Thanks folks. Hard to beat chili when it's chilly.
A banjo uke, huh... Would like to see more detail pictures.
I just had a banjo of my wife's refinished. Now she wants me to learn to play it. It's a four-string also. Pretty small instrument.
I have a 5 string but cant do much with it. It takes a while to learn a song on it and even then I wasn't that good at it. I learned cripple creek pretty good.
I like ukuleles because they are easy to play. I can't do any picking but just strum it. I also don't play the Hawaiian type music. I just play what I like which is gospel, country (Merle Haggard) and southern rock type songs. Basically, I love music and always wanted to be able to play an instrument but I don't have much patience. With the ukulele, as far as strumming goes with just a few chords you can play about anything you want.
Here are some pictures although not very good ones. I got my banjo uke on ebay for $80. The seller didn't know much about it but said it had been in the family closet for years. I'm pretty sure it was made in the 1920s or even earlier but I could be wrong. There is no name brand on it but after some research and looking at photos, I think it may have been made by Oscar Schmidt in New Jersey but I'm not sure. They made banjo ukes in the 1920s with a few different names on them like Stella and Sovereign but also made some no name models for department stores. From other photos I have seen it looks very much like one made by them. Either way I think it's pretty old and it sounds great. I put some new strings and a bridge on it. The nut was also pretty rough so I replaced it with one I made from kydex.
It's about 20" long and has a 7" pot. It has old friction fiddle type pegs but holds a tune well.
Here is one I bought my wife for our anniversary. It is made in the USA by a guy at Waverly Street Ukes using a hand drum. It has a beautiful spalted sycamore neck and osage fretboard . It was about $300 and I think it was a real bargain because these things can get pretty pricey. It also sounds great. It's 21" long with an 8 " pot.
Here is my Mainland concert. Solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. This one sounds really nice and seems to have more of a guitar type sound in my opinion. My wife and I have a few ukes but the banjos and Mainland are my favorite.
Anyway, we have a good time with them.
