c.1930 May Bell Banjo Ukulele

Here's one from the archives: a c.1930 or so May Bell 7" rim banjo-uke built by the Slingerland Drum Company. I have to hand it to Slingerland: they knew how to build simple, solid, and travel-worthy banjos. Every instrument I've worked on built by them seems to have weathered time quite well, this uke being no exception. It's solid maple throughout with nice birdseye veneer on the pot, pearl dot markers, and of course the cool May Bell headstock logo and Slingerland dowel stamp.

Fun headstock decal. Original tuners.

I installed a Yellowstone synthetic skin head on this uke which gave it awesome volume and a good old-time sound. New Grover non-tip bridge.

Fretboard with polished nickel-silver frets.

All-original hardware on the rim, too.

Side view. Such a nice light maple color, even in the original finish.

And built sturdy, too!

Back.

The rim cap is slightly flamed, too, which gave a nice effect.

Original bakelite tuner knobs.

And here you can see some of the nice flamed figure in the dowel, too.

Luxury shot.

And a good, practical neck brace: you don't need to worry about this metal piece warping!

Original tailpiece.