Slingerland May Bell
Slingerland, like Ludwig, ended up as the makers of excellent percussion instruments, but both produced Banjos and Banjo Ukes during the 20s and 30s. From what I have noticed about the May Bell (or Maybell) they are all quite sturdy instruments and made to play. They seemed to change design almost yearly. I have seen the May Bell name on brands other than Slingerland also, which adds further confusion to this topic. Also, there are many ukes that exist that look exactly like the slingerland maybell , but have no stamp on them anywhere. The photo used on the title page of this blog is one such "no namer". This could have been that they were sold to distributors, or music stores that wanted to put their own name on them.
The majority of the May Bells were 7" rims, had rosewood fret boards and a flat (or steam formed) plywood resonator mounted on the back. Many, including the one pictured had a thick steel tone ring that was seated on the outer edge of the rim. They can be found typically in natural maple or darker stains including black lacquer. Most have m.o.p. dot fret markers and some sort of stamp on the dowel. This could have been wood burned like a cattle brand, or ink stamped in a script. They all seemed to possess a large robust tone that was never shy in nature. I would consider them fairly easy to find, although certain variations in the Maybell are quite rare. The construction of the Maybell banjo uke was uniformly excellent. They were also produced with larger resonators, some with flange and some without.
A reader sent these photos of an 8 inch Slingerland Maybell. It's in lovely condition and has all of the original hardware. Of note in this model is the steam formed resonator and the Elton grooved tension ring. These were sturdy versions of the Maybell and had a wonderful timbre. I restored a 7" version of this and it cleaned up beautifully for the owner who has owned it for over 50 years. This one below needs no refinishing or plating. Thanks for the photos Clive!
The majority of the May Bells were 7" rims, had rosewood fret boards and a flat (or steam formed) plywood resonator mounted on the back. Many, including the one pictured had a thick steel tone ring that was seated on the outer edge of the rim. They can be found typically in natural maple or darker stains including black lacquer. Most have m.o.p. dot fret markers and some sort of stamp on the dowel. This could have been wood burned like a cattle brand, or ink stamped in a script. They all seemed to possess a large robust tone that was never shy in nature. I would consider them fairly easy to find, although certain variations in the Maybell are quite rare. The construction of the Maybell banjo uke was uniformly excellent. They were also produced with larger resonators, some with flange and some without.
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