Vega little wonder tenor banjo question NMC

[noah finn]

Folks,
I hope I'll be forgiven for posting a banjo related thread here on the cafe.

I am thinking of buying a short scale tenor banjo. I've come across a restored mostly original vega little wonder with a resonator fitted.

I've done alot of searching on others forums and havent turned up a huge amount.

I'd be most grateful if people could advise on their expierences of this banjo and also what is the going price for such an instrument.

Im buying in Europe.

Thanks.

[Sterling]

Just bought one here in New York. 1930’s era Little Wonder tenor with resonator for $400.00 on Craigslist. Nice instrument, it has additional fretboard inlays that I am unsure about.

[allenhopkins]

I believe the Little Wonder was Vega's least expensive model that incorporated a tone ring. I have a Little Wonder mandolin-banjo that's a nice, solid little instrument.

I see listings for Little Wonder tenors ranging from about $350 to around $600 here in the US. These are dealer asking prices. Most of the listings are for open-backs, so you might pay a bit more for one with a resonator.

[gtani7]

I've never seen/played one but there are some hangout threads: https://www.banjohangout.org/archive/197900

Look at usual vintage banjo problem spots: bowed neck, neck joint angle and fingerboard height, rim delam or out of round etc. 10 15/16" heads aren't too hard to find in the states but might take some digging where you are.

You can look for old classifieds for those tenors, lots of pictures (17 fret Irish tenor, I think is what you're looking at) http://www.banjobuyer.com/make-archived/vega/.

[Ranald]

I bought a Little Wonder mandolin-banjo, that I'm very happy with, in a private deal a year ago for about $400 USD.