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Comment by Redneck Recycling on October 16, 2011 at 4:47pm

Well i gotta say thanks guy's 4 all the info on what it is n how old it is . All i can say is fellow CBGers are some of the finest n most inform a table peoples you'll ever meet !!! Boy howdy thanks y'all !!! 

 Red

Comment by Mark Bliss on October 16, 2011 at 4:16pm

Hey there!

Nice find! I would agree probably "lower end" commercially made, 1930-1940 or so.

Doesnt matter what it is, play it, have some fun! A fresh tight head and some fresh strings and remove the added on back and you have yourself a fine playable old time open back. Could be a tenor, plectrum, Chicago, whatever. Call it what you want. Really depends on the tuning and playing style. As someone else noted they werent usually played in the fast rolling fingerpicking style, could be Flat picked, cross picked, three finger picked or picked similar to some of what you were doing. Actually that first lick was a passable sounding old time banjo riff!

Have fun with it. I have a feeling its not for sale, having seen your collection, so I wont ask.

Careful, dont let them get to close together, they multiply.

Cheers and have fun,

Mark

Comment by Uncle John on October 16, 2011 at 9:38am

Hey, Red.  Good find.  Those tuners make it pretty old.  Fugly is about right.   1920s or between 1910 and 1935.  Remo is the head only, not the banjo.  A nice manufactured piece.  Not home made.  Good, but not a high dollar Gibson...

   Tenors (4 strings) were very popular in that era as were 4 string (tenor) guitars.  They were used a lot for the popular (then current) music.  Often tuned DGBE.  The f holes in the back are a later added thing, and cool. 

They were so popular that there were many brands.  Republic and Vega....  Sears and Monkey Wards sold a ton of them.  Looks well made and mass produced.  

  I like your playing too.  Got a good old timey and somehow spooky sound.   Tenors were not for metal finger picks.  More for strumming.   Your playing seems to have gotten quite good lately. 

Comment by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on October 16, 2011 at 5:31am

What a good find. Sorry I can't help with the make.