Instruments -- Page 2
One
of my favorites -- a '29 Gibson TB-3 Conversion (8948-15)
Up until recently this banjo was hardly worth playing.
Typical of an archtop (no-hole archtop in this case), it really didn't
cut it for the shade tree style of picking that I engage in. Recently,
I shaved the shell down so a gold plated Hopkins-McPeake conversion ring
would be a slip fit, put on a new Ludwig head and added a set of cam tuners.
She's a'honkin' now, boys! Neck is Wreath pattern inlay made up using
a Sullivan blank shaped by Jimmy Fee and
finished by yours truly.
Osborne Chief (0698-0002).
This Chief was from the first lot of 4 built in the summer
of 1998. I had been talking to Sonny quite a bit about his concept
of a professional grade instrument and when he made the decision to start
buiding these banjos I was quick to reserve one. The Chief banjos
are built by Frank Neat to Sonny's specifications. Included are a
great neck that is a copy of the original neck on Sonny's Granada (without
finish on the backside), a Huber tone ring, a Calton case and a special
edition of the Elliot capo. All in all a great value. Chief
No. 02 is nickle plated with a gold plated tonering. It is the best
new banjo being made in my opinion.
A
shot of my Chief being played by Sonny.
A mid 30's TB-11 conversion.
Earl's first Gibson banjo was an RB-11 and this is
a fun banjo to play. The 11 (these banjos were not always numbered)
does not have a tone ring. Again Jimmy
Fee shaped the neck from a custom Sullivan Blank.
Old drum covering was secured by my good friend, Ron
Satterfield, and this was applied over the fingerboard
and peghead to simulate the original pearloid covering. Sherry
Nelson, a graphic artist, helped me prepare stencils
for the "inlays" that were originally silk-screened on the 11 fingerboards.
The stencils were then used with an airbrush to finish the neck and peghead.
The back of the neck was sprayed with tinted lacquer to match the sides
of the original resonator. Pretty cool!
Chris Hirsch recently sent me pictures of his
RB-11...an
unusual original 5-string example. This banjo, DA-5046,
was made in the late 30's and has the serial number stamped into the back
of the peghead along with "Made in USA".
This indicates that this banjo was an export model and it came back to
the USA from England, according to Chris.
Photos of Chris' DA-5046 including an interesting picture
of the serial no. and "Made in USA" stamped in the back of the peghead.
A fine example of a Gibson
Style 6
(conversion)
Bill Daily sent this
picture to me. It is owned by a friend of his in New York and has
a Frank Neat neck.The Style 6 flatheads with
2-piece flanges are a bit more common and affordable than the one-piece
flange Granadas. (Back view of this banjo).
I have received quite a bit of information from other
Style 6 owners than is summarized on a separated Style
6 Page.
J.D.
Crowe's 1936-37 RB-75 (from the Gibson site)
Don't know much about this banjo as I have never heard
it up close, or played it. According to Masters
of the 5-String Banjo, J.D. got this banjo in
about 1983. (If anyone has more information about this instrument,
such as it's serial number, let me know). Gibson has just reissued
the RB-75 modeled after this banjo with a special tone ring that I understand
to be a little bit lighter than the standard Gibson issue. Visit
Gibson
to see some great pictures of their current models and reissues.
Please feel free to contact me via email (tbiggs@cfl.rr.com).