1920s Slingerland MayBell Tenor Banjo

This is a local customer's banjo that I did some work on the other day. Apparently it had a bit of a family connection so he wanted it up to snuff so he could strum-n-fun on it now and then.

It was originally in a resonator configuration and said resonator is in tough shape which is why it's an openback at the moment. This is a rung or two up the quality charts from "base model" Slingerland tenor banjo for the time and it has a mahogany neck and rim and better-quality fittings compared to the student models. The cut, handling, and style of the instrument are more or less the same, though.

I'm almost certain that Regal made this type of banjo for Slingerland at the time as most Slingerland fretted instruments seem to be farmed-out to other firms rather than made in-house (as their drums were made). I have seen numerous Regal-marked and Regal-affiliated brands slapped on the same style of banjo built at the same time.

Work included a fret level/dress, some hook/nut replacements, side dots, cleaning, hidden bolt-reinforcement for the neck/rim joint, and setup.