New instrument. Mahogany banjo similar in look, feel and in sound, to original 1930's Gibson "RB-3" flathead banjos.
     Mahogany neck and resonator. Concentric rings in back of resonator. White bindings around resonator top and back edges. White binding along fingerboard. Ebony fingerboard with RB-75 inlay pattern. Waverly 2-band tuners with ivoroid buttons. Schaller 5th tuner with matching ivoroid button. Nickel hardware. Aged 3-ply maple rim. Huber HR-30 tonering.
     This is a pretty impressive instrument. Mainly it is impressive because of the statement above. The day this banjo came in we had a mid-'30's Gibson flathead style 3 and also a 5-yr old Williams "Kenny Ingram" model. Both of these banjos were really dialed-in to great sound. This new Huber held its own with the original Gibson flathead and the excellent Williams "Kenny Ingram" model.
     The great sound is that "brrrrrr" sound. Many people call it 'the growl'. It is a very "sure" attack, but without shrill metalic shades. It has good sustain, but without too many overtones lingering around the primary tones. It is a powerful banjo, but not 'too loud'.
     * This particular VRB-3 is slightly customized from a standard example. Ours has Ebony fingerboard with RB-75 inlays, and ours has plain Nickel hardware, instead of 'antiqued' hardware.

     Exc. Condition. There is a moderate amount of fret wear on the fingerboard. The neck has a couple of light scratches, and the back has a few dings but the banjo is in great shape overall.
     Mahogany back, sides and neck with "Heli-mount" frame design. The "Heli-mount" design allows easy adjustment with even tension of the head. Back, sides and neck are all multiple bound with Ivoroid. Custom neck with radiused Rosewood fingerboard with no inlays (there are position marks on the side). Nechville Bevelled armrest added. The 5th string tuner is on the peghead (photos coming soon).
    This is a nice banjo, good sound and easy to play.

     Like New Condition. This banjo is in really great shape, you can barely tell it was played.
     Solid body electric banjo. High-grade body with Mahogany bottom half and highly figured Maple top half, with nice chocolate-brown finish. 4-bolt highly figured Maple neck. Humbucking pickups with adjustable pole pieces and Rosewood covers. 3-way selector switch. Each pickup has a coil tap switch to select between the individual single-coils or the combined humbucker. Master tone and volume knobs. Straight string-pull peghead. Radiused Rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlays.
     Sounds very good. This banjo is constructed expertly, and has a great sound.

New. Select Mahogany neck and resonator. White bindings on resonator and neck. Flat Rosewood fingerboard. Vintage style Gotoh tuners with cream plastic buttons. R.R. spikes installed by Prucha at A, Bb, B & C positions for 5th-string capo'ing. Hearts & Flowers pearl inlay in fingerboard.
This banjo is a nice one. The Mahogany is beautifully shaded with the finish to give the banjo a great look.
As far as materials and workmanship go, it is hard to find other makers that can deliver the perfection of building that Jaroslav Prucha is known for. Perfect neck shaping, perfect neck fit to pot, perfect fit of flange onto resonator ledge, perfect fit of heel into resonator notch. *I could go on and on, pointing out the high grade construction... but lets talk about performance and tone...
This banjo is really a strong one. Big, big bottom end with concentrated focus and growl. Highs are not shrill, but have a very good growl and plenty of fat tone, even way up high on fingerboard. This is definitely a great banjo for sound.

     New.
     Highly figured Maple neck and resonator with radiused Rosewood fingerboard. "Gibson-style" pot with pre-war style 3-ply Maple rim, Prucha flat-head pre-war style tonering and one-pc. pot metal flange. Antiqued Ivoroid bound resonator and neck. Doube-cut peghead with "flying eagle" inlay pattern in neck. Handosme brown lacquer. Nickel Gotoh tuners with matching cream buttons.
     Very rich sound with a bold attack and lots of colorful tone.

