In the 1920s, Chicago-based
Slingerland Banjo Company
was one of the largest manufacturers
of banjo ukuleles.
Slingerland is best known to
collectors of banjo ukuleles as
the maker of the Maybell line
of instruments. The company
also made a variety of other
stringed instruments under this
name, such as traditional banjos,
banjo mandolins, guitars,
and mandolins. Most of them
were conservative in appearance
and modestly priced, although
Slingerland also made some very
fancy and elegant instruments.
In later years, Slingerland
started to make drums and
at that time the company’s
name changed to Slingerland
Banjo and Drum. Yet to
follow was another name
change in the 1930s to The
Slingerland Musical Instrument
Manufacturing Company.
Over the years, I’ve seen an
assortment of banjo ukuleles
of different grades, and the
Maybell line remains one of
my favorites. The neck and
rims were crafted out of maple.
Some were lightly stained and
then sealed with a thin topcoat
of clear nitrocellulose, and
designed with a 7" or 8" head.
Some fretboards were stained
and others were made of rich
ebony with dot or diamond
mother-of-pearl inlays. The rare
instrument has an assortment
of nicknames, including “banjo
uke” and “banjolele.”
With an overall length of 20
1/2", the Maybell banjo uke
that came into my shop for
restoration has a 13 1/8"-scale
fretboard with a 1 1/4" nut, 16
frets, and three pearl-dot fretboard
inlays. The instrument
sports friction tuners and a
calfskin head. The 7" diameter
laminated maple rim is 7/16"
thick and 2 1/2" deep, and the
tension hoop secures the head
with 12 bracket hooks. It’s
interesting to note that the 7"
rim provides room for the 16th
fret. Maybell banjo ukes with
8" rims have only 15 frets.
The tension hoop had taken
a blow at some point, and it was
my job to work those kinks out.
I loosened the 12 bracket hooks
using a 1/4" bracket hex wrench
(a nickel-plated steel tool for
installing and tightening banjo
heads) and removed them carefully
to avoid damaging the original
calfskin head. As I removed
the head I saw its underside was
stamped “White Mount – Calf –
Selected – Slingerland Bros.”
After attaching a short-throw
pipe clamp to my
StewMac Ultimate Vise, I used
a Deadblow fretting hammer to
pound out the kinks in the tension
hoop and correct its curvature.
I then used X-Treem metal
polish to clean the hoop and
remove any corrosion before
reattaching it to the instrument.
After cleaning the hoop
brackets, I tightened them
evenly until the head was firm
but not overly tightened. To
avoid tearing the calfskin head,
I worked slowly and cautiously.
As I tapped around the outer
edge of the head, I discovered it
consistently rang at F#.
Because the uke arrived
without a bridge, I had to
install a new one. I used a
Grover Non-Tip 4-string banjo
bridge that works well for ukulele
banjo, once it’s trimmed
correctly. After I removed wood
from the waist and feet portion
of the bridge, it fit the size and
shape of the instrument nicely
and allowed the strings to fan
out from the tailpiece with a 1
1/4" width between the outer
two. To cut string slots in the
bridge, I used gauged nut-slotting
files. I enjoyed shaping
the bridge—it reminded me
of when I use to trim violin
bridges to give them a distinctive
appearance.
There are a few different
tunings and strings for banjo
ukes. The customer requested
a more standard format, so
as you look at the nut from
left to right, the strings are
tuned G–C–E–A. These ukulele
strings are made of crystal
nylon and are gauged .025,
.036, .032, and .021.
Information is extremely
scarce on the Slingerland
Maybell ukulele banjo. If anyone
has info, please post it at
premierguitar.com/may2011 in
this article’s feedback section. I
appreciate it!
John Brown is the
inventor of the Fretted/Less
bass. He owns and operates
Brown’s Guitar Factory,
a guitar manufacturing,
repair, and restoration facility
staffed by a team of talented
luthiers. His guitar-tool and accessory designs
are used by builders all over the world. Visit
brownsguitarfactory.com or email John at
info@brownsguitarfactory.com.