Richelieu hand built 19 fret “Whyte Ladie” tenor banjo in excellent condition. It looks, sounds and feels wonderful and is made from the highest quality materials including figured maple resonator and rock maple neck. Dark Ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay position markers and headstock plate Inlaid pearl “R” headstock emblem. The nickel plating throughout is in excellent condition and has obviously been very well looked after by its original owner. The geared machine tuners are quality Schaller with pearl buttons. The pot is Maple with 24 Brackets, Gibson style armrest and Oettinger 4 finger tailpiece.  

Inside the pot, features double metal coordinator rods for great adjustability and stability and Richelieu’s Lyte Ladie (Whyte Ladie style) tone ring. This model was introduced in the 1970’s so this banjo could possibly be between 40 -50 years old. The Richelieu closed in the 1990’s.  

The neck profile is wonderfully round thin and comfortable, tapering to a 1 3/16″ nut.  The banjo has great action and playability.  Comes with a nice hardcase.

Banjo features

• • Tone Ring: Features a “Lyte Ladie” tone ring, which is a model styled after the classic Whyte Laydie tone ring. This provides a warmer, less aggressive tone compared to some archtop tone rings.
  • Tail piece: Oettinger 4 finger tail piece with adjustable arms
  • Neck: Typically has a thin, comfortable profile and a 1 3/16″ nut width, making it a dream to play.
  • Tuners: Schaller machine tuners, nice quality and hold tuning perfectly, very smooth to fine tune.
  • Playability: Set up perfectly for Trad or Jazz style playing with low action.
  • Sound: has a nice warm, rich tone and good sustain and cut when needed.
  • Setup: New Remo clear head, Richelieu bridge, silver plated German made strings