Hello Eli,Your brief description leads me to believe that what you have is a banjomandolin. They have 8 strings in pairs (4 sets of 2) and are tuned andplayed just like a wooden mandolin.The 'Little Wonder' model was one of the lesser Vega models. Itprobably has a simple wire 'tone ring' as compared to the more complexmetal structures in the higher end Whyte Laydie and Tubaphone models.Little Wonders are fine instruments. It might need a bit of 'set-up' toput it into optimum playable shape.The serial numbers, stamped on the inside of the pot and also on thedowel stick, can tell you the approximate date of manufacture.If you'd like more info please post more details.HankLove old-time clawhammer banjo? Check out:'Notes Along The Way'my new CD at-Eli30.08.99 0:00.

• Martin Vega Banjo Serial Numbers
• Vega Mandolin Banjo Serial Numbers

Bill Rogers wrote: The 'Little Wonder' was Vega's low end banjo shell. Had no tone ring, just a brass ring on top of a wood shell if I remember right.Maybe someone could help me with this. I thought that 'a brass ring ontop of a wood shell' WAS a tone ring! Am I wrong about this? I guessthat basically I thought that any piece of metal between the wood rimand the head would be called a tone ring. (There are banjos where thetone ring is a hard wood, like ebony or such, so maybe I should say 'anyhard material between the wood rim and the head'.)What about with a multi-piece tone ring like the Whyte Lady? I think ofthe whole structure of (scalloped brass hoop + steel ring + spun-oversleeve) as together being the 'tone ring'.

Martin Vega Banjo Serial Numbers

Is this right, or is justthe steel ring the 'tone ring'?Thanks,Ray WakelandHank Schwartz30.08.99 0:00. You're correct, Ray,Any structure specifically placed between the wooden pot and the skin toaffect the sound of the banjo is considered a tone ring. Tone rings wereoriginally metal devices such as the donut like structure invented byDobson in 1881 and later ones like Fairbanks' Electric tone ring or Cole'sEclipse. Recently there have been various similar devices made of hardwoods such as ebony or rosewoods. Since they are also separate partsspecifically placed between the wooden pot and the skin to change the tonethey are also tone rings. I expect that softer materials such as a plasticring to damp the sound might also be so considered.The early full spun pots are generally considered to not have a tone ring,although the early Fairbanks Electrics were full spun pots with thescalloped tone ring and wire structure contained within the spun shell asan integral unit.Nota bene: these are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflectthe considered opinion of the banjo majority.HankLove old-time clawhammer banjo?

Q: At what point did Vega go to 'through the rim' bracket bolts on its WL and TPH banjos? A: Serial #91892 is the earliest collected banjo with the bolts through the rim. It seems to coincide roughly with the introduction of the Vox models, the earliest serial number of which I have recorded is 93828. In a letter he wrote to Mandolin Brothers, Dave Guard says he purchased his 'Pete Seeger model Vega banjo 99836 brand new in 1959' (note: this instrument can. Fairly accurate and complete Vega dating information has been assembled by various persons over the years, which makes dating any Vega banjo an easy.

Check out:'Notes Along The Way'my new CD at-Gerard30.08.99 0:00. right.Maybe someone could help me with this. I thought that 'a brass ring ontop of a wood shell' WAS a tone ring! Am I wrong about this?No, you,re absolutely right. Though the modern tonerings, incl.

The Gibson RB tonerings (Mastertoneand others) are made of bell-bronze. Not 'brass'!!!I guessthat basically I thought that any piece of metal between the wood rimand the head would be called a tone ring. (There are banjos where thetone ring is a hard wood, like ebony or such, so maybe I should say 'anyhard material between the wood rim and the head'.)The cheaper banjos( nowadays) often have an aluminium tonering.

Never heard of wooden tonerings, butin the early (poor) days, banjoplayers probably didn,t know at all of the existance of tonerings.Anything that fitted a skin and could hold a neck, was ok. So I sign for the wooden tonering as aninteresting idea.

GerardNa Fir Bolg: Worlds most Outrageous Irish Folkband in the NetherlandsSean Barry30.08.99 0:00. Gerard wrote:: The cheaper banjos( nowadays) often have an aluminium tonering. Neverheard of wooden tonerings, but: in the early (poor) days, banjoplayersprobably didn,t know at all of the existance of tonerings.: Anything thatfitted a skin and could hold a neck, was ok. So I sign for the woodentonering as an: interesting idea. GerardDeering has used a grenadillo wood tone ring on their 'John Hartford'model for many years. The banjo has an interesting and unique tone, notquite plunky, not quite sharp, not loud but not quiet either. 'Tone ring'as a concept means a separate circular piece that fits between the headand rim and which is retained by head tension.

By that definition, theLittle Wonder ring, simple as it is, entirely qualifies as a tone ring(and Stewart Macdonald has sold a Little Wonder tone ring in addition toits Whyte Layde reproduction ring for many years). The simple brass hoopused by Gibson in its lower-end models (100, 150, 170 series) alsoqualifies as a tone ring, but not as a Mastertone tone ring, which is aquite different series of several different designs.Sean BarryWayne55Dud30.08.99 0:00.

