Just wondering if anyone can give me information on the Stromberg Concertone tenor banjo including prices and quality. I can't get much information off the internet.
I think the Concertone banjos were originally mass produced by Stromberg-Voisinet for Montgomery Ward's catalog. To my understanding, they're fairly low quality, but not complete pieces of junk.
Stromberg-Voisinet eventually became the Kay music company, which produced a lot of mediocre quality instruments over the years, many of which were branded things other than Kay...
But I don't have any direct experience with Concertone in banjos. (I had a Concertone guitar that didn't age very well)
Thanks very much Reverend. I saw this particular banjo on ebay. When i looked at it myself I wasn't convinced about it. My brothers girlfriend (who is buying for a friend) send him an email and he wrote back saying that I was wrong about it and that he was playing in his banjo band for years. I play the tenor banjo myself and have definitely heard of strombert but this didn't strike me as a good banjo
Now is a great time to buy a professional level vintage tenor banjo. A Concertone is more of a entry level banjo and you will not be assured that it is intact if you buy it on ebay. For not a whole lot more money you can have a decent banjo from a dealer such as Bernunzio or Elderly Instruments that will be backed by their reputation.
The advantage of a well setup banjo (such as you will get from a reputable dealer or on http://www.banjohangout.org or from a person on this list) is that it is playable. You may decide to try another banjo in the future, but if your original banjo is not any fun to play, you will grow tired of it quickly.
There are two different Strombergs, by the way. The high quality Stromberg has nothing to do with the maker of the banjo you are looking at. I am not sure how much money you have to spend, but for less than a thousand dollars you can buy a very good banjo made by Vega, Paramount, Weymann, etc. and for six hundred dollars you can still buy a vintage professional level banjo such as a Weymann with the megaphonic rim.
You might want to consider getting a Gold Tone IT-250 which you can find for a good price, especially used. That is a good modern banjo that usually only needs a good setup to be playable and useful in a session. There are several available on the net. I'd also look very hard at the banjo that squelly has.
You can do better than the Concertone. The banjo market is very depressed - a Paramount C just went for a thousand dollars at Elderly this week and it was on their list for several weeks. A year ago you couldn't even find one for less than two thousand dollars. If you could find one.
I've own a few openback Concertones and found them to be acceptable in quality. I've own several Concertones that had fitted flanges and resonators and they were indeed very nice banjos with good playability and excellent sound. After selling them I am happy to have recently acquired another one. I have also own and still have some Stromberg-Voisinet banjos with fitted flanges and find them to be exceptionally nice. In general, if you don't have a good setup on a banjo, it doesn't matter what its quality is.
Stromberg Concertone tenor banjo
Stromberg Concertone tenor banjo
Just wondering if anyone can give me information on the Stromberg Concertone tenor banjo including prices and quality. I can't get much information off the internet.
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by bogroad
Re: Stromberg Concertone tenor banjo
I think the Concertone banjos were originally mass produced by Stromberg-Voisinet for Montgomery Ward's catalog. To my understanding, they're fairly low quality, but not complete pieces of junk.
Stromberg-Voisinet eventually became the Kay music company, which produced a lot of mediocre quality instruments over the years, many of which were branded things other than Kay...
But I don't have any direct experience with Concertone in banjos. (I had a Concertone guitar that didn't age very well)
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by Reverend
Re: Stromberg Concertone tenor banjo
Thanks very much Reverend. I saw this particular banjo on ebay. When i looked at it myself I wasn't convinced about it. My brothers girlfriend (who is buying for a friend) send him an email and he wrote back saying that I was wrong about it and that he was playing in his banjo band for years. I play the tenor banjo myself and have definitely heard of strombert but this didn't strike me as a good banjo
# Posted on November 3rd 2008 by bogroad
Re: Stromberg Concertone tenor banjo
I just happen to have a vintage tenor for sale. if interested e-mail me for info pics etc.
# Posted on November 4th 2008 by squelly
Re: Stromberg Concertone tenor banjo
Now is a great time to buy a professional level vintage tenor banjo. A Concertone is more of a entry level banjo and you will not be assured that it is intact if you buy it on ebay. For not a whole lot more money you can have a decent banjo from a dealer such as Bernunzio or Elderly Instruments that will be backed by their reputation.
The advantage of a well setup banjo (such as you will get from a reputable dealer or on http://www.banjohangout.org or from a person on this list) is that it is playable. You may decide to try another banjo in the future, but if your original banjo is not any fun to play, you will grow tired of it quickly.
There are two different Strombergs, by the way. The high quality Stromberg has nothing to do with the maker of the banjo you are looking at. I am not sure how much money you have to spend, but for less than a thousand dollars you can buy a very good banjo made by Vega, Paramount, Weymann, etc. and for six hundred dollars you can still buy a vintage professional level banjo such as a Weymann with the megaphonic rim.
You might want to consider getting a Gold Tone IT-250 which you can find for a good price, especially used. That is a good modern banjo that usually only needs a good setup to be playable and useful in a session. There are several available on the net. I'd also look very hard at the banjo that squelly has.
You can do better than the Concertone. The banjo market is very depressed - a Paramount C just went for a thousand dollars at Elderly this week and it was on their list for several weeks. A year ago you couldn't even find one for less than two thousand dollars. If you could find one.
Mike Keyes
http://www.mikekeyes.com
# Posted on November 4th 2008 by mikeyes
Re: Stromberg Concertone tenor banjo
I've own a few openback Concertones and found them to be acceptable in quality. I've own several Concertones that had fitted flanges and resonators and they were indeed very nice banjos with good playability and excellent sound. After selling them I am happy to have recently acquired another one. I have also own and still have some Stromberg-Voisinet banjos with fitted flanges and find them to be exceptionally nice. In general, if you don't have a good setup on a banjo, it doesn't matter what its quality is.
# Posted on August 4th 2009 by oldtymebanjo