     Exc.(+) Condition. There are no major marks at all on this banjo. The armrest is a little worn and there are light belt scratches on the back. Apart from that, this banjo looks new.
     Figured Maple Resonator. Resonator and fretboard are multiple bound with Ivoroid. Radiused Rosewood fretboard with pearl "Hearts & Flowers" inlays. Prucha tuners with pearl buttons.
     Sounds big and loud. Nice low action and looks much newer than it actually is.

     New. Mahogany neck open-back banjo. 3-ply full Maple rim, with "brass bead" ring. Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays and star inlay at 5th fret. Peghead has JPrucha logo inlaid in pearl, along with a traditional star pearl inlay.
     Gotoh nickel tuners, with Schaller nickel 5th tuner, with beautiful matching translucent cream tuner buttons. All nickel hardware. The armrest is very nice - Prucha has improved on an old traditional design and they work very well. No-knot tailpiece.
     This is an exceedingly well-made banjo, with simple elegance seen everywhere. The tone is very big and full - you won't miss having a heavier tone at all...

     Exc.(+) Condition. There are just a couple of very small touches on the instrument, and some light fret wear.
     Maple banjo. Full 3-ply maple rim with brass "bead" tone-ring. Wooden dowel stick construction, with the dowel stick adjustable at either end. Two-hump clamshell tail-piece. Ptacek 2-band "vintage-style" offset tuners with Schaller fifth, all with matching Ivoroid buttons. Ivoroid binding along fingerboard. Star inlayed in ebony peghead overlay. J.Prucha inlaid at top of peghead. Pearl dot position markers on fingerboard with star at fifth fret. Four railroad spikes professionally installed at 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th frets. Original fiber skin head in good shape.
    This banjo has a lot of sound, currently the head is set-up on the tight side, giving the banjo great strength and bass response with sparkling highs.

     New.
     Beautiful Mahogany neck and resonator with matte finish. Radiused Rosewood fingerboard. Ivoroid binding on resonator and neck. "Fiddle" peghead. J.Prucha pearl logo inlaid in top of peghead with tasteful pattern in middle. Cut-diamond inlay in fingerboard. "Pioneer" inlay block at 21st fret. All Gotoh tuners with matching cream buttons.
     "Gibson-style" pot with same quality rim, tone-ring, flange and all other parts as any Prucha banjo. Great banjo with tons of presence and growl.

     Exc. Condition. This banjo is in great original shape. Some moderate fret wear on first position frets, light sign of arm wear on armrest and a small area of wear on the Remo head... Otherwise this banjo is in really great overall shape.
     Mahogany resonator and neck with cream bindings on top and back edge of resonator and along fingerboard. Rosewood fingerboard with Pearl cut-diamond inlays. Nickel Ptacek pre-war style 2-band offset main tuners and Schaller 5th - all with matching Ivoroid buttons. Ebony peghead overlay with J.Prucha and "floral" inlay in Pearl. Nickel clamshell tailpiece.
     Nice Mahogany sound with lots of grit and growl.

     New.
     Walnut banjo. Beautiful grain with figure in the resonator. Nice straight-grain neck. Radiused Ebony fingerboard with fingerboard extended so that two extra frets (23rd & 24th) are actually vaulted over the head. Stylized pearl parallelogram inlays in fingerboard. Ebony peghead veneer with J.Prucha logo and inlay flourish above and below the logo all in pearl. Complex multiple Ivoroid bindings, with multiple lines showing at top edge of binding and at bottom edge of binding on top and back of resonator and along fingerboard. Handsome brown coloration. Two concentric circles inlaid in back of resonator. K & H two band vintage-stlye tuners with Gotoh 5th, all with matching amber buttons. 13/16" radiused bridge. Clamshell tailpiece.
     Prucha pot with pre-war style flathead tonering, excellent 3-ply rim, and one piece pot metal flange.

