ty piper, imperial banjo

[leon elliott]

anyone out there have any info on ty piper, of imperial banjo. several of
his "personal banjo's" have shown up in my local area. these were sold to
local music stores by his wife and or daughter who stated that he had
passed away and they were selling off his instruments. after entering
imperial banjo on the net i got a hit on folk of the wood with people
asking for info on his banjos and him "replying" as recent as six months
ago. i bought a walnut top tension in the mix and it is a player..

--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

[Mike Stanger]

In article <op.s0exbgdso63jo2@grady-oxfb661oz>,
"leon elliott" <leel...@cableone.net> wrote:

> anyone out there have any info on ty piper, of imperial banjo. several of
> his "personal banjo's" have shown up in my local area. these were sold to
> local music stores by his wife and or daughter who stated that he had
> passed away and they were selling off his instruments. after entering
> imperial banjo on the net i got a hit on folk of the wood with people
> asking for info on his banjos and him "replying" as recent as six months
> ago. i bought a walnut top tension in the mix and it is a player..

Hi, Leon...
Sad news if true.
Ty made some good banjos in the mid-70's to the banjo bust of the 80's.
I remember reading that he built a 2000 sq. ft. shop at one time, so his
production must have been pretty good if his ambitions bore out.

As far as I know, he closed up sometime in the 80's and never went back
to building banjos. Ty used to have a column in BNL for some time in the
70's, and was fairly well known as a repairman and luthier. I suspect
that the replies on Folk of the Wood may have been spurious. From
reading reports on them posted on the banjo hangout web site, the
company has been in trouble for some time, and may have replied to
inquires in hopes of landing a sale somehow.

A good friend and one of the best players I ever knew- John Beebanger, a
real inspiration to every banjoist in the Intermountain West who heard
him, played a Piper for a year or so. He didn't like it after very long-
thought the tone was harsh and strident, and I agreed, but I've heard
good things said about Ty's top tension model, which seems to have much
better tone. It may have just been Beebanger's banjo, too- they're all
different.
He was a controversial maker who had real fans and real slammers, but
his work was very solid and well done.

A lot of controversy came from his singluar design work. his early
banjos have a very small narrow peghead, done by purposeful design, and
his later pegheads were kinda odd looking, but larger.

A Piper pops up for sale now and then, so there are a few out there.
They seem to have aged well, too. I think he was a sincere maker of
quality who just got hit hard by the disco 80's like lots of other
makers of the time.
regards,
Stanger

[piperente...@gmail.com]

Ty was a true 'free spirit' who loved working with his hands. He actually started his business making guitars. He always felt there were lots of people who could make great guitars (those that could compete with the Gibson quality) if they just had the time, tools, and ambition. He wanted to be one of them. After a year building instruments in his storm-shelter behind his house in OKC, he moved into his first real shop. In that effort he started attending local 'bluegrass' festivals and that is where he fell in love with the banjo. He used to call me and we would talk for hours about things like metal mixes for tone rings, which metals would make what tone with what wood. He was always way ahead of me when it came to visualizing new combinations and mixes. After building banjos for all those years, he decided he needed to find a real paying job that would provide him some degree of stable income and safety (insurance is really expensive when you have to pay for it all by yourself). So he ended up as a contractor seller for Lowe's providing bids, support, and expertise to local contractors in the Couere d'Alene area of Idaho (he was an expert builder in his own right). Finally he decided he missed working with his hands, so he started another venture building finely crafted cabinets, doors, furniture and fixtures under the business name 'Tyler Design'. He did that until the end at his home near 'Bonner's Ferry' Idaho.

Sadly, he passed Dec. 5, 2012 at his home after a long battle with cancer.

His wife has since left Idaho and now resides in Oklahoma City where she has the love and support of family, friends, and two wonderful grand-children.


He will be missed by all who knew him, but will always be remembered for the talent, personality, and innovation he brought to us all.

Joel Piper - younger brother and friend for ever.