old banjolin

hello there
i bought an old banjolin recently from a fella in a rural community here in newfoundland. he has no idea how old it is or could even guess. theres only a stamp on the back of the neck that says “thompson machine co.”
was wondering if anyone could help out with any information or anything on it,
heres a couple of pictures.
[IMG]http://i51.tinypic.com/2ius3h2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/hv9ut4.jpg[/IMG]

thanks for any help

Pretty sure that is a tag off of one their Type Writers and not original to the instrument. It wont be much help in your research.

Peter

I would call this a mandolin-banjo. I think Peter is right about the label. Could be nice to play, have you given it a workout?

yeah i had a feeling about the label not being original.
its not bad to play, a bit stiff but it has a nice sound.
thanks for the imput guys

MBs need lighter stings - no heavier than a 0.35 on the 4th, could even be lighter - and also maybe you need to get the action lowered. If you have old original strings on it, then you are in danger of contracting tetanus!

Some of these anonymous old MBs can actually sound okay - I was happy with an old no-name for a while, until I acquired my Vega Tubaphone. Now I’m welcome wherever I go (only joking, the MB is the Marmite of the fretted instrument world).

You may find that if you remove the nameplate the neck pulls forward and the action gets uncomfortably high. I’ve a feeling it was put there to hold things in position - a bodge.

Yes, Weejie, that nameplate position is very odd. I’ve never seen anything like it.