1928 Gibson TB5 Conversion by Robin Smith- SOLD

$12,500.00

This is a fine example of Gibson Mastertone pre-war greatness!

Out of stock

Description

Exc- condition  /  SN: 9029-5
Walnut  /  Robin Smith Neck
40-hole Archtop Tone Ring
Bound Rim  /  Wreath Inlays

This nice old pre-War beauty is one of the high-end banjos from Gibson. The style 5’s are just rare enough that they are not easy to find.  These are much more engraved and appointed than even a pre-war Granada model, featuring figured Walnut woods, marquetry purflings, engraved gold hardware, and parquet wood inset into the back of the peghead.

Robin Smith made the 5-string conversion neck. True to the originals, it has a “fiddle” peghead that has Ebony veneer sitting atop maple/ebony/maple wood layers. The truss rod cavity and cover are located in peghead face, just above the bone nut. Flat Rosewood fingerboard has pearl “Wreath” pattern inlays. R.R. spikes installed at A, Bb, and B, for 5th string capo’ing. Pearl “Mastertone” engraved block at 21st fret position.

Tuners are:
Two original Grover 2-band gold tuners with real pearl buttons at 1st and 4th strings. 2nd and 3rd string tuners are newer gold Keith D-tuners with milky pearloid plastic buttons. 5th tuner is gold Schaller with solid pearl button.

The bindings and purflings are the same everywhere:
Bindings are a vintage gray pearloid, with purflings of colorful wood marquetry immediately below. These are seen along the fingerboard, the heelcap, the inside and outside of the bottom of the rim, and around the top and back edges of resonator.

Gold engraved hardware: flange plate, tension hoop, tone ring, armrest, and tailpiece. All other hardware, coordinator rods, resonator hardware, hooks & nuts, flange tube, etc, are all gold.
Original 3-ply Maple rim.

Resonator shows off some figured Walnut in the back, and also 2 concentric circles of wooden marquetry in the back, as well.
This resonator is original, but was refinished some time ago.
The neck and the resonator match each other very well.

This is a fine playing banjo that sounds vintage. Comes with good hard case. The original tenor neck is available.