tenor Banjo

I've worked on a few of these old Lange-built tenors and they've all turned into great, lightweight instruments with poppy, sweet tone, good volume, and great feel. Which is pretty much what one could hope for in an openbacked instrument, eh?

Work included a fret dress, thorough cleaning, parts polishing, new Grover bridge, new Remo Renaissance head, new neck brace shims (ebony), and setup. Aside from the head, bridge, and a hook/nut/shoe set, it's entirely original with a nice old Elite-style tailpiece.

This style banjo was often sold under the Sears "Supertone" name -- Sears bought them from Lange for their catalogs. For a time Lyon & Healy bought them, too, though the trim was ever so slightly different.

Because the finish is worn and darkened it's hard for me to figure out the neck wood -- probably maple or poplar. Either way it's dead straight and quite strong. Fretboard looks like dyed pearwood while the nut and headstock veneer look like ebony.

MOP dots inlaid and nickel-silver frets. I've set it up for super action... it's really quick and easy with action below 1/8" from the board at the 12th.

The rim is a fairly typical double-spun job, meaning the German silver cladding is rolled into a hoop on the top and bottom of it, which makes the rim thin and strong, while also adding an integral tonering under the head. This clarifies the tone, gives it pop and zing, loads of sustain, and a sweet overall tone as compared to the more powerful but harsher tone of the 20s and 30s.

Nice friction pegs with original ivoroid buttons.

New maple/ebony Grover 5/8" bridge.

Banjo's in pretty good shape for its years. And obviously played quite a bit... the frets were pretty worn before I dressed them.

Good tight heel join and I didn't even have to re-cut the allowance for the "flesh hoop" on the new Renaissance head -- it had plenty of clearance already.

Cool old Elite tailpiece -- missing one post but fully functional.