RezBluez - Posted - 01/09/2025:  17:06:34

I know this is a forum for Reso, but I don’t belong to the Banjo Hangout, and I know there are members here on both.
Has anyone ever heard of a Conservatore Banjo from 1975, a lady I know who’s husband just passed asked if I could find out what it’s worth. It looks like a cheap student model banjo, but nothing comes up on the web about them. Thanks for any info and I can post pics if needed.

PeterJ - Posted - 01/10/2025:  06:46:56

I've been playing banjo for almost 50 years and have never heard of that brand. Of course, there's a lot of stuff I don't know, but if you can post any pics, that could help. Sorry for your friend's loss.

RezBluez - Posted - 01/10/2025:  07:10:58

Here are a few pics

 

MarkinSonoma - Posted - 01/10/2025:  07:33:13

Eddy, since you live in Canada it makes sense that you may have come across a Conservatore banjo. 

Now I know nothing about their banjos, but I have read about their guitars in the past. There is speculation that Conservatore had some sort of connection to C.F. Martin in Canada, but I was reading on the Martin Forum, where acoustic guitar geekiness is a high art that this might be b.s.

They were indeed cheap imports typically around in the 1970s and 1980s. Made in Korea for export to Canada. Link to a classical guitar on Reverb a couple years ago. 96 bucks!

The seller mentions the Martin connection but he might have gleabed it off the interweb and didn't know any better, but it sounds good to have some association with Martin. 

reverb.com/item/77362841-cf-ma...=77362841

I'mnit  a member of the Banjo Hangout either, but you can do a search there like we do here, and nothing came up. 

Maybe the lady can get ballpark $150  for it? 

 

RezBluez - Posted - 01/10/2025:  09:11:51

Thanks guys, yea Mark that’s the only info I could get on Conservatore was for guitars, and the story of Martin importing them as cheap student models.