English Zither Banjo : Guy Wolff

Here is a "Crosby" Zither Banjo from England.. They were made from the 1890's into the 20th century . This one was kindly repaired for me by David Oakes .It had a rotten fret board . I am not sure how he refurbished it but it plays great .He also fixed the tuners and put a new skin head on the banjo and cleaned the whole thing .. On the whole most banjo players turn up their noses to these little banjos but I love the tone of this one a lot .. All the best to all who stop in to hear this banjo .. Happy spring , YOurs Guy

[@ericstefanelli3423]

Zither banjo was made for playing classic fingerstyle, no clawhammer stuff, the clarity, the sweetest sound is produced with barefingers played with finger flesh, never use of the nails.

[@scarlettifluff]

Thankyou SO much for indulging this instrument with your optimism! I have heard zither banjos being scorned, this almost sounds like an old phonograph recording, maybe the error is in expecting it to sound like a the banjos we now know. It sounds like a banjo had a love affair with a harpsichord I think its pretty special

[@billparsons9905]

Amazing.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

I love this Banjo 🪕, what makes it different is that it has Guitar Machine Heads on a Slotted Headstock, so it's easier to tune and actually it increases the break angle of the strings over the nut.

[@jakeglanville6835]

Really nice playing Guy. Also it's good to hear some intelligent comments on the zither-banjo from your part of the globe. Naturally I'm in full agreement as I love ZB's. The 'Crosby' is one of those I've never heard of and I've owned and played most, so you've got something really special. Keep yew a-playing on! (As we say here in Norfolk, UK.)
Best Wishes,
Black Jake of Norwich,

[@rajivsurendra]

Beautiful, Guy.

[@prisillaspace]

Thank you! Much appreciation from the Coastal Bend of Texas.

[@ButterSpider3]

Very different and interesting sound. 👍🏻

[@NoahCline]

Nice banjo, Guy. I’ve entertained the thought from time to time of getting a zither banjo to see what they’re all about (they tend to not go for much).
Been enjoying those mugs that you so graciously sent ;-)

[@guywolff]

The innards are a little structurally odd but they have a very particular sound ..You should be able to find one for a song . I paid $125.00 for this one and my freind Dave Oaks fixed it with way to many hours and didnt let me pay him .He said the neck set up is very different ... I am loving your CDs a lot .They are on repeat at my shop ..Happy spring Noah ...

[@johnrobinson3905]

My dad bought a Windsor zither banjo, made in Birmingham UK I think. I really struggle to get a decent sound out of it, so I found your video quite encouraging. Are you using specialist zither banjo strings on your instrument, or nylguts?

[@guywolff]

A simple set of Nylguts ...