possibly the first paragon tenor ever made serial number 3 is on ebay u.k. now should get a lot of interest, prior to this gerry oconnor was the oldest one serial number 5.
"the first paragon tenor ever made serial number 3" Sorry, not true at all! The fact is, I know who has No 1! .......... & Reverend, that one really would make you drool!
i said possibly it might be .im sure everyone would like to see proof of your claim you know who has no.1 for your info ive had a ffew paragons in my time and still have and serial numbers dont run 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc for paragons they made regals concert grands , zithers and whats so special about no. 1 thats gonna make the reverend drool?
the Paragon De-Luxe Tenor that FINDAJO has on consignment is certainly a very handsome instrument - though I have to beg leave to doubt whether it is going to achieve a 5-figure price in the present economic circumstances
there seem to be a fair few of the choicer items from the TSUMURA collection being disposed of at the moment which appear to be soaking up whatever money there is available just now to be spent on super-fine banjos .....
would any session player actually want to be taking a De-Luxe to the pub to play ........... ? I certainly don't ever take very fine banjos to sessions - something plain & good-sounding always seems a bit more appropriate to me ........
"I certainly don't ever take very fine banjos to sessions - - something plain & good-sounding always seems a bit more appropriate to me ........ " !!!!!! How many have you got?
looking back here in the archives ptarmigans mate seemingly has three paragons wonder if thats the guy who has serial no.1 ? also his antique dealer friend got a brand new one unused at a car boot sale in pitlochry still with the label on wonder if he paid about 3 quid for it maybe that was serial number 1 or maybe it was the prototype with no serial number
the number of banjos in my private collection of "good things" is classified information (especially from my wife) ...........
I must say that I do like the Paragon De-Luxe very much - it does have a different sound to the standard Paragon ... a similar difference to that found between an ordinary Tubaphone M and a Tubaphone De-Luxe.
I believe that the makers took extra-special care with every aspect of the instrument when making items that were so much more expensive than the "ordinary" professional banjos .... I think that the top-grade models were sold, by and large, to wealthy amateurs rather than professional musicians - and those rich people were the most discerning (& fussy) buyers who would not have hesitated to reject an item that was in any way "below par" ........
if it is serial no.3 and made in 15A Grafton Street under the name "Clifford Essex & Co", then the date of 1924 may be incorrect. Banjos with this address and name of company were made between 1900-1919, and the company didn't start making the Paragon model until c.1917.
the no.3 paragon in question probably uses a concert grand hoop which is identical 11" also the resonator you will notice gerry oconnors no.5 does not have the faux ivory rim in the hoop either this is probably the final design of the paragon was not finalised until a later date. on another note teetotaller staes the vega style m and the deluxe sound completely different wonder why would it be the carved heel or maybe the engraved mother of pearl inlays or maybe the gold plating its certainly not due to anything else as they are both all maple.
just had a look at the no.3 on ebay the resonator looks concave to me as was the resonator on the concert grand the top model b4 the paragon was introduced
the point about the differences between the "standard" professional models and the "de-luxe" versions (whether Paragon, Tubaphone or whatever) is that the materials were most carefully selected and fitted together with a degree of attention to detail that was not economic on the cheaper banjos
a Tubaphone de-luxe is certainly made from maple - the same botanical species as the standard Tubaphone - but the quality & hardness of the wood and the fineness of the grain are what makes the difference ........... not to mention the beautiful craftsmanship in the assembly of the end product.
to suggest that the decoration is significant is nonsense - or possibly heavy-handed sarcasm ......
as there are no records extant to explain the numbering system used by Clifford Essex & Co, it isn't really profitable to spend a lot of time discussing it.
there are a great many "odd" Essex banjos around which do not seem to conform to any logical system of specifications - the activities of many British banjo players (and dealers, I'm sorry to say) in the intervening years in re-arranging the various parts of the banjos to suit themselves have left a whole raft of "bitsas" floating around to confuse and demoralise the unwary.
whilst the differences may be of interest to the collector, the ultimate test is whether the banjos sound good & play well. a purist like myself may value an instrument for originality and conditon - but the last thing I'd do with a mint original banjo would be to play it regularly and wear it out ......
sorry to to teetotaller for being a TAD sarcastic!! i am not a purist but do have a fair old number of banjos including a style m and a style x no.9 . havent managed to get my hands on a deluxe but i can say the style m sounds every bit as good as the style x. different woods do make a difference such as the epiphone range with the bandmaster, style a etc but id say all v
vega banjos are put together as good as each other !
c.e paragon
c.e paragon
possibly the first paragon tenor ever made serial number 3 is on ebay u.k. now should get a lot of interest, prior to this gerry oconnor was the oldest one serial number 5.
# Posted on February 19th 2009 by myparasgon
Re: c.e paragon
drool ~~
# Posted on February 19th 2009 by Reverend
Re: c.e paragon
"the first paragon tenor ever made serial number 3" Sorry, not true at all! The fact is, I know who has No 1! .......... & Reverend, that one really would make you drool!
# Posted on February 19th 2009 by Ptarmigan
Re: c.e paragon
C'mon Ptarmigan - don't leave us in suspenders, tell us who it is! A picture would be nice too. Some of us just love banjo porn...
# Posted on February 19th 2009 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: c.e paragon
i said possibly it might be .im sure everyone would like to see proof of your claim you know who has no.1 for your info ive had a ffew paragons in my time and still have and serial numbers dont run 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc for paragons they made regals concert grands , zithers and whats so special about no. 1 thats gonna make the reverend drool?
