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A "Nice" S/M Banjo?

Here's an antique banjo made by W. Nice, of Fleet Street, London:

The brackets on open back banjos have a tendency to dig into the player's leg a bit, but Mr. Nice apparently figured banjo pickers were a hardy breed capable of enduring a bit of pain for the sake of their art:

These ends are original, and they make a surgical point of " a banjo on my knee."

Refinished Martin Guitars

Quite a paint job, isn't it? This is a 1936 Martin R-17 archtop guitar, which was clearly in fine structural shape when it was customized:


You don't see work like this very often these days:


This instrument was a visitor to the A.S.I.A. Symposium in Nashville on March 23, 2000.

What a coincidence. Here's another 1936 Martin guitar. It's a D-18, given the full "mariachi treatment" in the early 1960s, including conversion to nylon strings:

Fortunately, this one has recently passed into the hands of a competent luthier who intends to bring it back to its original utility, and a semblance of its original appearance!

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