Paratone 19 fret tenor banjo. Paratone banjos were made by the Barnes brothers in the Woolwich area of London toward the end of the 1920s. They closely copied the popular Clifford Essex “Paragon” model banjo and simply named it Paratone. The instruments looked so similar to the Essex original that they were difficult to tell apart at a quick glance. It is not officially recorded when the Barnes brothers stopped manufacturing the Paratone brand but possibly the very early 30’s.

Banjo features

The neck is made from rock maple, with rosewood fingerboard and highly decorated in mother of pearl and abalone. As is the ebony faced headplate featuring the Paratone name and a unique pearl/abalone peacock design. The machine tuners are the same as those fitted to Clifford Essex banjos and hold tune perfectly. There is a bone nut and zero fret feature which takes us to the large 12″ pot. The inside rim is also maple where you can see the suspended tone ring. The back of the maple resonator has veneered rosewood designs and multi ebony lines to the side walls. The paragon style flange with the circular cutout sound holes, 28 shoes, hooks & nuts and scalloped hoop all resemble the Paragon build, as does the arm rest and tailpiece. Maybe the Barnes bros bought parts directly from Clifford Essex. I’m sure there is some documented history there.

The banjo is fitted with a 12″ fibre/plastic head, featuring a suspended hoop archtop tone ring. Fitted with new bridge and German hand made strings 12,18w,28w,36w. Comes with a hard case. The neck is straight with low paying action, has a nice warm tone with plenty of projection.