Back to the main page Back to category Banjos
musical instrument details
1968 Dopera Original Plectrum Banjo w/ Case & Books. Dopyera Brothers! Rare!
Estimated price for orientation: 624 $
Category: Banjos
Class:
Description Number of Strings: 4 Country/Region of Manufacture: United States Brand: Dopera Exact Year: 1968 Banjo Type: Plectrum Banjo Era: 1960s Model: Original
Travel back in time with this vintage plectrum banjo. In 1968, the Dopyeras Brothers, having sold the Dobro brand to Semie Mosley, started making banjos. The Dopyeras are, of course, legendary in the guitar world for founding National, Dobro, and being part of Rickenbacker's founding. They co-invented the first resonator guitars and first electric guitars. When the made these banjos, they "Americanized" their name, dropping the "y" from Dopyera, so the banjos are Dopera. According to one estimate, they made about 10 each tenor, plectrum, banjitar and five-string banjos. The stamped serial number on the top of the headstock on this banjo is 020. Check this banjo out. Did I say how loud it is? Yes, it's loud. 21 frets (instead of the usual 22 plectrum frets). 26-1/8" scale length. Check out the groovy peghead swirl, metallic gold peghead overlay, and aluminum truss rod cover! Most others Dopera banjos have an intricately inscribed metal resonator, but this one has a maple (I believe resonator). Covered geared tuners, but the fourth C-string tuner is a Grover, presumably a replacement. Comes in a generic black chipboard case, which I assume is not original, bu has been padded out with extra Styrofoam to hold the banjo tightly. This banjo is in very good, probably near collector condition. And it comes with four old plectrum banjo books: Mel Bay's "Plectrum Banjo Melody Chord Playing System" and Don Van Palte's three-part plectrum banjo lesson books (without the original cassette tapes). I've been rocking my typical minor key grooves on it and really digging it. (And it was made by John and Rudy Dopyere!) The best online information I could find about Dopera banjos is on the Old Frets website, which has some great pictures of the different models. I just bought a collection of vintage plectrum and tenor banjos, as well as a huge quantity of tenor and plectrum banjo instructions books and music, so, if you're into that, please keep an eye on my eBay store If you do make an offer during business hours, please know that I typically respond to offers within the hour. Questions? It will be well packed with plenty of new 1/2" bubble wrap and shipped in a new 46"x19"x7" stout cardboard instrument box. Please check out my Ebay store, “The 1970 Time Travel Trailer,” for more cool vintage stuff, including a bunch of vintage guitars (and a few ukuleles, banjos, fiddles, mandolins and amps, as well as fiddles, brass, woodwind, and various oddball musical instruments and old instrument brochures & catalogs). And please check out our new YouTube TV show, “Musical Treasure Hunting,” to see more of our adventures searching for old musical instruments.
Description
| Number of Strings: | 4 | Country/Region of Manufacture: | United States |
| Brand: | Dopera | Exact Year: | 1968 |
| Banjo Type: | Plectrum Banjo | Era: | 1960s |
| Model: | Original |
Travel back in time with this vintage plectrum banjo. In 1968, the Dopyeras Brothers, having sold the Dobro brand to Semie Mosley, started making banjos. The Dopyeras are, of course, legendary in the guitar world for founding National, Dobro, and being part of Rickenbacker's founding. They co-invented the first resonator guitars and first electric guitars. When the made these banjos, they "Americanized" their name, dropping the "y" from Dopyera, so the banjos are Dopera. According to one estimate, they made about 10 each tenor, plectrum, banjitar and five-string banjos. The stamped serial number on the top of the headstock on this banjo is 020. Check this banjo out. Did I say how loud it is? Yes, it's loud. 21 frets (instead of the usual 22 plectrum frets). 26-1/8" scale length. Check out the groovy peghead swirl, metallic gold peghead overlay, and aluminum truss rod cover! Most others Dopera banjos have an intricately inscribed metal resonator, but this one has a maple (I believe resonator). Covered geared tuners, but the fourth C-string tuner is a Grover, presumably a replacement. Comes in a generic black chipboard case, which I assume is not original, bu has been padded out with extra Styrofoam to hold the banjo tightly. This banjo is in very good, probably near collector condition. And it comes with four old plectrum banjo books: Mel Bay's "Plectrum Banjo Melody Chord Playing System" and Don Van Palte's three-part plectrum banjo lesson books (without the original cassette tapes). I've been rocking my typical minor key grooves on it and really digging it. (And it was made by John and Rudy Dopyere!) The best online information I could find about Dopera banjos is on the Old Frets website, which has some great pictures of the different models. I just bought a collection of vintage plectrum and tenor banjos, as well as a huge quantity of tenor and plectrum banjo instructions books and music, so, if you're into that, please keep an eye on my eBay store If you do make an offer during business hours, please know that I typically respond to offers within the hour. Questions? It will be well packed with plenty of new 1/2" bubble wrap and shipped in a new 46"x19"x7" stout cardboard instrument box. Please check out my Ebay store, “The 1970 Time Travel Trailer,” for more cool vintage stuff, including a bunch of vintage guitars (and a few ukuleles, banjos, fiddles, mandolins and amps, as well as fiddles, brass, woodwind, and various oddball musical instruments and old instrument brochures & catalogs). And please check out our new YouTube TV show, “Musical Treasure Hunting,” to see more of our adventures searching for old musical instruments.