Slingerland MayBell uke-banjo question

[Jonathan Ward]

Okay, I know it's not a mandolin, but it's likely some of the cognoscienti here will know about it. I inherited a Slingerland MayBell ukulele banjo from my dad. It's apparently a late-1920's vintage, hearkening back to the days of raccoon coats and bathtub gin. (Allegedly it originally belonged to the actor Jose Ferrer during his college days. He gave it to his roommate—my father's next-door neighbor—who then gave it to the old man. Interesting if true.) I want to get it into playable condition, tune it GDAE and play it like a mando. The issue is the head. It appears to be original and in good condition, but it's slack. What note should the head be tuned to for best performance?

Any ideas much appreciated. Thanks!

[Michael Lewis]

Don't tune it to a note, just tighten it up gradually until it sounds good. Avoid making it too tight or it will split. Tighter is not always better.

[pops1]

tighter is brighter so when it sounds good is good advice as these can be bright sounding, but can be lots of fun, and sound good too.

[morgan]

I have one of these that I bought for $5 at an auction in pre-ebay days. A few years back I had a luthier convert it to a piccolo 5-string banjo by changing the nut & bridge, modifying the upper part of the neck, and adding the fifth peg. Its a little tough to play because the strings are so close. I don't play it much, but its fun and has a cool sound. A recording is attached. I'm not a banjo player - the piccolo is my entire banjo collection and I probably pick it up about four of five times a year, so forgive the primitive playing - but I think it has a sweet sound; not a word normally applied to banjos!

[Jonathan Ward]

Thank you, gentlemen. I will tweak the MayBell until it "sounds good." My father used to play songs of the 1920s on the instrument. Now we can se how it sounds with some Tim O'Brien going through it.

[catmandu2]

You may find that you prefer songs from the 1920s...and 30s and 40s. Great stuff to play on uke. Enjoy.

BTW, now that you have a banjo uke, check out the uke group: http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117