Ball bearing tone ring. Nice 5-string neck by the late Robin Smith, with Flying Eagle inlay and rosewood fingerboard. New Presto tailpiece. The resonator has the expected scratches, etc. The banjo still has the original skin head, and it has a really great tone. Click here for pictures
with ball bearing tone ring. We had a new 5-string neck made, and the resonator was refinished to match. The pot is 100% original except for the tailpiece, which is a new Presto. One of the resonator screws is missing. It still has the original skin head. Click here for pictures
The pot on this extremely rare banjo was, in all probability, built in 1927, and the neck a decade later. There is no carving on the neck, and the peghead inlay is completely different than on the standard Bella Voce. It is absolutely original, with tube and plate flange and a 40-hole archtop tone ring. We had Richie Dotson build a 5-string neck that matches the original perfectly. It is a really neat instrument and you'll probably never see another like it! Click here for pictures
The resonator on this banjo was in rough shape, so Richie Dotson refinished and rebound it. He built a new neck with Reno inlay. Hardware is original, except for the tailpiece. 40-hole archtop tone ring and tube and plate flange. It is a really outstanding sounding banjo! Click here for pictures
This neat instrument started life as a mandolin banjo. It has a standard Mastertone pot with 40-archtop tone ring, and is in very nice condition. The neck was made by Richie Dotson,
One piece flange. Very nice condition and 100% original. The flange is solid and not badly warped. It has a new Florentine Special inlay neck built by Wyatt Fawley. Call for details if interested. Click here for pictures
Tube and plate diamond flange, and 40-hole archtop tone ring. Richie Dotson just made a new copy neck for this mahogany banjo. Note the fancy concentric rings on the resonator. Studio King banjos are quite rare; much more so than Recording Kings. This one is completely original, including the Presto tailpiece, and it still has the original skin head. The resonator has numerous scratches, but it could easily be refinished. FON 9615-7. Click here for pictures
THE RAREST STYLE 11 GIBSON BANJO. This is a melody banjo, made in the late 1930s. In appearance, it looks like a mandolin banjo but with a 15-fret four string neck. It is 100% original and in virtually mint condition. I've never seen another one, and many years ago Curtis McPeake told me that as far as he knew it is the only one Gibson made. The price is $7500; a lot more than a TB-11, but this banjo is worth every penny of the price!
The pot is original and in nice condition. The flange is pulled up as usual, but is very solid. The rim has not been cut, so it has the brass hoop tone ring. Richie Dotson built a new 5-string neck with Wreath inlay, and he said, after playing it, that it was the best sounding style 11 banjo he has ever heard, including his own!
This banjo has a new Richie Dotson neck with Reno inlay, and Richie also installed one of his new flathead tone rings, and it will hold its own with any banjo. The metal parts are exceptionally nice, with a virtually flat flange. If you've been looking for a prewar Gibson, this just might be the one. Click here for pictures
1931 Gibson Recording King. This banjo had style 6 inlay, maple wood, and a 40-hole tone ring. It was priced about the same as a Granada, but is many times rarer. Gold plated with an engraved tension hoop and armrest. The neck has the Florentine Special inlay; it has fancy binding but doesn’t match the resonator. I bought this banjo more than twenty years ago, and have never had an archtop that I thought sounded better. Click here for pictures
This is undoubtedly the rarest prewar Gibson archtop banjo in existence! From the front it looks like a regular Florentine, with the ice cream cone peghead and scenes of Italy on the fingerboard, but the resonator and neck carvings are completely different than on any other banjo. It also has one piece flange construction, which is found on only a few Florentines. Click here for pictures
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