1930s LeDomino Resonator Banjo Ukulele
I've worked on lots of similar banjo ukes that were touched by the ambiguous JR Stewart and/or Regal-made connections, but this one's about the best, eh? The LeDomino instruments are simply cool -- not just because of the decals but also because the styling was well-thought-out. I love the way the slim celluloid binding fits around every angle on this thing... with the tuxedo-black finish giving it real pop. Folks, effort was put in to making these cool.
This one's here on possible consignment and it's very clean. It arrived almost ready to play, though some joker had strung it with steel, it had a wonky bridge on it, and ugly guitar-style tuners were fit at the headstock. Fortunately, the rest was original and hadn't been mucked-up at all. It only took light work to get this playing bang-on and ready for a proper uke-slinger to enjoy.
Playing-wise? It's excellent. I like "uke-like" banjo-uke necks and this has one -- it's a little wider at the nut and in first position the depth front-to-back is shallow and thin. By the middle of the neck it gets a little thicker and that allows you to brace your hand more effectively for closed-position chords. So -- both the styling and the handling are... well-thought-out.
Sound-wise? It's choppy, clean, clear, and snaps like crazy. It has plenty of carrying-power but the tone is not pingy or over-complex. Formby would be proud, methinks.
Made by: JR Stewart (possibly Regal-made)
Made in: Chicago, IL, USA
Rim wood: ply maple
Tonering: none
Bridge: maple/rosewood
Fretboard: ebonized maple
Neck wood: maple or poplar
Tone: choppy, clean, clear, snappy, loud
Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: D'Addario EJ99T fluorocarbon
Neck shape: slim-med C
Board radius: flat
Neck relief: straight
Fret style: small-medium, squarish
Scale length: 13"
Nut width: 1 5/16"
String spacing at nut: 1 1/16"
String spacing at bridge: 1 7/16"
Head diameter: 7"
Resonator diameter: 8 3/8"
Depth overall at rim: 3"
Condition notes: there are some patched tuner-screw holes at the rear of the headstock. The bridge is unoriginal. The tuners are replacement friction pegs from my parts-bin and are period, but unoriginal. There's also a teeny-tiny repaired tear on the head right next to the tension hoop. It's a non-issue save visually and good to go.
Comments
Looks like you come across a fair amount of Banjo Ukuleles (and can play them as well!) Maybe you can help me a bit with a mystery. I am trying to find out more about the brand "Illinois Guaranteed." Have you heard of this company? I just bought a banjolele with that decal on the headstock but there is scant information about it to be found online. My latest thought is that it might have been made by Harmony because I found a Harmony made Banjo Mandolin online that looked pretty similar, but thats all I have to go on! Anyway, its not imperative for me to know exactly what it is because I know its well made and is from the 20's-30's so I am going to keep it and fix it up. That brings me to my next question. I need a tail piece, preferably vintage. Do you have any for sale?