Show and Tell: Springs and Hollow Necks in Banjos

I though this might interest some people here. It’s an old Windsor “zither” banjo , with a few unusual features.

This slideshow requires JavaScript. But, that’s not the end of it….oh no! Inside the pot there is a pretty impressive collection of springs . These are of various shapes and tensions and are soldered at strategic points , presumably to resonate at different frequencies.

This slideshow requires JavaScript. Another interesting feature is the split , or compensated second fret. There are some very involved explanations for this but as far as I can gather, from reading and asking around, the simple answer was to enable an accurate and pleasant sounding C major seventh chord to be played. Oh, one last thing, sometimes people wonder why these banjos are referred to as “zither” banjos. The truth is, they bear no relation to a zither but the term came into use when certain manufacturers began describing the sound of their instruments as “zither like ” . A hundred and twenty odd years later , the term is still being used. Those cats knew how to market ! …fast as lightning , .. I believe 🙂