1890s SS Stewart Monogram 5-String Banjo

While SS Stewarts are regarded as high-grade instruments, this "Monogram" model was right at the bottom of the line. Like a Gibson LG-0 (which fulfilled a similar role for Gibson guitars), though, it's still a nice, playable instrument and has a tone of its own.

The serial number on this places it at 1899 or 1900 and that's just what it looks like, too. It would've originally been strung with gut but I have Nylgut on it right now. I do not suggest using steel on these because it tends to warp the necks like nothing else.

This one did arrive here with a badly-warped neck and it was only through a mix of a board plane, refret, and heavy-handed level/dress of the new frets that I was able to ameliorate that problem. It's now playing like a champ, though, with 3/32" action at the 12th fret and a smooth, easy-playing feel.

Materials are low-brow for a Stewart -- usually they have cherry, walnut, or mahogany necks and ebony fretboards -- as it has a poplar neck with a rosewood fretboard that also has a pretty strange "grain inclusion" at the end of the board. It has a normal-ish 26 1/4" scale length, though, and bog-standard 11" head.

The rim is spunover with an "integral hoop tonering" on the upper surface -- this gives it a little more snap and punch but not all that much. Overall it has a warm, mellow, plunky sound.

Post-refret I also cleaned it up, modified the neck joint to attach with a single bolt reinforcement (it'd already been modified to use a '40s-era neck brace), fit a new 5/8" bridge, and installed Gotoh "antiqued" 4:1 geared tuners. The old Remo head was on it when it came in and sounds just fine so I left it.