History of Arvid Oscar Peterson, his Banjo & Band

Arvid Oscar Peterson, was born in 1904 in Sweden.
At age 16 he moved to New York City.
He became a hardwood floor contractor.
He formed and was leader of “The Vikings” band.
 

Mr. Peterson's son Tom stated that the band did a lot of radio work and recording of many records. In the New York and northern New Jersey area the band played for ballroom dances and lodges and many one night stands. Tom also stated that it was ironic that his father Arvid was the only Swede of the melting pot of musicians in the band.

Tom remembers his father explaining to him how difficult it was in those days to get a good mix of all the instruments while doing recording sessions.

Tom Peterson was very pleased that there was such an interest in this history that he would be available at 209~333~1632 for more information if needed.

Respectfully submitted,
Fred Spitzer

The seller is Tom Peterson, from Lodi, CA. The banjo belonged to his father ."

Shown Leaving its longtime home in California
Tom definitely looks like his Dad
 

Nice original tenor that was played until hell wouldn't have it.

Correct Presto, has the bump for the grooved hoop
BASS DRUM HEAD???
That may be a little thick :)

A little wear on the sticker
 There will be no refinish of the inside of the rim
I will do the outside, and fade up to it

We have the "35" batch number  stamped here as well

Truss on tenor neck is working fine

Hardware will clean up good, the nickel was thick on these

All balls, springs and spacers present

I have cleaned all the dead finish from the rim inside, then polished and waxed it and this is how it will stay

Now to get on  with the polishing and rim/resonator refinish
Tenor neck headed to FQMS for patterning reasons
They will fab a new 5 string neck that will look VG and  I will take care of the fretting and finish work.
Its best to leave this to the pros unless you have the tool and the skill, and the time....it's the time with me.
You get more precise work on the CNC and in the end, its a better than original mass produced  product.
Look back at the pics of the heel cut on the tenor neck.
Luthiers today are held to a higher standard than this, plain and simple.
If you need a neck, give Eric Sullivan a call.
 

All looking good on the big stuff

Now on the resonator inside, I have wiped it out with alcohol to clean of the dead finish.
I will mix a dye that mimics the Reddish brown look that it had when new. you can still see the brown and the more faded red in this pic.

20 parts reddish brown to 3 drops blue

I have reduced it 15 percent with Lacquer reducer, and added 1 pint clear  Mohawk lacquer.
I want a quick color change and in one coat, have the desired effect.
This will allow the banjo to "open back up" really quickly and enhance the tonal output.
This also is enough of a mix, so as not to run out before I color all I wish to color

1 medium  coat inside, that's that

Another maker mark in the heel cut

Now I am shooting the outside in one coat of the tinted lacquer, and will apply 2 more coats of clear over this and thetas all.
Inside is protected as is the tone ring skirt land

I faded it around to the lower edge and that is as far as i will go.
I will 0000 steel wool the junction  and outside when Im done to satin off the finish and make it look less new.

it will look pretty seamless in the transition of color this way.

Rim color complete, side wall of resonator getting the same treatment
Its on its first coat of clear after the color coats
The back will be next on the agenda
There will be some drunk dents and battle scars left in the wood, on purpose.
Not all patina needs to disappear, the trick is to make it all flow in with the new.

Counting hardware, I need 6 hooksets. i will dig thru my stock

I know I need 3 attaching screws, and 1 resonator lug and washer, I will run these by the forums.

All the new finish was steel wooled then polished

Always make sure your tube and plate are in perfect alignment before head installation

Renaissance head, 11" medium crown

All assembled hooksets complete

A mock up to show the look before I go forth with resonator finish

Stripping the back with chem strip. I want to leave the original dye on the surface

The last "plop" of finish in a pile behind it, I will wipe it with thinner, no sanding

First coat of sealer with only a little reddish brown tint, the next will be a deeper tint.

All color applied, bindings shaved, first coat of clear

I returned the neck to FQMS for some minor modifications that were not applied on the first run which they cheerfully took care of so I did not take pics of the neck without finish before i sent it back
Then when it returned I lost  a sequence of pics , so it's time compressed .

I have to remove the lags FQMS used, because this is a 1925 model, not a later model and the lags are smaller on these

These will be plugged and redrilled, and the bottom one centered better.
The extra wide tube relief will do the job now.
I guess the jig was off a little, but this looks more like Gibson did it for now.
Truss cavity and heel bottom are a little off as well, but not enough to mess with the setup.
Nobody is perfect, including me.
You can scrutinize any banjo this closely, and find fault.

New lags in and positioned

I do not have the geared peg here now, so I will set it up on this friction peg and period button
Time to add a pip
I will string it to pitch and check the fretwork

Tuned to pitch, I have a little fret work to do, not much
It's sounding pretty good for the first run.

Original truss cover added

The banjo now has been fitted with a vintage Rogers hide head, and never sounded so good.
It will remain on this banjo, says the owner.
Thanks for watching
Vinnie