1920s Puntolillo/Majestic "The Bell" Lion-Carving Archtop Tenor Banjo

Overview: I worked on this for my friend Bob back in 2015 but it's recently come back in trade to me with a little more playwear on it (thankfully!) but still kicking-butt and playing spot-on. This is a fabulous, one-of-a-kind sort-of instrument and I am glad to have it back in-shop. This brand (and style) were sold/made by Gaetano Puntilillo and would have been sold in his "Majestic" branding lineup. I'm tempted to say that these were built by Lange for the firm (as they have many Lange-like features) but I can't say for certain this is the case. This one is certainly a top-flight version of the Bell design (I've worked on much-simpler iterations of this same banjo, too) and it features a carved lion's head on the back of the heel and a profuse amount of "marquetry" inlay on the rim and pearl in the neck. It's a professional's instrument.

Tone: It's loud, punchy, has good bark, and good snap. It likes a heavier set of strings (I'd overstrung it when I first worked on it) and it's currently running 34w-10 rather than the 32w-9 I usually use for CGDA tuning. It would make a decent "Irish tenor" as well as it's sturdy and would take heavier gauges gladly.

Feel: The neck has a typical "medium V" shape for the time but a slightly-narrower nut width. This makes it feel a little faster than usual.

Interesting features: Well, the carved lion on the heel is spectacular and then all of the other decorative touches are stand-out, too. As far as design features, the big, archtop, "donut" tonering with its vents to the outside of the rim is very cool. I don't know of a similarly-large, strange, archtop-style variant of the donut idea. The hardware is all rugged and heavy-duty, too, and (like on other Majestics), the dowel is here replaced with a metal coordinator-rod setup instead. This instrument has not drifted one bit from its original setup in 2015 and all I had to do was lightly dust it off and restring it before putting it in the shop.

Repairs included: It's had a level/dress of the frets, new Remo Renaissance head install, new Grover-style bridge, cleaning, and setup work done.

• Weight: 6 lbs 13 oz
• Scale length: 20 7/8"
• Nut width: 1 1/16"
• Neck shape: medium V
• Board radius: flat
• Head diameter: 12 1/4"
• Depth overall at rim: 3"
• Rim wood: ply maple
• Tonering: giant donut-style archtop
• Bridge: maple/ebony
• Fretboard: ebonized maple
• Neck wood: maple
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 34w-22w-14-10 CGDA tuning
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: low/small

Condition notes: There's mild playwear throughout the instrument but it looks fantastic overall. This one has been cared-for! The head and bridge are replacements and I am wondering if the tuners are, too, but the tuners have original buttons, at least. It is otherwise original throughout. I'd previously leveled/dressed the frets in 2015 and there is only the tiniest wear on them, now, so I didn't level and dress them again as it was unnecessary.

It comes with: It has its original hard case in decent shape.

Consignor tag: JW