You are basically right, Ray. Whether simple or complex, it is a tone ring.Primitive banjos had just a slight bead turned on the top of the wood rim.Metal clad rims such as Stewarts with a wood inner shell and the outer thinmetal spun over a wire bead, top and bottom, was never referred to as a tonering.Look at the popular Deering Goodtime-just a plain bead turned on the top of awooden rim. Could not be simpler.More sophisticated tone rings began to appear in the early part of the century.There were all sorts of concoctions, most designed to have a heavy brass ringsuspended under the head in some way. That's the basis of the Whyte Laydie, thehoop is suspended on top of the scallop, with a thin sleeve covering the outerparts, mostly to give a good appearance and as a protectant to the skin head.It was referred to as the Acoustic Arch tone ring in their advertisements.You will see the same theme in Paramounts, Epiphones, Orpheums, Gibsons, andmany others.

The Ball Bearing Mastertone was very complex, an outer shell openat the bottom, an inner scallop to serve as spacing, the 1/2' round, hollowtube with a zillion holes, a bead soldered to the tube, all mounted on ballbearings, each over a washer and a spring recessed in the rim.The early Little Wonders used the same sleeve as the Whyte Laydie, but justover a plain steel hoop. Later ones used just the sleeve, and it was turnedover more at the top into a full circle which rested on the rim, no steel hoop.I don't think it produced any improved tone, just served as a bearing for theskin head and gave it solidity.The one-piece, solid cast flat-top and arch-top designs of the late 20's didaway with all that complexity and dominates tone ring design today.Refinements in manufacturing and materials have produced the finest soundingbanjos ever with these two designs.Wayne Norman'All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players.' -ShakespeareOhBeeg130.08.99 0:00. As always, thank you Wayne!I'm mostly following you here, except I'm not sure what you mean by a'bead':Wayne55Dud wrote: Look at the popular Deering Goodtime-just a plain bead turned on the top of a wooden rim. Could not be simpler.Is this 'bead' you're referring to a.part. of the wooden rim?

That is,is a just a region on the top of the rim that has been rounded off? Inthat case I wouldn't think you would call it a 'tone ring'.

Correct?I do have a banjo that is simpler than this. Attributed (by Ray Alden)to Buckbee, this banjo has a thin wooden rim of rectangularcross-section, and.that's it. Sounds, great, too. There were all sorts of concoctions, most designed to have a heavy brass ring suspended under the head in some way. That's the basis of the Whyte Laydie, the hoop is suspended on top of the scallop, with a thin sleeve covering the outer parts, mostly to give a good appearance and as a protectant to the skin head. It was referred to as the Acoustic Arch tone ring in their advertisements. The early Little Wonders used the same sleeve as the Whyte Laydie, but just over a plain steel hoop.

Vega Mandolin Banjo Serial Numbers

Later ones used just the sleeve, and it was turned over more at the top into a full circle which rested on the rim, no steel hoop. I don't think it produced any improved tone, just served as a bearing for the skin head and gave it solidity.So I want to identify three basic components which, in variouscombinations, made up the early tone rings: (1) A rod of circular crosssection bent into a circle. I will refer to this as a 'ring'. (2) Acircle of metal which has a roughly rectangular cross section (ie,similar in shape to the wooden rim, only smaller), usually rounded onthe top.

This is the thing that the scallops are cut into on a WhyteLady. I will call this sort of thing a 'hoop'. In the the case of theTubaphone, the hoop is a hollow square will holes drilled in the insidewall.

(3) a thin piece of metal that runs parallel to the side of thewooden rim but then is bent over toward the center, usually bentdirectly over a ring. This I will call a 'sleeve'. In the case of theBacon, the sleeve has a rather complicated shape, bending back up afterit passes over the ring.So my conception was that the simplest possible tone ring was eitherjust a ring or just a hoop sitting on top of the wooden rim. I thoughtthe 'Little Wonder' tone ring was just a hoop. The Bacon I thought wasa ring and a complex sleeve with no hoop.

The Whyte Ladie has the hoopwith scallops facing the front, with a ring sitting on the points of thescallops, with a simple sleeve over both.Is this right?Are you saying, Wayne, that some Little Wonders had a hoop with a sleeveover it? What was the point of the sleeve? Or was your terminologydifferent?Ray WakelandWayne55Dud01.09.99 0:00. As always, thank you Wayne!I'm mostly following you here, except I'm not sure what you mean by a'bead':A bead would be about a 1/4' half round extension on the outside edge of rimthat the head rests on.Think of it this way: if you took a 1/4' wood hoop 11' diameter and cut it inhalf sideways, then put the remaining half on the rim that would be a bead. Butin this case the bead is lathe turned when the rim is made and is just part ofthe wood.Another way is to have the inner part of the rim sloping down towards theinside with just a thin high part on the outside for the head to rest on.Wish I could send you a diagram.Wayne'All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players.'