1920s Leedy SoloTone Style C Resonator Tenor Banjo

Yep, it's a beaut. It's a birthday cake of beautiful, engraved, gold-plated-brass everywhere. Everything is heavy-duty and well-designed and it plays and sounds like a champ as well. It's loud, bright, and brash -- even with the FiberSkyn head that's currently on it (which skews decidedly to the mellow side in "head tone" considerations). Work was light on this and when it was ready-to-go I was duly-impressed by it.

One neat feature is an "adjustable neck angle" gizmo accessed through a window on the rear of the heel. This can let you adjust action height "on the go." It has a hex-bolt end that's hard to get at with modern-size sockets, so I cut a slot in it to allow screwdriver adjustment. Hey presto! It works nicely.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, mild cleaning, and setup.

Rim wood: brass w/wood cladding on the interior

Tonering: integral (brass hoop)

Bridge: maple/ebony 2-foot vintage-style w/"Bart" label (Reiter?)

Fretboard: ebony

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 32w, 20w, 13, 9 for CGDA tuning

Neck shape: medium soft-ish V

Board radius: flat

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: low/small

Scale length: 23"

Nut width: 1 1/8"

Head diameter: 11”

Resonator diameter: 13 1/2"

Depth overall at rim: 3 3/4"

Weight: 9 lbs 8 oz

Condition notes: it's actually in quite good shape. The neck and interior of the rim look like they were oversprayed but it appears to have original finish underneath that topcoat. It looks authentic. The (FiberSkyn) head, bone nut, and bridge are replacements but everything else is completely original. The gold plating on the brass hardware of the rim looks fantastic and the engraving is all clear and clean as well. There's a little hairline cracking in the headstock veneer (which is ebonized maple or the like) and mild-medium wear to the fretboard's surface, but it's not hurting playability or looks.

It comes with: a later ('70s?) hard case.