# Posted on February 19th 2009 by myparasgon
Re: c.e paragon
http://www.findajo.co.uk/ParagonDeluxe.htm Wipe the slobber from your chops boys!
# Posted on February 20th 2009 by Red Robin
Re: c.e paragon
the Paragon De-Luxe Tenor that FINDAJO has on consignment is certainly a very handsome instrument - though I have to beg leave to doubt whether it is going to achieve a 5-figure price in the present economic circumstances
there seem to be a fair few of the choicer items from the TSUMURA collection being disposed of at the moment which appear to be soaking up whatever money there is available just now to be spent on super-fine banjos .....
would any session player actually want to be taking a De-Luxe to the pub to play ........... ? I certainly don't ever take very fine banjos to sessions - something plain & good-sounding always seems a bit more appropriate to me ........
# Posted on February 20th 2009 by teetotaller
Re: c.e paragon
"I certainly don't ever take very fine banjos to sessions - - something plain & good-sounding always seems a bit more appropriate to me ........ " !!!!!! How many have you got?
# Posted on February 20th 2009 by Ptarmigan
Re: c.e paragon
looking back here in the archives ptarmigans mate seemingly has three paragons wonder if thats the guy who has serial no.1 ? also his antique dealer friend got a brand new one unused at a car boot sale in pitlochry still with the label on wonder if he paid about 3 quid for it maybe that was serial number 1 or maybe it was the prototype with no serial number
# Posted on February 21st 2009 by myparasgon
Re: c.e paragon
the number of banjos in my private collection of "good things" is classified information (especially from my wife) ...........
I must say that I do like the Paragon De-Luxe very much - it does have a different sound to the standard Paragon ... a similar difference to that found between an ordinary Tubaphone M and a Tubaphone De-Luxe.
I believe that the makers took extra-special care with every aspect of the instrument when making items that were so much more expensive than the "ordinary" professional banjos .... I think that the top-grade models were sold, by and large, to wealthy amateurs rather than professional musicians - and those rich people were the most discerning (& fussy) buyers who would not have hesitated to reject an item that was in any way "below par" ........
# Posted on February 21st 2009 by teetotaller
Re: c.e paragon
if it is serial no.3 and made in 15A Grafton Street under the name "Clifford Essex & Co", then the date of 1924 may be incorrect. Banjos with this address and name of company were made between 1900-1919, and the company didn't start making the Paragon model until c.1917.
http://www.cliffordessex.co.uk/pages/history.htm
I could be wrong, but that's what I was led to believe....
# Posted on February 21st 2009 by WorzelGummidge
Re: c.e paragon
closer inspection reveals a few other interesting things:
1) There's no flange, much like a c.e. concert grand
2) The resonator doesn't look original. Not concave and doesn't have double ring inlay.
3) The inner hoop doesn't have the large circular holes drilled out, which was standard on paragons, even early ones like Gerry O'C's.
Def a paragon, but maybe not the best example ever.
# Posted on February 21st 2009 by WorzelGummidge
Re: c.e paragon
the no.3 paragon in question probably uses a concert grand hoop which is identical 11" also the resonator you will notice gerry oconnors no.5 does not have the faux ivory rim in the hoop either this is probably the final design of the paragon was not finalised until a later date. on another note teetotaller staes the vega style m and the deluxe sound completely different wonder why would it be the carved heel or maybe the engraved mother of pearl inlays or maybe the gold plating its certainly not due to anything else as they are both all maple.
# Posted on February 21st 2009 by myparasgon
Re: c.e paragon
just had a look at the no.3 on ebay the resonator looks concave to me as was the resonator on the concert grand the top model b4 the paragon was introduced
# Posted on February 21st 2009 by myparasgon
Re: c.e paragon
the point about the differences between the "standard" professional models and the "de-luxe" versions (whether Paragon, Tubaphone or whatever) is that the materials were most carefully selected and fitted together with a degree of attention to detail that was not economic on the cheaper banjos
a Tubaphone de-luxe is certainly made from maple - the same botanical species as the standard Tubaphone - but the quality & hardness of the wood and the fineness of the grain are what makes the difference ........... not to mention the beautiful craftsmanship in the assembly of the end product.
to suggest that the decoration is significant is nonsense - or possibly heavy-handed sarcasm ......
as there are no records extant to explain the numbering system used by Clifford Essex & Co, it isn't really profitable to spend a lot of time discussing it.
there are a great many "odd" Essex banjos around which do not seem to conform to any logical system of specifications - the activities of many British banjo players (and dealers, I'm sorry to say) in the intervening years in re-arranging the various parts of the banjos to suit themselves have left a whole raft of "bitsas" floating around to confuse and demoralise the unwary.
whilst the differences may be of interest to the collector, the ultimate test is whether the banjos sound good & play well. a purist like myself may value an instrument for originality and conditon - but the last thing I'd do with a mint original banjo would be to play it regularly and wear it out ......
# Posted on February 22nd 2009 by teetotaller
Re: c.e paragon
sorry to to teetotaller for being a TAD sarcastic!! i am not a purist but do have a fair old number of banjos including a style m and a style x no.9 . havent managed to get my hands on a deluxe but i can say the style m sounds every bit as good as the style x. different woods do make a difference such as the epiphone range with the bandmaster, style a etc but id say all v
vega banjos are put together as good as each other !
# Posted on February 22nd 2009 by myparasgon