     New. Mahogany resonator and neck. Flat fingerboard with pearl dot inlays. Nickel parts and hardware, Golden Gate tuners. Ebony peghead overlay with Saga logo inlaid in pearl. Aluminum pot construction, with flathead ring integral to the rim. Ebony fingerboard with dot inlays. Nice planetary tuners.
     This is a good intermediate banjo with a good valid bluegrass sound. Good "pop" and good resonance. Setup for peak performance by Greg Boyd.
     * This banjo comes with a handsome upgraded hard case with brown exterior and leather handle, from Saga.
 

     VG(+) Condition. Serial Number #0. Minor touch marks on the resonator and back of neck. Some light fret wear.
     Mahogany neck and resonator. "Tennessee 20" tone ring mounted on Tony Pass 500TS rim. Rosewood fingerboard with modified "flying eagle" style inlays. Ivoroid bindings on resonator and fingerboard. Multiple Ivoroid concentric circles on back of resonator. Hand-made custom wooden armrest by Cliff Avery installed on banjo. 5-star planetary tuners with Schaller 5th tuner, all with matching Ivoroid pegs.
     Great mahogany sound. Excellent "pop" in the attack from the lowest notes on the 4th string to the highest notes on the 1st string. Has a rolling resonance when you play.

     Exc. Condition. Normal hand wear on back of neck, but no dings or dents. Some wear in fingerboard and frets. Frets appear to be original.    
     All-original hardware except for newer Presto tailpiece. Maple rim with tortoise binding at bottom on the inside and out, and inside upper lip of rim. Ebony fretboard. Original tuners.

     "As New" condition. Highly figured Burled Walnut resonator, with Mahogany neck. Cox 3-ply Maple rim with Prucha flathead tone ring.
     Double-cut peghead with Hearts & Flowers inlay pattern in headstock and flat rosewood fingerboard. Ivoroid bindings around top and back edge of resonator and along fingerboard. Nickel Krishot pre-war style "pancake" tuners with Schaller 5th peg.
     This banjo sounds very good. It gives you the beauty of burled Walnut, but with the good old growl of Mahogany.

     Exceptional original condition. The resonator has a couple of small dings on it, otherwise this banjo is in great shape. All the gold is in very nice original condition, even the armrest and tailpiece.
     Beautiful straight-grained Mahogany banjo. Tasteful antiqued ivoroid binding around top and back edge of resonator and along fingerboard. Rosewood flat fingerboard with Hearts & Flowers inlay pattern. Double-cut peghead. Ebony peghead veneer with Williams logo pearl inlay, pearl Hearts & Flowers peghead pattern and solid pearl truss-rod cover. All gold plated hardware. Gold Kieth standard tuners, with gold Schaller 5th, all with matching ivoroid buttons. R.R. spikes at 7th, 8th, 9,th, 10th frets for 5th string capo'ing.
     It is very rare for Jim Burlile to ever plate one of his tone rings - most people use them just with the original polished bronze look... But this is one of only 2 that were ever plated gold!
     This banjo is sold with 2 rims that are fit to the banjo and tone ring. The original 3-ply Maple rim is a Jimmy Cox rim that will be shipped separately to the buyer of the banjo. A "Old Factory Floor" 3-ply rim, with 140-yr old Maple, was fit by Arthru Hatfield and is currently in use in the banjo. This old wood rim works very well with the Burlile tone ring and is the formulae for the more expensive Williams "Kenny Ingram" model.
     The banjo looks fabulous, with no problems and showing no ill treatment. It sounds great, too. It is full of energy and has very active resonance when you are playing it. The condition is really great... it really is almost brand new.

     Exc. Condition. The resonator has a couple of scratches and dings, and the head shows a little wear. Neck and frets are both in great shape.
     Bound Mahogany resonator with two concentric circles. Bound rosewood fingerboard. Jim Burlile tonering, Maple "old-floor" 3-ply rim. Mahogany neck, Rosewood fingerboard with elaborate pearl inlays. Keith standard tuning pegs with Ivoroid buttons. Railroad spikes on 7th & 9th frets.
     Wonderful dynamic tone that is comparable to pre-war style banjos... It has the "Mahogany growl". A great professional sound with lots of presence.