The Style X
Tubaphone Style X No. 9
Features. These Style X’s No. 9's are rare and beautiful instruments in their own right. Their construction is superb and they are frequently described as works of art. (For a page, with plenty of photos, dedicated to the Tubaphone No. 9 five-string, go here.) The rims, which George Gruhn described in a 1984 article in Frets as "extra-heavy, laminated rock maple," are beautifully trimmed inside and out with imitation tortoise shell and their edges are capped with multi-colored marquetry. Gruhn noted that Fairbanks/Vega seemed to favor unusual rim sizes. They did not make an 11-inch rim, the most popular size of other manufacturers. Rims of 10¾ inches, 1015/16 inches, and 1113/16 inches were common, however. The peghead’s back is capped in Madagascar ebony while the face is either ebony or darkly-stained pear wood.
Common Inlay Patterns Found on Early Fairbanks and
Vega Banjos (l. "flower pot on 1917 Tubaphone,
r., "acanthus leaves" on 1902 Whyte Laydie).
Both sides have attractive engraved pearl designs. Early No. 3 Tubaphones generally had the same "flower pot" style of peghead inlay as the Whyte Laydie No. 7; later No. 3's had a simpler inlay suggesting a torch and vine. The Deluxe No.9's, Style X No. 9 tenors, and some Whyte Laydie No. 7's featured a highly-elaborate acanthus leaf pattern and a triangular element at the base of the peghead that is mirrored by a similarly triangular but inverted inlay above the first fret. On the neck backs, a band of ebony extends from the peghead along the area where a player’s left hand typically rests, thereafter narrowing to a thin midline ebony strip extending down the remainder of the neck. This strip runs all the way through to the fingerboard (see diagram below). Gruhn (1979) notes that, "... there is a lamination down the center of the two-piece neck which adds strength and helps prevent warping. This is a useful feature, since Vega-Fairbanks banjos had no truss rods in the necks." Their neck bases and heels exhibit hand-carved decoration (a feature of all Fairbanks/Vega banjos from No. 3 models up), usually in a leafy pattern. On banjos made after about 1921, the carving extends farther up the neck than on earlier instruments. No. 9 Tubaphones also feature graceful, precisely cut, and elaborately engraved pearl inlays on the neck’s heel cap, the peghead (front and back), and the Madagascar ebony fingerboard. Hand-cutting, inlaying, and engraving ornate pearl designs, not to mention carving neck heels, is exceedingly labor and skill intensive. Yet, remarkably competent workers obviously were available and affordable, at least for professional-quality instrument work. Interestingly, individual instruments, even those bearing the same model designation, do not have identically ornamented inlays or neck carvings. A wide latitude was given to the craftsmen who decorated these banjos (some of whom were specialist contractors rather than Vega employees) and, consequently, each has a unique artistry.
Schematic cross-section of neck,
showing center strip reinforcement
and fingerboard underlay
Date and quality. The quality of pearl cutting and engraving on Fairbanks/Vega banjos, although always very good, does reveal some variation from instrument to instrument and across time. The debate among astute critics usually centers on a comparison of 19th versus 20th century instruments. (In some of these discussions it isn’t entirely clear whether the focus of comparisons is specifically and exclusively the pearl work or other features as well.) Although the instruments of the pre-Vega 1890's are stunningly beautiful and considered unsurpassed by Fairbanks/Vega authority Jim Bollman, other experts, such as vintage collector/dealer George Gruhn regard later instruments as having attained an even higher standard:
In general, the workmanship on the Fairbanks and Vega banjos shows a steady improvement in quality over the years, reaching a peak, in my opinion, around 1910 to 1915. After this, there was a gradual decline in the level of craftsmanship, but some of the banjos built by these companies during this period and even earlier, are among the most beautiful musical instruments ever constructed George Gruhn writing in Pickin’ magazine, February, 1979.
Differences of opinion about when Fairbanks/Vega instruments reached their point of aesthetic perfection are rather subjective. Most authorities agree, however, that the earlier instruments dating from the late 19th and first decade of the 20th century are unsurpassed. It is possible that opinion differs partially because different experts pay greatest attention to different instrument features. Earlier, pre-Tubaphone, exceptionally ornate instruments dating from the 19th century, with unique inlay designs and violin-type friction pegs of carved ivory probably (and understandably!) are the specimens most preferred by collectors. The most spectacular, rare, or even one-of-a-kind, models produced more than a century ago perhaps are best appreciated as objects of unparalleled beauty rather than instruments for daily use. Players, however, may be more inclined to favor the functionality of later instruments, including those of the 1910's and 1920's, that incorporated improvements in tone and operation that the 19th century and earliest 20th century instruments lacked. (I will return to this point in describing the features of the instrument in question.) Some might argue that, even aesthetically, the later instruments have certain advantages, citing the extended heel carving noted earlier as an example. Although the instruments from the 1920s are spectacular, they probably are not quite up to the aesthetic standard of their predecessors.
Expert comparisons of later instruments to those made before about 1910 necessarily refer to 5-string banjos because the tenor and plectrum models did not exist prior to that date. The slight dip in 5-string quality that some experts have perceived may actually be the result of a reallocation of Vega/Fairbanks’ best talent and resources from the declining 5-string product line to the increasingly popular tenors. Gruhn (1984), for example, notes that, "in order to meet the rising demand for tenor banjos, they [Vega] focused most of their efforts on exploiting the more profitable 4-string market." An equally viable alternative view is that contemporaneous 5-string and tenor banjos are virtually identical in all aspects except neck style. Even if one interprets the available information in the light least favorable to the tenor banjos of the 1920's, expert collectors and seasoned players agree that these are musically and visually superb instruments that rarely, if ever, have been surpassed.
Tubaphone No. 9 as Shown in a 1909 Vega Catalog.
Continue with "Style X Tubaphone vs Other Vega Tenors"
last updated, 8/5/01