1925 Bacon & Day Silver Bell No 2 Resonator Tenor Banjo

This old Silver Bell is a beaut! It's got the deep rim, big old tonering, high-volume, high-octane vibe that you want from one of these. It's also nice and clean and a pure player's instrument -- quick and easy in the hand and with lots of carrying power, cut, and "headroom" to play as loud or as quietly as you like.

It's mostly original but does have upgraded tuners, head, and bridge. It only needed light work but now that it's done it's playing spot-on. Bacons like this were seen as pro-level gear back when they were made and they certainly sound and feel like it.

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


Weight: 8 lbs 4 oz

Scale length: 23 1/8"

Nut width: 1 1/8"

Neck shape: medium V

Board radius: flat

Head diameter: 11”

Resonator diameter: 13 1/8"

Depth overall at rim: 3 3/4"


Rim wood: ply maple

Tonering: Bacon-style

Bridge: maple/ebony

Fretboard: ebony

Neck wood: maple


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

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-modern


Condition notes: it's been refretted, has an older (perhaps unoriginal) Oettinger tailpiece, replacement head and bridge, replacement (nice) tuners, and has been perhaps either refinished or oversprayed in its past. A lot of these banjos got that work in the '70s and '80s for use in squeaky-clean trad jazz ensembles. It looks great and is stable and good to go!


It comes with: an original hard case.

























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