Old banjolin - ww2?

[subweird]

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/subweird/banjolynn.jpg

My grandfather gave me this banjo-lin to hang on the wall. I've been told it's probably from World War 2 because it's made mostly of aluminium.

Inside the bowl is (in pencil) handwritten in big cursive EoW(maybe).

The tuners are a brittle yellow resin or plastic.

The banjo head is real skin, hopefully not human.

I think my grandfather put that bridge on there, it's probably not even from a mandolin.

Any thoughts? I'm not going to sell it.. I'd just like to know something about it.

[hoffmannia2k7]

fix the neck and play it!

[mandroid]

maybe the first WW. that was what the army navy flattops were sold for ,
the troops in the trenches.


does look like it needs a neck reset, look inside .. if its not a wooden rimstick
with a loose glued joint, it may be an adjustment you can make.

personally I'm liking my banjo mandolin quite well as a 4 string,
those were known as 'melody banjos'
It's [obviously] half the tension on the neck.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[MikeEdgerton]

It's probably post WWII. It isn't human skin. It wasn't made in the USA.

[mandroid]

yea head doesnt look too aged, too clean
It has caused me to wonder , theres those Turkish made ones on the Eyecandy Banjolin section.
perhaps a competing maker to those, http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[Jim Garber]

Turkish... yes! Like those called cumbus (pronounced jumbush, i believe).

[MikeEdgerton]

I'm gonna guess 60's or later, most likely much later.

[subweird]

maybe the first WW. that was what the army navy flattops were sold for ,
the troops in the trenches.


does look like it needs a neck reset, look inside .. if its not a wooden rimstick
with a loose glued joint, it may be an adjustment you can make.

personally I'm liking my banjo mandolin quite well as a 4 string,
those were known as 'melody banjos'
It's [obviously] half the tension on the neck.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

does look like it needs a neck reset, look inside .. if its not a wooden rimstick
with a loose glued joint, it may be an adjustment you can make.

Looks like it's just aluminium with a screw head holding the neck on.

[subweird]

Turkish... yes! Like those called cumbus (pronounced jumbush, i believe).

You are right! The Cumbus page describes the neck being attached with a screw that adjusts the action. THANKS!

Kewl.. now to figure out what year it might be.

[Jim Garber]

All you ever need to know about Cumbus (http://www.rootsworld.com/turkey/cumbus.html) -- esp that is was "invented" by a guy named Cumbus.

[subweird]

just for the record, incase someone else is searching the internet for something simlr. I found an Ethnomusicologist who said this is probably a European or Brazilian banjo-mandolin and not a Cumbus.

It's just coincidence that the neck is attached the same way.

[Jim Garber]

Anything is possible... do you have a pic of the back? That may give us some clue.

[subweird]

no, but there's really nothing to see back there. No markings, no design, no bolts or screws.. just a smooth back with belt buckle scratches on it.