Banjolin - maker Cuckoo

[Coffeecup]

This morning I picked up an old banjolin at the local market. The maker is Cuckoo and on the tailpiece is engraved "English Make". There's no other visible writing. The head is 7 3/4" diameter, length from nut to bridge 13". It's believed to date from the 1920s.

Does anybody know any more about this maker and the instrument. I can't find many references to Cuckoo other than a recent ebay sale.

It would take a bit of work to get playable and I rather think that a restoration would cost more than it's worth. I just got it for the curiosity value really.

It provided a bit of a chuckle - the previous owner has written the notes all along the fretboard.

[bigbike]

Chances are it is indeed an english made mandolin banjo. I would be leary with such a small pot as to what sound, if it was playable, would be produced-it would not be rich, and probably would not be very loud at all-sort of like those "bottle cap" banjos (aluminum pot bso's that are sold).

If you are interested in getting a price for fixing it, talk to my friend tim smith over at www.savethebanjos.com I am sure he will need photos and he can best advise as to cost vs worth. He gets banjos and bso's from all over shipped to him, and he sends them back out the same way. He does not do "museum quality" restorations-although he is quite capable of it. He just gets the instruments up and playing at very reasonable rates.

Banjo mandolins are fun for blues and some rock music. They add a unique sound to it. I do not recommend taking it to a serious bluegrass jam. :mandosmiley:

[JEStanek]

I think their head Luthier, Sonny is no longer building instruments but got into cereals. Sorry couldn't resist. Please post a photo. A very quick google search didn't turn anything up. Is there a resource like Mugwumps (http://www.mugwumps.com/AmerInstMkr.html) for UK builders?

Jamie

[allenhopkins]

Here's an inquiry to Folk of the Wood from New South Wales, also mentioning a Cuckoo mandolin banjo:
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 21:32:29 +1100
Subject: Banjo mandolin
Hello Mickey
I have just had my dad's 1930's Cuckoo Banjo Mandolin restored and would
like to learn how to "drive" it. Is it tuned the same as a mandolin and
are your lessons suitable for my instrument. I play guitar so am
familiar to tabs etc. Can you "steer" me in the right direction, many
thanks. It is a great site.
Regards
Rhonda - NSW Australia

And here's (http://www.banjohangout.org/topic/160550/#2022250) another recent discussion from Banjo Hangout, also from Australia. There are pictures attached.

So: all searchable mentions of Cuckoo mandolin banjos seem to come from Australia. Inference is that they're either Australian-made, or English exports to Australia. The "English made" on the tailpiece may refer only to the tailpiece.

English-made mandolin banjos often had smaller heads than their American counterparts, and as you note, the heyday of this type of instrument was the early 20th century. There seems to be quite a lot of information available on the web regarding contemporary Australian banjo builders, not as much about earlier ones. There is an Australian Banjo Conference (http://australianbluegrass.com/?page_id=2507) scheduled for Maleny in January 2011, and this might be a place to find out more about Cuckoo banjos.

There is an exhaustive series of articles on British banjo makers (http://www.whitetreeaz.com/vintage/brit1.htm) available on-line, but the name "Cuckoo" doesn't seem to crop up. Further reason to suspect Australian origin.

[journeybear]

Banjolin maker cuckoo - so what else is new? :confused:




Oh - I see ... Oops, my bad ... :redface:

As you were ... :whistling:

[Coffeecup]

Thank you all for your help in the search. Yes, I'd been thinking that the headpiece may not be original as there's obviously some other work been done, including removing the neck and reinstalling it 90degrees further round.
There are a couple of locals I know that might be able to help so I'll get on to them, in the meantime I'll get a photo up later today.
Thanks to google I now know more about cuckoo clocks than I ever needed.

[Coffeecup]

Here's the poor old thing. I wonder what tales of musical revelry from the last eighty years she could tell.

http://malolo.bigblog.com.au/data/4/23594/image/banjolin0011145647698028297624720100215140600.jpg

[stryker_oz]

Did you manage to get someone to restore this for you? I've inherited my grandma's. It looks to be the same model. Also in Brisbane. Ours is in very good nick but may need a skin...can you still get them?

[mandroid]

Maybe sending them off to Australia with a mandolin Banjo,
was part of 'the Old Bailey's' sentencing practice .. :grin:

[stryker_oz]

I've taken some shots of ours, and posted them in the instrument pictures forum ( here (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?68728-quot-Cuckoo-quot-Banjo-Mandolin&p=874382#post874382)).

I also see this eBay listing (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120662749431&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1156) today for another that looks very similar (though doesn't mention "Cuckoo" in the description at all, and the image is not clear enough to see) based in Vic, which claims their example was sold new by an importer in Sydney.

[stryker_oz]

Another item on eBay today, based in Victoria looks like exactly the same product, but with a different brand on the headstock.
"The Wonder, 226" (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220740555415&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:AU:1123). Has some detail images.

I concede these don't sound anything like a mandolin, but it is fun and it's giving me something to learn on while I find my first real one!

[Ben Milne]

Looking like we should be looking at organising a Brisbane mando jam sometime soon.

[stryker_oz]

Looking like we should be looking at organising a Brisbane mando jam sometime soon.

Sounds like pure genius to me. And I've just picked up a cheap-n-nasty on eBay so you won't need to cringe at the sound of the Cuckoo...just the sound of this newbie making a complete mess of things. Are you volunteering to arrange? Looking forward to your PM :grin:

[Graham McDonald]

I have never been able to work out who made the Cuckoo banjo mandolins, but there are a lot of them around Australia. I am pretty sure they are British as, except for pianos, there was almost no manufacturing of stringed instruments in Australia before the 1950s, and even then not much. Most of the Cuckoos are unplayable and tend to need more work on them than is usually economically justifiable. The 'porthole' style skin attachment is rather tricky when trying to replace the skin head (I tend to use rather more earthy Australian terms when describing doing this) and the necks are almost always pulled up out of alignment. I suppose they could be made playable, but I suspect you could spend the time involved otherwise and get more satisfaction :)

cheers

graham